Stereoscopic is the New 3D

"In 2007 Axis Films co-sponsored a set of HD camera tests, in which a battery of digital cameras, from the Viper FilmStream to prosumer HD camcorders were meticulously run through their paces and tested against each other and workhorse film cameras. In early 2008 Axis hosted another illuminating symposium, this time on the emerging 3D production and exhibition technology.

Axis was joined by The 3D Firm, Can Communicate, Inition and Quantel. Over 200 guests attended the two-day event, which offered a demo and ongoing workshop on the latest in 3D capture, post production and exhibition technologies, with particular emphasis on broadcast application.

It is difficult to open any publication about the media industry without reading or hearing someone extolling, or damning, the economic and aesthetic attributes of 3D exhibition. The showcase at Shepperton gave industry technicians and producers an opportunity to look beyond the hype and get some real facts.

First of all, if you want to sound like you know your stuff — avoid saying “3D”. Say instead, “stereoscopic”. The terms are interchangeable, but stereoscopic video is the accurate description of the medium.

As with stereophonic audio, the effect relies on only two sources of information — left eye and right eye. The stereoscopic effect encourages the brain into believing it is observing objects existing in a 3D space, in the same way that a two-speaker audio system encourages the brain to believe it is hearing sounds from a multitude of sources — when it fact there are only two. The 3D name is better suited to marketing and advertising, stereoscopic for the real production process.

Stereoscopic post production has been revolutionised in the digital age. Quantel’s Pablo was on show at the Axis demo, dazzling attendees with its deftness in handling 3D editing and post. The Quantel system, used extensively in many phases of post production, requires very little reconfiguring to manipulate stereoscopic data. Given the saturation of visual effects and compositing content throughout the industry, most post production workstations are ready to handle stereoscopic moving images.

In fact, most of 3D production and post production is fairly unremarkable. To say it is the same as conventional production, but with one more camera, would not be too far off base.

Hidden in plain sight
A downside to 3D film production in past decades has been the simple mechanical challenge of getting film elements to register cleanly. Not only did negative in the camera have to register properly in order to produce the elements for a clean 3D image, but then diverse film projectors in diverse theatres had to project the two film elements in sync with precise calibration of the overlap of the two images.

Digital technology now allows perfect synchronisation and overlap of stereoscopic elements, which can be exhibited perpetually with the zero degradation in quality. This advance in production — and the greater standardisation of exhibition parameters necessitated by digital technologies — have further opened up the opportunities for stereoscopic broadcast.

Many projection facilities have projection equipment that can accommodate 3D content, though the number of stereoscopic theatrical releases is relatively few. If 3D is to become a widely distributed feature of broadcast, widescreen 3D releases will not provide any great percentage of the content. So where would a regular supply of 3D content come from?

There is a surprisingly large amount of 3D content hidden in plain sight. Shown at the Axis demonstration were 3D colour newsreels of young Elizabeth II — an example of the unique treasures hidden away in archives, some of which have remained virtually unviewed for decades. As Turner leveraged its MGM archive into one of the great cable movie channels, TCM, there are vast 3D libraries ready to be digitised for broadcast. Digital post technologies allow easy, on-the-fly cleanup of these film originals. The Quantel at the Axis presentation showed off the ease with which negative dust and scratches were erased from the digital elements of the Queen Elizabeth footage.

Today’s effects-rich media, in which even the most humble productions feature some 3D graphics or compositing work — in title sequences, at least — is another untapped gold-mine of stereoscopic content. The great open secret of 3D programming is that every frame that comes out of a 3D graphics program is ready for immediate adaptation to stereoscopic motion pictures. It already exists as a 3D image within the computer and with the term ‘rendering time’ becoming an anachronism, outputting the POV of a second virtual camera can be done, almost literally, at no extra cost. Also, the conversion of 2D productions to 3D is a rapidly developing specialty. At its most basic, the process uses simple, familiar compositing technologies. From the 2D footage, a background plate and other elements of characters or foreground are created. Multiple layers of these can be manipulated along the z-axis like cardboard cut-outs in a diorama. On the other end of the spectrum are more sophisticated technologies which calculate entire, detailed 3D spaces out of existing 2D footage, which are beyond the scope of this article — for the time being.

As with most broadcast technologies which showcase visual spectacle — HD programming springs to mind — new 3D content tends to be confined to sporting events, stage performances, and nature programmes. The 3D family melodrama has yet to be made. These spectacle types of entertainments are designed to directly engage a viewer on a visceral level, and the stereoscopic experience — like the HD, 5.1 surround experience — has the potential to augment that.

Another, more subtle element is that these types of content emphasise the documentation of a real event — generally one in which the audience maintains a static point of view. 3D presentations can often mimic the experience of watching something from a single point of view, the illusion sometimes being interrupted when the camera begins to move. If stereoscopic production and post are not handled skillfully, a moving camera can irritate the viewer rather than enhance the 3D effect.

3D for HD broadcast
The elephant in the room regarding the new revolution in 3D-push is: ‘Is it really a new revolution? Or is it the same old thing one more time?’ The truth is, at least one journalist — though fascinated and inspired by the technology — left the Axis 3D presentation with stinging eyes and a headache.

Stereoscopic photography was developed in the 1840’s, on the heels of the photographic technique itself, and its basic principle has remained virtually unchanged.

Much press has stated that we are poised on the edge of a paradigm shift in which 3D presentation will be ubiquitous or, some would even argue, the norm. But stereoscopic theatrical exhibition was vigorously promoted in the 1950’s and despite continuing improvements in the technology, did not take hold as many hoped it would. Is this the old saw of repeatedly performing the same actions, but expecting them to produce different results?

Despite IMAX and other big screen 3D venues, the new outlet for 3D content might well be HD broadcast. 3D LCD monitors, including the Planar StereoMirror professional display were exhibited at the Axis demo, but for consumers to trade in their HD monitors — which themselves required months of nervous window shopping and saving — for 3D monitors will require a saturation level of 3D content which, at this juncture, would seem decades away. Time-tested technologies using conventional monitors, which can be viewed with special glasses, will be the standard 3D exhibition for the foreseeable future. The 3D Holy Grail of ‘no special glasses’ — beyond a few specialty venues — will not be adopted by home viewers.

The Beijing Olympics may well be the trial by fire for 3D broadcast. The Games will feature a channel dedicated to stereoscopic coverage of events. East Asia has remained at the forefront of 3D broadcast content, and it will be vital for European producers to study the behaviour of East Asian audiences and the strategies of their broadcasters. The Beijing ‘3D Olympics’ will also be a laboratory for a dedicated 3D production workflow and 3D troubleshooting and problem solving in multiple settings.

One shocking fact presented at the Axis Films workshop might be enough to rock the foundation of every 3D business plan in the works. Roughly 8% of the population cannot see stereoscopic video. This is due to a range of factors, including partial blindness or amblyopia (‘lazy eye’), focus difficulties.

Whether or not a broadcast revolution can be built on a technology that immediately excludes 8% of its audience remains to be seen."

Neal Romanek is a screenwriter and journalist living in London. He attended USC’s Cinema-TV Production program and writes for a diverse collection of entertainment media publications in Europe and the USA.

Source: TVBEurope