More 3D Camera Rigs Coming To Market PLUS 3D Training And Certification!!

Jim here. Well this is very refreshing indeed! Steve Schklair, CEO of 3ality Digital Systems has informed THR that they will be offering their 3flex Camera Rigs for sale: "If this is truly an industry that justifies installing more screens, it has to be much more ubiquitous than three or four production companies."

By offering proven 3D equipment on the market, 3ality Digital is espousing everything that MarketSaw stands for as well - 3D everywhere. In the world I want, 3D will be available to budding filmmakers straight through to the top studio directors - from affordable, yet effective to astounding cutting edge performance capture.

Panasonic has just confirmed that they are also developing 3D production equipment to go along with their stunning visual displays (used by James Cameron).

Pace has built on their acquired 3D expertise with their Fusion 3D System. Silicon Imaging has released an integrated stereo pair of cameras. The RED Ones work wonderfully in 3D configuration and certainly are very affordable for many. Various rigs are being built to house stereo cameras - some very affordable.

And filmmakers are engaging! From small independents to well, some of the best that ever was. All future CG animations from Pixar, Dreamworks Animation and Disney Animation will be in 3D.

Indeed 3D is injecting long lost passion for movie making! Ridley Scott is coming back to do FOREVER WAR after saying that he would never do another SciFi movie as it has all been done before. What changed his mind? He saw Cameron making AVATAR. That's the power of 3D and creative genius - and it is thrilling to see the new life 3D is instilling in the masters.

Moreover, I have been waiting for quite some time for some sort of action to take place in 3D education. Again, 3ality Digital is stepping up to the plate and will offer 3D Production Training and Certification Programs. More details on this when I get it!

I don't know about you, but I see all the pieces coming together! I can't begin to tell you how enthralled I am at how the industry is shaping up. Further, the recent thoughts that the credit market will open up very shortly for expanding the digital/3D screen deployment - aimed for the release of AVATAR is just what the doctor ordered. Lets get it done!

Silicon Imaging Digital Cinema Cameras Officially Offer Elegant 3D

Jim here. Got wind of this exciting news and I had to pass it on to you - these guys know what they are doing and I have heard first hand from Directors, DPs and others that the SI2Ks in stereo configuration is awesome and a must have in various situations.

Ari Presler, CEO of Silicon Imaging sent me this press release a day early for you guys as they are announcing this at NAB 2009 tomorrow. It is my pleasure to be the first to introduce this to you... Integrated Digital 3D Cameras with a small form factor for those tough shots...

Here is the full press release:

Hollywood, CA - Silicon Imaging, the company that enabled the digital shooting of this years Oscar winning Best Picture Slumdog Millionaire, is now changing the face of stereo-3D cinematography and production. The company unveiled the world’s first integrated 3D cinema camera and stereo visualization system at NAB 2009. The SI-3D shoots uncompressed raw imagery from two synchronized cameras and encodes directly to a single stereo CineFormRAW QuickTime file, along with 3D LUT color and convergence metadata. The stereo file can to be instantly played back and edited in Full 3D on an Apple Final Cut timeline, without the need for proxy conversions.

Traditionally, 3D content was captured from two independent left and right cameras, each with its own settings, color controls, record start, timecode, content management and monitoring outputs. A variety of complex devices would be used to synchronize the recordings or combine the outputs for viewing. The content would then have to go through a tedious process of being ingested or converted to formats compatible with the editing or grading systems, matched up from the independent left and right sources, flipped if the shot was on a beam splitter and the timeline adjusted to have the first frame overlapped. A color grade could then be applied, convergence adjusted and finally a stereo image viewed for dailies playback.

"The SI-3D camera system streamlines the entire stereo-3D content acquisition and post production process;” states Ari Presler, CEO of Silicon Imaging. “Combining two cameras into a single control, processing and recording platform enables shooting and instant playback like a traditional 2D camera with the added tools needed on-set to analyze and adjust the lighting, color, flip orientation and stereo depth effects. In post, a unified stereo file plus associated metadata can be immediately graded for dailies, edited, and viewed in either 2D or 3D.”

The SI-3D system uses two remote SI-2K Mini cameras with an P+S interchange lens mount connected to a single processing system via gigabit Ethernet where they are synchronized and controlled through the familiar SiliconDVR touchscreen interface. On-set, each camera can be viewed individually or in stereo mixed modes using modern 3D LCD and DLP displays. Various tools are used to visualize and adjust the focus, lighting and 3-D effects including alignment grid overlays, false color zebras, digital zooming, edge detection, spot meters, dual histograms, parallax shifts, anaglyph mixing and wiggle displays.

