Offer applies to Stereo3D CAT, Stereo3D Toolbox and Stereo3D Toolbox LE when purchased online from Dashwood Cinema Solutions.

The Hobbit has finally been released in 2D and 3D at the traditional 24 frames per second (fps) as well as 3D High Frame Rate (HFR) at 48 fps. If the posts on social media are a fair indication, it seems that audiences have not reacted as positively to the 3D HFR version as the industry had hoped. Why not? Industry leaders like James Cameron, Douglas Trumbull and Peter Jackson have been been telling us why HFR is a better choice for 3D (and 2D) by overcoming one particular technical issue that may cause viewer discomfort, and they are absolutely correct in that respect. However, HFR will not solve all the potential eye-strain problems associated with a 3D presentation, and the film-going public has become accustomed to the aesthetics of 24 fps as a key contributor to the cinematic look of their favourite films. To most, the hyper-realism of 48 fps seems like a strange intruder in the context of an epic fantasy film like The Hobbit. Battle-lines are being drawn between the technical improvement of HFR and the aesthetic “feel” of the traditional 24 fps film standard.

Why haven’t we always used a higher frame rate than 24 fps for cinema?

Historically, 24 fps came about at the dawn of “talkies,” when previously the usual frame rate of silent films was only 14-18 fps. 24fps was the minimum speed required to successfully play back sound tracks in sync. When you consider that a 1000 foot roll of 35mm film only represents about 10 minutes of screen time, is expensive to purchase and process, it makes logical sense that the studios would want to use as little as possible and therefore made the choice to standardize the slowest frame rate necessary for sound. Scientifically speaking, humans’ threshold for fps approximating real life is about 50 or 60 fps, so the unintentioned side effect of 24 fps is the ‘other worldly’ sense that a film is a cinematic experience and not real life.

The slow frame rate had no ill-effects in the infancy of film because the camera was typically wide and stationary. However, when filmmakers like G.A. Smith, Giovanni Pastrone, Allan Dwan and D.W. Griffith started moving the camera, it became apparent that, because of the flicker and low frame rate, slow controlled “push in” or “pull out” moves were far more pleasing to the viewer than fast pans or side-to-side dolly moves.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2B3Et8dqLI

A shot from Giovanni Pastrone’s “Cabiria” (1914), largely considered to be the first film to use controlled dolly moves, and a major inspiration for similar moves in D.W. Griffith’s epic “Intolerance.”

The bump up from 18 fps to 24 fps didn’t help very much with this issue and soon pan speed charts were published by organizations like the American Society of Cinematographers.

One of the pan speed charts found in the ASC Manual. (8th edition shown)

These charts are still published in the ASC manuals and professional cinematographers still refer to them. If I reference a typical example in the ASC chart I see that a 90 degree sweep of a static scene at 24 fps with a 35mm lens should not be performed in less than 18 seconds (whip-pans being the exception). However, the same pan with the same setup at 48 fps can be performed in half the time at 9 seconds.

There are always exceptions to these ‘rules’ but the point is that it makes logical sense to shoot and project at a higher frame because it frees the filmmaker to shoot faster pans with less “judder” and faster action with less motion blur.

Douglas Trumbull created an HFR 60 fps system a long time ago called Showscan, but it never took off for mainstream production because of the inhibitive costs associated with all of that film. Filmmakers have always had to find ways to fit their creative requirements within the technical limitations of the medium. HFR digital acquisition is supposed to remove one of those limitations, but it can only truly do that if HFR is also used in digital projection.

The technical limitations of the medium are even more restrictive when working in stereoscopic 3D (S3D), especially when it comes to frame rates. The S3D illusion requires parallax points for each object in the scene to be visible to each eye, which is almost impossible in scenes with fast movement (like sword fights) where key parallax point practically disappear due to motion blur. When panning in S3D the brain must work even harder to link the images from the two views and the judder effect is compounded further by current S3D projection technology.

If you have the chance to watch both 24 fps and 48 fps HFR versions of The Hobbit you will see feel the eye strain in the large and fast sweeping shots at 24 fps, but it will feel smooth and effortless at 48 fps.

