A Watershed Event for 3D?

Like many Display Daily readers, I grew up enthralled by science fiction and in love with the movies. In my case, I was also fascinated by 3D. These three continuing interests will all come together on December 18th with the release of Avatar. As has been well publicized, Avatar is a movie that is being filmed in photo realistic, stereoscopic 3D. It hopes to mix live action and CGI imagery in a seamless blend.

There has been no shortage of hype about Avatar. I offer two very different examples of items recently posted in the news:
- 20th Century Fox has budgeted $237 million for production alone.
- Director James Cameron told Time Magazine that the 3D viewing "is so close to a real experience that it actually triggers memory creation in a way that 2D viewing doesn’t."

This movie, more than any other single event that will occur this year, has the potential to affect the trajectory of the public’s appetite for 3D. The quality of the movie and the extent of its’ commercial success will impact the near term prospects for all of the 3D industry.

This article will take a quick look at some aspects of the 3D production techniques used in Avatar. To start, we note that making a film using digital 3D technology is still very new. This means that much of the filming process itself is being improvised along the way, with new technologies being developed as they are needed.

Consider first the Computer Graphics aspects of the film. Avatar’s footage is built from about 70% CGI. But it will also include computerized images from real human action, which is called "performance capture." This is accomplished by the cast donning motion capture suits, essentially leotards covered in sensors that feed the movements of the body back to a bank of computers. In Avatar, scenes were accomplished on a "performance capture" stage six times bigger than anything previously used in Hollywood.

The realism of the performance was enhanced by improving the way the suits captured the actors’ facial expressions. The new technique is called Facial Performance Replacement. The FRP process calls for the use of a skullcap with a camera enhancement that closely monitors the actor’s eyes and mouth as well as other small movements. Each frame is analyzed for facial details such as pores and wrinkles all of which enable creation of a moving, computerized image that better reproduces human emotions. In addition, FPR allows the director to digitally re-work an actor’s facial movements. Lines of dialogue that get changed after principal photography on a scene can still be seamlessly implemented into the finished scene, without the actors having to re-don their body suits and head rigs for another take.

The performance capture workflow on Avatar used a so-called "Simulcam" or "virtual camera." This tool allows the director to hold a camera (really a monitor) in his hands, point it at the actors and see them in real time as their CG characters. The virtual camera allows the director to move through, edit and record the computer generated 3D scene as if he were the actual cameraman. The virtual camera removes the need to wait for the computer to render the images. The effect on screen of this approach is that of a "shaky cam." The effect makes action sequences seem up-close and can be used to focus audience attention on a particular part of a scene.

Next consider the live action 3D capture aspects of the film.

When James Cameron directed his first 3D film, Terminator 2: 3D, for Universal Studios theme parks more than a decade ago, the bulky camera equipment made some shots awkward or impossible. The 450 pound contraption, had two film cameras mounted on a metal frame and was so heavy that producers had to jury-rig construction equipment to lift it off the ground for shots from above. The cameras, slightly set apart, had to be mechanically pointed at the subject and then locked into place to create the 3D effect.

To address the camera problem, Cameron collaborated with Vince Pace, a cinematographer and the founder of a Los Angeles based 3D production company. Together they developed and patented a so-called "fusion digital 3D camera system." This camera was first employed in Cameron’s 2003 documentary, Ghosts of the Abyss, and has subsequently been refined and adapted. The camera rig now weighs only 50 pounds. The complete filming suite consists of a number of stereoscopic cameras that each use two camera lenses that can dynamically converge on a focal point with the help of a computer. With these cameras, the cinematographer can capture two images simultaneously and with perfect alignment both of which are crucial in 3D for sweeping camera moves and action sequences.

During production, Cameron needed a way to review just-shot footage in 3D. Since no equipment existed to do this, Texas Instruments customized three large screen DLP TVs to allow a scene shot in 3D to be immediately reviewed, enabling on-the-spot directorial decisions.

Those of us on the "technology side" of 3D should remember a point well made by Director Cameron: "Ideally, the technology is advanced enough to make itself go away. That’s how it should work. All of the technology should wave its own wand and make itself disappear."

And, don’t forget that an Avatar 3D game is simultaneously in development. If the game replicates the same look (which it appears to do) and the game play is compelling (no feedback yet), this could drive a longer-lasting wave of 3D interest.

Today, August 21, is also being promoted by Fox Studios as "Avatar Day" — a 15 minute screening at a number of theaters designed to increase excitement for the movie. Tickets disappeared almost immediately.

The début of Avatar has the potential to be a very big day not only for the Avatar team, but also for the entire 3D industry. See you at the movies!

By Art Berman, DisplayDaily