Unlike modern HD cameras, which develop and compress colorized imagery, the SI system captures raw “digital negatives” where they are non-destructively developed and colorized for preview using the cinematographer's desired "look" for the scene. This color metadata, along with stereo convergence, flip orientation from beam splitter rigs and alignment data are encoded into a single CineFormRAW QuickTime stereo file. These files can be edited directly in Apple Final Cut without the need for conversion or rendering. With the addition of CineForm’s Neo3D, convergence plus stereo or individual eye color adjustments can be dynamically controlled and modified, while viewing live 3D playback using side-by-side, over-under, or interlaced output modes.

“Driven by increasing numbers of 3D film projects planned by Hollywood studios, the demand for efficient 3D camera and post workflows has increased significantly in the last two years,” said David Taylor, CEO of CineForm, Inc. “The combination of the Silicon Imaging SI-3D camera with CineForm high-fidelity compression-based 3D workflow will significantly reduce overall project complexity and costs.”

"The Silicon Imaging camera’s form factor and flexible lens mounting system enable us to develop innovative lightweight beam-splitter and parallel rigs to shoot steadicam and hand-held stereo footage with incredible latitude and film like results" stated Max Penner, CTO of ParadiseFX. "We have the SI Mini’s as part of our 3D camera package to shooting feature films including Thomas Jane’s “Dark Country 3D”, Patrick Lussier’s, “My Bloody Valentine 3D” and Joe Dante’s “The Hole 3D”."

The SI-3D system is also establishing new benchmarks in image quality and data rates with its ability to record dual-stream 12-bit uncompressed raw directly to mobile 2.5” SSD (Solid State Drives), with peak rates up to 200Mbytes/sec (1.6Gbit/sec). A 250 GB drive can store up to 1-hour of footage per camera. The resulting Silicon Imaging Video (.SIV) footage can be seamlessly viewed and graded directly in Iridas FrameCycler and Speedgrade XR with look and stereo metadata applied. The files can also be exported as a CinemaDNG sequences or converted to CineFormRAW 2D or 3D files, at a later time.

“There is an incredible amount of latitude and resolution from the Silicon Imaging cameras” states William White, CEO of 3D Camera Company. “Shooting directly to SSD gives us the flexibility to record stereo footage in an extreme lightweight and rugged configuration as shoulder or vehicle mounted for ‘Rescue 3D’ and even body worn for shooting from a skydiver in the upcoming ‘Human Flight 3D’. The SI-3D system with on-set visualization and integrated stereo workflow will speed up our entire shooting and production process for creating compelling 3D content.”

Silicon Imaging will be demonstrating the SI-3D system at NAB 2009 in Booth SL11605.

About Silicon Imaging Silicon Imaging, Inc. is the leader in IT-Centric Digital Cinema cameras, Stereo 3D recording and RAW workflow solutions. Silicon Imaging is enabling cinematographers and television productions the ability to shoot film-like content with greater latitude, superior color management and more efficient workflows than alternate raw or traditional tape-based HD cameras. The Silicon imaging cameras were used for the ground breaking digital shooting for the 8-time Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire, which included Best Picture and Best Cinematography. Visit us on the web: www.si-2k.com

The things I like about this system is that it is proven, integrated and elegant whereas before cameras had to be, for lack of a better word, "hacked" together. I am so excited that mainstream solutions are really starting to take off now for 3D filmmakers. After speaking with many filmmakers over the past year who were engaged with the SIs like Thomas Jane - I have no issue with endorsing this 3D solution - which is now even better. Check them out at NAB!

Mr. Presler's image courtesy of The Business Review (Albany)

The Tech Behind MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D: Silicon Imaging and Paradise FX

**Working on some behind-the-scenes shots from MBV3D - stay tuned...

Jim here guys. Had a great opportunity to talk with Ari Presler, President of Silicon Imaging (SI) today and thought you would like to hear about some of the projects they have been working on - including MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D (MBV3D). We also hear from some very talented folks who work with the SI equipment regularly. I have done posts previously on the RED cameras, now lets take a look at the other heavy hitter in digital 3D: SI.

The first photo on the right is of MBV3D's Howard Smith and director, Patrick Lussier operating a Si-2K 3D Mini Rig on Steadicam. You can see the portability of the rig and ability to adapt to challenging environments.