Knowing how higher frame rates can improve this important aspect of S3D and free filmmakers constraints, it makes sense from a technical perspective that the S3D industry would push for higher frame rates, especially now that digital acquisition and digital projection remove many of the financial detractors. But will audiences accept the radically different look and feel for narrative films like The Hobbit, or is it better suited for nature documentary, concerts, theatre, theme parks and sports? Frame rate plays a big role in the psychological perception of what we are watching.

24p (left) vs simulated HFR
(48fps synthesized by Luke Letellier)
[Watch only on a computer or HDTV monitor with at least a 60Hz refresh rate]

The “Video Look” and why most audiences dislike it for drama.

Even though the 2012 hype around HFR makes it seem like something new, anyone who has ever watched television is already very familiar with the temporal quality and ‘feel’ of video acquired and broadcast at 50 or 60 interlaced fields per second. European HDTV viewers and American HDTV viewers of Fox or ESPN are already familiar with the look of 60 frames per second HD broadcasts. We have become accustomed to soap operas, news, sports, game shows, reality TV and low-budget drama being shot and broadcast at 50 or 60 fps. Films, sitcoms, music videos and TV drama are typically acquired at 24 fps are still broadcast at their original frame rate (via 2:3 pulldown in 60i or 25p in 50i).

At the time when television standards were being established, broadcast frame rates were chosen for practical purposes. Television systems needed some sort of timing clock and the simplest engineering solution at the time was to use the common AC power frequency. Therefore 60Hz for North America and 50Hz for Europe.

Since the early TV camera tubes had to scan the frame electronically over time (instead of exposing all parts simultaneously as with film) it was impossible to pan or capture fast movement accurately without apparent tilting or the “jello” effect, an issue modern digital filmmakers are all-too-familiar with in CMOS rolling shutters. The solution to the problem was to scan the even and odd lines in the frame at separate times, which minimized the effect. Hence 60 “interlaced” fields per second = 30 frames per second. The temporal ‘feel’ was still equivalent to 60 frames per second so there has always been a distinctive difference between 24 fps film and interlaced video.

The Panasonic DVX100B

Our association with certain types of programming and the frame rate is something we cannot easily shake. Aspiring filmmakers want their films to look like professionally produced films. There are many things that constitute the look of a professional film like lighting, camera moves, lenses, acting, and set design, but the overwhelming factor is always the frame rate. In the 90’s popular “Filmlook” processes and best-selling software like Magic Bullet approximated the look of 24fps from interlaced video.
Low budget productions who couldn’t afford to shoot on film were desperate to give their interlaced video the film look. Therefore it was no surprise to me when Panasonic first introduced the DVX100 camera (the first DV camcorder capable of acquiring in 24 progressive frames per second) it quickly became one of the best selling camcorders of all time. The “digital revolution” then followed with pro-consumer HD camcorders like JVC’s HD100 and then Canon’s 5DMkII, as well as the professional digital offerings with Super-35 sized sensors. In fact, 24p acquisition is now so popular that it is almost impossible to purchase a professional or consumer camcorder without the feature. This suggests that we really do love the look 24fps, especially for our narrative storytelling.
However, it is interesting that as soon as 24p was available to the masses via digital video, lots of complaints about “judder” started to surface. Suddenly an issue professional cinematographers had always effectively dealt with was thrust upon the amateur videographers who likely did not have access to panning speed charts. Unfortunately the term “judder” became the primary talking point for an anti-24p movement and before long all the major TV manufacturers were adding “smooth-motion” circuits to HDTVs, which created new morphed in-between frames to overcome the supposed “problem” of 24 fps.

Will audiences eventually accept HFR as a cinematic medium for narrative storytelling?

Just before Siggraph 2012 I was invited by SIRT to help plan a test shoot to compare 24, 48 and 60 fps acquisition at different shutter angles for S3D. This test footage was shown by Christie at Siggraph alongside James Cameron’s tests. During the planning stage we watched James Cameron’s HFR comparison tests where he convincingly made the argument for HFR as a solution to all of S3D’s problems. I personally wasn’t impressed with the look. The HFR dinner scenes felt to me like BBC teleplays from the 80’s and the sword fight felt slow, theatrical and rehearsed. However, my most interesting observation was that even though most of us “old guys” in the room disliked the temporal feel of the HFR, the film students in the room (most born in the 1990’s) all seemed to prefer the HFR. This sort of makes sense considering that generation spent its formative years in the age of disposable media and YouTube, where the art of the photography or lighting doesn’t matter as much as the immediacy of the content. So maybe it’s simply a generational thing and after some time HFR will be easily accepted by the masses? As I mentioned before, I personally think that the hyper-realism of HFR is perfectly suited to nature documentary, theatre, concerts, theme parks and sporting events, but not necessarily to narrative storytelling.

