Jim here. Even though it is in anaglyph, I will give this event its due as it is Michael Jackson after all. Tonight on the Grammy Awards (CBS), Michael Jackson will be remembered by stars and fans alike with the airing of his EARTH SONG in 3D.
You can pick up 3D glasses for the show at Target stores today. There are only 15 million of them available however so if you intend on getting a pair, do it early.
To be clear, this is NOT modern 3D folks. This is a similar type of experience that was presented at the Super Bowl last year with the MONSTERS VS. ALIENS commercial. I was NOT impressed by the effort and quite frankly sends a confusing message as to what modern 3D is about. However this is not about a movie per se, but rather to remember a great musician - so I am all for that.
Jim here. I have had a few readers send this in to me so I thought I should put it up for you. I will preface this by saying I am not all that keen on anaglyph 3D, but this is really cool so here you are.
A skunkworks project (in this case taking only 20% of a developer's time) for delivering multiple different types of 3D video is underway. The developer's username is YouTube Pete and he has posted to the forums about his progress. This is pretty standard for Google - love their energy.
Here is an example video for you - check it out (you can make your eyes go lazy to blend in the two angles into one):
NOTE THAT YOU CAN CHANGE THE 3D FORMAT WITH THE DROPDOWN BOX HERE. The selections include Red/Cyan, Amber/Blue, Green/Magenta, Parellel, Cross-eyed, Mirror Split, Left and Right.
Thanks to everyone that sent this in to me. It's a cool thing - at least while we are waiting on a modern, stereoscopic 3D home video standard. Enjoy!
Jim here. FINALLY! A company has stepped up and said no to the old anaglyph 3D technology that pushes those red/blue glasses and other color combinations at you.
Dreamworks Animation has officially drawn a line in the sand and said that you won't be able to watch their 3D movies at home without having the proper set up. That set up is currently in the making with standards bodies lining up specs as you read this post.
Here is what animation chief Ann Daly (via Home Media Magazine) had to say: “The movie itself was developed with the notion of doing the RealD-Dolby experience in theaters, and those specs are not ideal for the anaglyph presentation for home viewing, which still relies on glasses with colored rather than polarized lenses. It’s a completely different process, and when we started to look at how it would look in the home, we were not satisfied. We’ve been paying a lot of attention to the development of TVs that can deliver a theater-like 3-D experience, and we think if we hold off until we actually get an in-home experience that works, it would be much better than doing it early. If we did it now it would feel gimmicky rather than good.”
Absolutely!!
Daly went further to say that once the required consumer specs for end to end 3D are in place (discs, 3DTVs, etc) then DWA will release the appropriately formatted movies.
I can't believe it took this long for someone to stand up and say enough is enough! Sure the movies presented in anaglyph 3D work somewhat, but the damage they are doing to 3D home entertainment through bad word of mouth is scandalous. Hats off to DWA for the iniative.
This move however, makes me wonder why Dreamworks Animation paid all that money for an anaglyph presentation of MvsA during the Superbowl. I guess it is never too late to take corrective measures. I hope this signals the beginning of the end for anaglyph movie viewing. Sure red and blue glasses will still have their place for certain things, but they DO NOT belong with movies. Good riddance.
Jim here. What is with all the cool 3D movie stories that the British Film magazines are getting lately? First Empire had these great images and now Total Film has what they are calling a 3D Extravaganza.Thanks to my intrepid reader in the UK, we have these images scanned for our viewing pleasure! Total Film has included red and blue glasses with the publication so that you can view these old school, anaglyph 3D images. If you have red and blue 3D glasses at home, you can view these as well, right now.
Click images to blow up.
As much as I hate anaglyph, there is no better way to show 3D on paper and it is cool to see some new images from ALICE IN WONDERLAND and UP. I have also posted the image they have for AVATAR, but it is very disappointing as we know this to be a fake, fan created work. Total Film also includes 3D images from THE DARK KNIGHT, THE MATRIX, STAR WARS, BLADE RUNNER, THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING so I highly recommend picking up your own copy of Total Film to see those and the full articles too. I may be able to show you those images soon as well - stay tuned.
What IS interesting about the AVATAR image is the new quote from Ridley Scott that was in the article beside it:(breathlessly) "It's... Amazing"!
I want to again invite you to purchase your own copy of Total Film for the full coverage. I think they probably had someone convert 2D images to these 3D ones for the feature, but its still kinda cool. I doubt that they are official studio photos - which would infer that they are looking at "dimensionalizing" their properties to 3D. But damn, that would be nice!!
ALICE IN WONDERLAND looks like a trip doesn't it?!
"Dimensionalizing" is a term coined and trademarked by In-Three
Jim here. Well we are about to get inundated with magazines with the all too familiar anaglyph 3D format from none other than Entertainment Weekly (you saw their online contributions here already), Fortune, People, Sports Illustrated and Time. They are all using the same format that was used for the Super Bowl MONSTERS VS. ALIENS commercial - you know the one that does not do the movie any justice whatsoever.
Yeah that sounds agressive I know. Hey, I understand that ColorCode 3-D is just trying to make a go of it. But, sorry, this is the 3D Renaissance we are having right now, not the 3D Dark Ages. It is too confusing for audiences that are viewing the material thinking: "Why on earth would I pay to see that 3D? It's giving me a headache after only a few minutes!"