Silicon Imaging had one of its first test shoots with its new camera technology done on MUTANT CHRONICLES with Thomas Jane and Cinematographer, Geoff Boyle. It was at that time Thomas decided to develop DARK COUNTRY in 3D. You can see in SI's press release: 2K Digital Cinema Camera Streamlines Movie and HD Production where they recognize the unique capability of the SI-2K Mini and its ideal potential for shooting 3D.

"The Silicon Imaging camera is truly amazing," states Cinematographer Geoff Boyle. "The SI-2K MINI is small enough to be placed directly in a scene for point-of-view shots, used on robotic arms for model photography or incorporate two side-by-side for stereo 3-D. We used it on MUTANT CHRONICLES, a Sci-Fi feature with over 1500 visual effect shots. We shot flames and explosions using the 72fps slow motion mode and the recordings display smooth tonal gradations and natural colors. Finally, the director can immediately see full-resolution instant replays, without having to wait for film dailies or color correction."

Thomas Jane and Geoff Boyle connected with ParadiseFX (Max Penner and Tim Thomas), who were in the midst of building a 9-camera SI-2K 360 system for flight over Niagara falls. Here is a discovery Channel coverage of the shoot.

SI collaborated for several months to get our first Si-2K 3D Mini systems into the Sony Pictures / Thomas Jane production with Ron Perlman. The SI-2K steadicam rigs opened up a new way to shoot compelling 3D content with film-like results, on the move and in the scene. See release here.

“The physical size of the Silicon Imaging 3D rigs completely redefine the scope and potential of 3D cinematography," says Director of Photography Geoff Boyle. "For instance, the variable interocular rig on our MK-V-AR Steadicam weighed approximately 10lbs, and our fixed interocular version came in at a feather-light 3lbs. While most of shots had the cameras mounted in the Steadicam rig, there's really no limit to where you can mount these things. Our camera mounts are only part of the story though; where the true revolution lies is that we've now been given a visual language and stylistic choices that nobody has ever seen in a 3D movie before. Had we utilized any other camera system, there would have been nothing new to see – it would have looked like any other 3D film shot in the past 50 years in terms of the physical restraints of how or when we could move the camera. To bring a thriller car-chase movie like DARK COUNTRY to life, we simply couldn't make those compromises."

"DARK COUNTRY is a film that I wanted to express in a manner that remains true to the stylistic choices of film noir, while delivering an immersive reality and visceral experience that only the next generation of 3D cinematography could provide," says DARK COUNTRY Actor/Director Thomas Jane. "Every medium brings a life of it's own to the story-telling process, and with DARK COUNTRY, I wanted audiences to be there, to be in the car with the characters, and make the story their own with a heightened sense of physical contact never experienced before. The mobility and physical expression in each shot we were able to achieve with the Silicon Imaging camera rigs truly transformed my personal vision into a living and breathing visual reality."

The work on DARK COUNTRY, now in post, was the basis for the camera technology and techniques brought to bear for the shooting of MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D written by Todd Farmer (Jason X).

ParadiseFX built an even smaller 3D-rig for MBV3D with additional wireless controls around the SI-2K Mini. The two cameras are shooting the same scene thru a beam-Splitter. One camera is on top seeing a reflect image from the beam splitter and the second camera is looking forward. This is from the scene in the forest.

At approximately the same time as Patrick Lussier was directing MBV3D in Pittsburgh, Danny Boyle and Anthony Dod Mantle were shooting the award winning (4 Golden Globes) SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, with the same core technology, just in 2D.

The SI-2K Camera rigs and the ParadiseFX team are now on-set shooting with THE HOLE 3D with Joe "Gremlins" Dante.

The word on the street is Thomas Jane is now working with writers Todd Farmer (MBV3D) and Tim Bradstreet (Punisher) on DEVIL'S COMMANDOS 3D.

Several other SI-2K 3D are currently in production (see below) and while we can't discuss the projects yet, here are some interesting and certainly, question generating images. Looks like fun!

You have got to love it when technology and passion come together - great things happen. That's why I feel very safe in saying projects like MBV3D and THE DARK COUNTRY are going to look very stunning visually. Not only because of the people making the movie, but the passion that goes into the technology as well.

Thank you Ari for your time and in giving our readers a glimspe of what happens behind the scenes with new 3D technology. Enjoy the secret set snaps below...