Worlds Away 3D

With this in mind, I can’t figure out why the proponents of this technology have taken such a huge risk of public backlash by choosing to feature The Hobbit as the worldwide introduction to the format instead of the James Cameron produced S3D film “Cirque du Soleil – Worlds Away 3D” coming out next week.
It was apparently acquired in HFR and with the dynamic fast motion of the Cirque performers it would have been the perfect application and introduction to HFR technology, but I can’t find a single HFR screening of the Cirque du Soleil film at any of my local theatres. They unfortunately are all in 24 fps.  I remember Cameron demonstrating footage from the film in HFR within the last year, so I can’t figure out why they didn’t jump on the opportunity to release it now in HFR?

I certainly hope Cameron’s Mariana Trench film will be easily accessible in HFR 3D because it will be the closest any of us will ever get to experiencing “being there” from the comfort of the cinema. Another perfect application for HFR.

The best approach for the future.

Higher frame rates are freeing for the filmmaker only if the projection is guaranteed to also be in HFR. In the case of The Hobbit, the film is still being released in 24fps 2D and 3D formats so it was still necessary for the filmmakers to consider the lower frame rate, somewhat defeating the purpose of the HFR. Unfortunately there are many fast sweeping shots in The Hobbit that are simply too fast for 24 fps, but look great in the HFR version. 48fps was chosen instead of 60 because it is simply doubles the normal frame and makes pulling a 24 fps master very easy, but it will not be easy to adapt it to 50i/p or 60i/p broadcasts. (Current limitations in the Red Epic’s HDR mode may have also played a role in the decision.) Also, using no shutter (360 degrees) in digital 48 fps acquisition is equivalent to the exposure time of standard 180 degree shutter in 24 fps, so the acquisition frame rate of the 24 fps master will be indistinguishable and the exposure unaffected.

In an ideal world I think I would use 24p wherever possible for a narrative production and a higher frame rate on certain shots when necessary. This method would also be easy to accomplish in almost any modern non-linear editor on a 60p timeline.  In fact, Douglas Trumbull has already been developing this method by acquiring at 120 fps for a 60 fps master that can contain 24 fps with pulldown.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkWLZy7gbLg

It seems to be a good idea on paper, but of course the exposure time per frame becomes much shorter at 120 fps, which affects the lighting plan and apparent motion blur. Motion blur can be synthesized in post, but directors of photography never want to give up exposure, especially when working with 3D rigs. Imagine how fast a slow motion shot would need to be overcranked at 60 fps!

What about the 3D quality of The Hobbit?

The stereoscopic 3D execution in The Hobbit is not perfect, with numerous stereo window violations and some depth map/inversion errors on dimensionalized VFX shots. These are issues that left me with strained eye muscles (specifically in my right eye), and cannot be remedied by viewing the HFR version. However, overall the film has many good S3D moments and the visual effects (in 24 fps) are spectacular, but they start to show their seams at 48 fps. The stellar score ties it in well with LOTR and it has everything a Tolkien fan would expect from a Peter Jackson film set in Middle Earth.

The proponents of HFR for The Hobbit will say things like it creates a “window in to the real world”, but I don’t want my favourite fantasy hobbits, dwarves, orcs, trolls, goblins, wizards and elves to be in my reality, I want a window into the fantastical Middle Earth, which to me is always in 24 fps.

I personally recommend to all my friends to see it in 24fps first in a Digital IMAX 3D presentation because you will get the added bonus of the exclusive preview of the first 9 minutes of the next Star Trek sequel. Save HFR 3D for your second viewing. I’m glad I did.

Tim Dashwood is the founder of Dashwood Cinema Solutions, a stereoscopic research, development & consultancy division of his Toronto-based production company Stereo3D Unlimited. Dashwood is an accomplished director/cinematographer & stereographer and a member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers. His diverse range of credits include music videos, commercials, feature films and 3D productions for Fashion Week, CMT, Discovery Channel and the National Film Board of Canada. He also consults on and previsualizes fight/stunt action scenes for productions such as Kick-Ass, Scott Pilgrim vs the World and Pacific Rim. Dashwood is the creator of the award winning Stereo3D Toolbox plugin suite and Stereo3D CAT calibration and analysis system.