I will say this again and again and again: This ColorCode technology is NOT what we will be seeing in the theaters for MONSTERS VS. ALIENS or any of the modern 3D lineup listed here. Far from it. It is so far removed from the technology that I actually think it is doing more harm than good. Destroying the modern 3D brand if you will.
From the ColorCode press release:"3-D images will besupporting the stories and over 16 million 3-D glasses have been produced to be distributedtogether with the magazines. The 3-D system used to make this possible is called ColorCode 3-D and is the same system used for the 3-D commercials during this year’s Super Bowl when over 130 million ColorCodeViewers (3-D glasses) were distributed to American households.
The magazines will focus on their respective readers’ interest covering the latest news andupcoming trends in 3-D as an important part of visual communication. ColorCode 3-D hasmade it possible to visualize these stories with images that will stand out in full-color 3-Dusing the attached ColorCodeViewer. The images will also be fully viewable without the 3-Dglasses but then as ordinary flat images."
I know many of you have already read my negative opinions on keeping anaglyph directly connected with modern 3D movies. This is for new readers that are just catching up now. Remember that when you go see MONSTERS VS. ALIENS or A CHRISTMAS CAROL or AVATAR this year, the experience is going to blow you away! It will not be the red and blue or red and yellow ordeal we go through with these anaglyph glasses. Trust me. You will LOVE it.
Jim here. Entertainment Weekly is offering you a chance to see some movie stills from upcoming 3D movie animations if you happen to have a pair of anaglyph glasses hanging around.
Or you can get the glasses in the March 27 issue of Entertainment Weekly, on newsstands right now...
I personally don't like using them, but hey it is only some pics, not a movie. Kinda cool seeing TOY STORY and ALPHA AND OMEGA (2010) - So enjoy!
**SAME DAY UPDATE: I just spoke with someone in the know from Dreamworks Animation and he stated: "There is no plan that I know of to use the colorcode glasses in the theater. MvA will be shown in 3D via Imax, Dolby and RealD. I dont know ifthere are plans to show it in other ways outside of the US"
- So there is at least one item out of the way - no "colorcode" anaglyph 3D theatrical release of MvsA in North America. That helps a bit.
Apparently much higher quality anaglyph glasses will be used by Dreamworks Animation during the Super Bowl MONSTERS VS. ALIENS commerical - I'll believe it when I see it. It is still color separated. The technology is done through Intel InTru 3D and ColorCode 3-D.
Looks like 125 to 150 million of these glasses will be distributed through 25,000 Pepsi retail locations. That's right 125 to 150 MILLION.
Katzenberg was quoted by AP as saying “...perhaps the biggest media-advertising event in history” and that the campaign “involved tens of millions of dollars.”
I am literally stunned. I am also a marketer and let me tell you that if I had that kind of wallet for promotion, it would be totally different. It will certainly get people talking - but it had better be the right KIND of talking for the sake of not just MvsA, but modern 3D.
One of their saving graces is that they are handing out 1950's style 3D glasses and the movie is based during that era - so there is a tie in. But it is a weak one, as many will remember the 1950's 3D as BAD. Certainly not in the same league as modern 3D.
Viewers can "pre-book" their glasses by calling800-646-2904 to make sure they get them. I called this number today and they won't be ready to take your information for another week however.
Apparently viewers without the glasses will see an almost normal screen while viewing the commercial through this updated tech for anaglyph. But Katzenberg also said it still doesn't come close to the 3D quality that viewers will see when it is released with modern 3D in theaters. I hope this turns out for the best, but I have my sincerest concerns.
Viewers will get on-screen displays telling them how and when to view the 3D content during the Super Bowl. But that's not all. NBC will also be airing a 3D version of "Chuck" featuring a guest appearance by Jerome Bettis the following day. The on-screen messaging will also tell them to "Don't Chuck Your Glasses" in support of viewers reusing them for "Chuck".
See the update above!Now word is leaking that you will be able to use these glasses when you go to your theater to watch MvsA!?!What is that all about? Just a rumor? If it is just a rumor, DWA better get going on some damage control. I am on the horn right now to try and get some answers from some folks over at DWA. Perhaps they will be using this new Intel technology to show the movie on the older 2D screens with no modern digital and/or 3D projector upgrades to help build up the number of actual 3D showings? That is a possibility that makes a bit of sense as the modern 3D rollout has been slowed down with the credit crunch of late. This would allow more theaters to show it in 3D - but a full movie with these glasses? Ouch. And they certainly wouldn't be able to charge a premium price for the anagylph experience.See the update above!
I hope Dreamworks Animation and their partners know what they are doing. There is a heckuva lot of momentum now for 3D and we don't need any steps backward now. If it works, it will work spectacularly. If it fails... well it won't be pretty. The biggest thing they have to get across when this commercial is aired is that this is NOT THE THEATER EXPERIENCE! Even Katzenberg said this. It has to be crystal to viewers. They really have to hold them by the hand and walk them through this and manage expectations. To top it off, viewers will be further entrenched in thinking that this is the new 3D because this is a new anaglyph technology with names like Intel being thrown around - very confusing for some I would imagine. Then they re-use it again for "Chuck"? It sounds VERY risky.
I for one, am definitely hoping they pull it off. It is a massive world-wide audience and will create massive awareness. But they had better know just what that massive awareness will eventually turn out to be!
Jim here. Even though it is in anaglyph, I will give this event its due as it is Michael Jackson after all. Tonight on the Grammy Awards (CBS), Michael Jackson will be remembered by stars and fans alike with the airing of his EARTH SONG in 3D.