Stereo3D Toolbox LE is fully compatible, but Stereo3D Toolbox’s on-screen controls are not yet functioning properly in Premiere Pro.  We are patiently waiting for an update from Adobe to address the issue.  In the meantime the plugin is still fully function using the standard effects controls just like any standard plugin.

Please help us improve compatibility by reporting dynamic UI errors to support@noiseindustries.com

Toronto, Canada – August 28, 2012 – Dashwood Cinema Solutions, developer of stereoscopic software for the Mac, is pleased to announce the turnkey rack-mountable hardware version of Stereo3D CAT stereoscopic calibration and analysis software. Installation and setup of Stereo3D CAT is now easier than ever with the Stereo3D CAT 1U rack.

“The Stereo3D CAT software has been well-received by the stereoscopic production industry,” said Tim Dashwood, founder of Dashwood Cinema Solutions, “and now we’ve made it even easier to configure Stereo3D CAT in a production environment. The new turnkey solution will allow for the bundled hardware/software combo to be installed in any 1U rack-mount on typical DIT or convergence carts. Just plug 3D HD-SDI sources, monitor and mouse into it and it is ready for production.”

Stereo3D CAT rack-mount bundle will be offered with either a Personal or Full license of software. The Personal license includes the same parallax line guides, left/right solo, anaglyph, split displays, QuickTime playback, Stereo3D Visualizer, Depth analysis, side-by-side, line-by-line, checkerboard, superimpose, difference, Parallax Inspector, Alignment Tracker, 3D waveform/vectorscope, variable interaxials and online technical support. Live geometry correction, metadata logging, IMAX screen sizes, external output and phone tech support are features only included with a Full license of Stereo3D CAT. Software-only licenses start at $1249.00 USD. Hardware/software rack-mount bundles start at $4499.00 USD.

Stereo3D CAT turnkey BTO option

About Stereo3D CAT
Designed by stereographers for stereographers, the award-winning Stereo3D CAT system is an indispensable calibration, monitoring, and analysis tool for Mac OS X. Its features include the patent pending Alignment Tracker, Stereo3D VisualizerTM, Parallax InspectorTM, Parallax Line Guides, Depth Analysis, 3D Monitoring Modes, Stereoscopic Waveform/Vectorscope, Geometry Correction and Logging Meta Data Support. Stereo3D CAT supports input from any QuickTime compatible capture devices and Blackmagic Design’s Decklink Extreme 3D or UltraStudio 3D.

Stereo3D CAT availability
Stereo3D CATTM software is available now at www.dashwood3d.com/stereo3dcat.php
The free version and a 15-launch full-featured trial are available for immediate download. The rack-mount bundles will be available for purchase in Fall 2012. Please contact sales@dashwood3d.com for first-in-queue pre-order information.

Press Kit
A Press Kit with logos, screenshots and photos is available at http://www.dashwood3d.com/ Dashwood_Stereo3D_CAT_press_kit.zip

About Dashwood Cinema Solutions
A part of the Noise Industries Development Partner Program since 2009, Dashwood Cinema Solutions is an R&D wing of Tim Dashwood’s Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based production company that specializes in stereoscopic pre-visualization, music videos and film production. Dashwood Cinema Solutions’ mandate is to find solutions to common problems in film production and post-production. Their award-winning flagship product, Stereo3D ToolboxTM is utilized by post-production houses around the world for easy stereoscopic 3D mastering on the Mac platform. For more information about Dashwood Cinema Solutions, please go to http://www.Dashwood3D.com

Press Contact
Dashwood Cinema Solutions Erin Shields
(email) erin@dashwood3d.com

xxx

Toronto, Canada – April 12, 2012 – Dashwood Cinema Solutions, developer of stereoscopic software for the Mac, is pleased to announce the immediate availability of price-reduced and free versions of the award-winning Stereo3D CAT™ stereoscopic calibration and analysis software. This marks the first time powerful stereoscopic monitoring, analysis and playback software is available for use by anyone with a Mac computer and a compatible HD capture device.

“We are very excited to bring elements of this professional tool to the masses at absolutely no charge,” said Tim Dashwood, founder of Dashwood Cinema Solutions.  “The full version of Stereo3D CAT has been used on major Hollywood and IMAX 3D projects with amazing results and now a free subset of those same features are available to anyone with a Mac, a compatible capture device and an HDMI1.4a 3D camera. Customers will experience a dramatic improvement in the quality of their 3D work, and I think it will also become a valuable training tool for budding stereographers.”

The free version of Stereo3D CAT includes the same parallax line guides, left/right solo, anaglyph, split displays, QuickTime playback and Stereo3D Visualizer of the full version, however it limits resolutions to HD and screen sizes to 3DTV or mobile devices.  Depth analysis, side-by-side, line-by-line, checkerboard, superimpose, difference, Parallax Inspector, Alignment Tracker, 3D waveform/vectorscope, variable interaxials, are features only offered with the Personal license. Geometry correction, metadata logging, IMAX screen sizes, external output and phone tech support are features only included with a Full license of Stereo3D CAT.  Customers who want to eliminate these restrictions can simply purchase a license for Stereo3D CAT software, starting at US$999 for licenses purchased online at Dashwood3D.com with the coupon code “NAB2012″.  This coupon code represents a 20% discount and expires 04/22/12.  The regular pricing starts at US$1249.

About Stereo3D CAT™

Designed by stereographers for stereographers, the award-winning Stereo3D CAT system is an indispensable calibration, monitoring, and analysis tool for Mac OS X.   Its features include the patent pending Alignment Tracker, Stereo3D Visualizer™, Parallax Inspector™, Parallax Line Guides, Depth Analysis, 3D Monitoring Modes, Stereoscopic Waveform/Vectorscope, Geometry Correction and Logging Meta Data Support.  Stereo3D CAT supports input from any QuickTime compatible capture devices and Blackmagic Design’s Decklink Extreme 3D or UltraStudio 3D.

Stereo3D CAT™ availability

Stereo3D CAT™ is available now at www.dashwood3d.com/stereo3dcat.php

The free version and a 15-launch full-featured trial are available for immediate download. For a limited time, licenses purchased online at Dashwood3D.com with the coupon code “NAB2012″ will start at US$999.  This offer expires 04/22/12.  This offer only applies to Stereo3D CAT licenses and excludes the Dashwood3D Chart and other Dashwood products.

Dashwood will be showcasing Stereo3D CAT in booth C9510 during the NAB 2012 show held in Las Vegas from April 14-19.  Dashwood will also be showcasing its entire new product line, including brand new features in its Stereo3D Toolbox plugin for After Effects, Motion and Final Cut Pro.

To schedule a press briefing with Tim Dashwood during NAB, please contact Erin Shields (erin@dashwood3d.com)

Press Kit

A Press Kit with logos, screenshots and photos is available at http://www.dashwood3d.com/Dashwood_Stereo3D_CAT_press_kit.zip

About Dashwood Cinema Solutions

A part of the Noise Industries Development Partner Program since 2009, Dashwood Cinema Solutions is an R&D wing of Stereo 3D Unlimited, a Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based production company that specializes in pre-visualization, music videos and film production. Dashwood Cinema Solutions’ mandate is to find solutions to common problems in film production and post-production. Their award-winning flagship product, Stereo3D Toolbox™ is utilized by post-production houses around the world for easy stereoscopic 3D mastering on the Mac platform. For more information about Dashwood Cinema Solutions, please go to http://www.Dashwood3D.com

Stereo3D Toolbox, Stereo3D CAT, the Dashwood 3D Chart, and Stereo3D Visualizer are trademarks of Dashwood Cinema Solutions, a division of 11 Motion Pictures Limited. All other trademarks, registered trademarks and products mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

Press Contacts  

Zazil Media Group

Janice Dolan

(p) +1 617 817 6595

(email) janice@zazilmediagroup.com

xxx

Toronto, Canada – April 11, 2012 – Dashwood Cinema Solutions, developer of award-winning stereoscopic software, is pleased to announce 3D input support for Blackmagic Design’s UltraStudio 3D and Decklink Extreme 3D devices in the Stereo3D CAT v1.1 software update. When Stereo3D CAT is paired with either device on a Mac, users can monitor, calibrate and analyze real-time stereoscopic 3D feeds from dual-SDI or HDMI1.4a 3D cameras.

“Blackmagic Design has set a new standard for affordable, portable, and user-friendly 3D products,” said Tim Dashwood, founder of Dashwood Cinema Solutions.  “I really love the idea that anyone with a Thunderbolt equipped Mac can simply plug in the UltraStudio 3D, patch in a 3D rig or any compatible HDMI1.4a 3D camera, and then monitor or analyze a full-raster live image directly on the screen with Stereo3D CAT.  Product integration like this really expands the accessibility of our tools.”

“With the advent of 3D we’re doubling up on everything” says director of photography Bert Dunk ASC, CSC. “Cameras, lighting, cables, it just goes up exponentially once you get into working with mirror rigs, so we are always looking for anything that can reduce the size of these on-set items… smaller pieces of gear, smaller tools to work with that can still do the job.  I think that Stereo3D CAT running on a small Macbook and an UltraStudio 3D box is the perfect portable solution for that sort of thing.”

About Stereo3D CAT™

Designed by stereographers for stereographers, the award-winning Stereo3D CAT system is an indispensable calibration, monitoring, and analysis tool for Mac OS X.   Its features include the patent pending Alignment Tracker, Stereo3D Visualizer™, Parallax Inspector™, Parallax Line Guides, Depth Analysis, 3D Monitoring Modes, Stereoscopic Waveform/Vectorscope, Geometry Correction and Logging Meta Data Support.  Version 1.1 now also supports large format sensors and IMAX screen sizes.  Stereo3D CAT also supports input from QuickTime compatible capture devices in addition to Blackmagic Design’s Decklink Extreme 3D and UltraStudio 3D.

Stereo3D CAT™ availability

Stereo3D CAT™ is available now at www.dashwood3d.com/stereo3dcat.php

The free version is available for immediate download. For a limited time, licenses purchased online at Dashwood3D.com with the coupon code “NAB2012″ will start at US$999.  This offer expires 04/22/12.  This offer only applies to Stereo3D CAT licenses and excludes the Dashwood3D Chart.

Dashwood will be showcasing Stereo3D CAT in booth C9510 during the NAB 2012 show held in Las Vegas from April 14-19.  Dashwood will also be showcasing its entire new product line, including brand new features in its Stereo3D Toolbox plugin for After Effects, Motion and Final Cut Pro.

To schedule a press briefing with Tim Dashwood during NAB, please contact Erin Shields (erin@dashwood3d.com)

Press Kit

A Press Kit with logos, screenshots and photos is available at http://www.dashwood3d.com/Dashwood_Stereo3D_CAT_press_kit.zip

About Dashwood Cinema Solutions

A part of the Noise Industries Development Partner Program since 2009, Dashwood Cinema Solutions is the R&D wing of Tim Dashwood’s Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based production company that specializes in stereoscopic pre-visualization, music videos and film production. Dashwood Cinema Solutions’ mandate is to find solutions to common problems in film production and post-production. Their award-winning flagship product, Stereo3D Toolbox™ is utilized by post-production houses around the world for easy stereoscopic 3D mastering on the Mac platform. For more information about Dashwood Cinema Solutions, please go to http://www.Dashwood3D.com

Stereo3D Toolbox, Stereo3D CAT, the Dashwood 3D Chart, and Stereo3D Visualizer are trademarks of Dashwood Cinema Solutions, a division of 11 Motion Pictures Limited. All other trademarks, registered trademarks and products mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

Press Contacts  

Zazil Media Group

Janice Dolan

(p) +1 617 817 6595

(email) janice@zazilmediagroup.com

xxx

John Harper on the set of The Three Musketeers. Photo Credit:Rolf Konow, SMPSP

We generally like to shoot 3 to 4 rigs during a scene so it’s a challenge getting lens and the rigs lined up and preparing to shoot. The first camera assistant and the convergence puller sort of work as a team to get the size offsets, the roll, the near/far, and everything in line just before we shoot.  The thing is, you’ve got one man at the rig, one man back at the convergence cart and they’re talking over walkie to help each other line the rig up.

One of the rigs used on IMAX Flight of the Butterflies. Red Epics with P+S Technik Freestyle

Shooting things in 3D is always technically more challenging.  There’s twice as much equipment so twice as many things to go wrong. For our department often the most complicated thing is alignment… getting the two cameras to see exactly the same scene in the same way so that every aspect of that scene is perfectly aligned.  Therefore alignment can take some time. Often the lenses you have from the rental house won’t actually be match pairs, so you can have complications in terms of getting them to match with the geometry and their scaling.

Apart from the main challenges inherent in aligning a beam splitter, the other main challenge is monitoring the constantly evolving parallax that you often have on documentaries.  You don’t have the luxury of being able to rehearse or set the frame in the environment, so things are constantly changing and you need to be able to manage that and maintain a comfortable parallax throughout. So you really need to be on top of the overall parallax in the scene and be able to constantly measure it.

David Stuart

I’m typically a second assistant camera and mirror rig technician. In the 3D department I’m the one responsible for making sure the cameras are aligned. Sometimes depending on how many cameras we have I’ll also pull convergence, but most of the time I align all of the rigs and get everything evened out for the stereographer so that he can do his job properly.

The biggest challenge on set is working within an already existing camera department, a lot of the times first assistants that don’t have a lot of 3D experience are generally quite hesitant about me being around the camera and letting me do my job.  So a lot of the time I spend just getting in whenever I have a few moments to tweak the rig. On some of the longer format things I’ve done, more studio based typically, I don’t get very much time at all around the camera.  I get a few minutes, whereas to do a proper alignment you need at least five minutes. I’ve even been aligning as the Steadicam goes to set more than once so a lot of my time I spend just chasing the camera.

Because on most sets I don’t have very much time at all to do my job, it’s important that what I am doing is very accurate and very quick so Stereo3D CAT helps me to look at a sub-pixel level, and at the alignments that I’m doing which most on-set monitors don’t. So rather than spending three minutes on alignment and running back when I think I’m finished, looking at it on video village, realizing that it’s actually out a bit, so you run back to the camera, make an adjustment, etc.  Whereas when using Stereo3D CAT I’m able to scan, look at everything, make my adjustments very accurately and very quickly and minimize the amount of times that I have to run back to the camera.

Another one of the larger challenges I have on set is with 3D becoming so popular so quickly a lot of things are running to catch up and video monitoring is one of those things so a lot of the times we can be dealing with eyes being out of synch or just having one or two seconds of lag which, when you’re aligning, can be quite difficult because it’s hard to align when the eye is sort of like an elastic band and just sort of comes in and out. So with Stereo3D CAT there’s no latency so I can trust the image that I’m looking at and we’re able to work much quicker and much more effectively.

The feature that I use most in Stereo3D CAT is the parallax inspector because of its ability to look at things with an intense magnification. I’m able to know 100% that my alignments are perfect and I don’t have to redo things time and time again after looking at them on various size monitors on the set.

Toronto, Canada – September 14, 2011 – Dashwood Cinema Solutions developer of cutting-edge Mac®-based stereoscopic 3D (S3D) products, is pleased to announce the availability of the award-winning on-set calibration and analysis system – Stereo3D CAT™. Introduced at NAB 2011, Stereo3D CAT won “Best in Show” for its abilities to simplify stereoscopic 3D camera calibration and monitoring. 3D production and rental facility, 21st Century 3D, is one of the first power production operations to add Stereo3D CAT into their arsenal. “With the recent proliferation of stereoscopic 3D live action production, we have seen many newcomers charging into the field,” comments Jason Goodman, CEO, 21st Century 3D.  “Stereo3D CAT gives experts and novices alike the tools they require to empirically analyze their stereoscopic 3D images and eliminate guesswork in aligning 3D beam splitter rigs like the 21st Century 3D BX3.5. Stereo3D CAT demystifies many of the greatest challenges of shooting 3D, while simultaneously commoditizing the formerly expensive process of digital stereoscopic image analysis and reporting.”

Stereo3D CAT implements unique patent-pending technology to power systems for accurately aligning the geometry and colorimetry of stereoscopic setups, calculating proper interaxial separation for any given parallax depth budget, monitoring parallax and vergence in the scene, compensating for disparities in the image and logging all settings for future reference in production or post-production. Critically acclaimed IMAX 3D Cameraman and Stereographer Dylan Reade, known for his work on “Born To Be Wild,” was one of the first to beta test the Stereo3D CAT system. He has this to say about the new workflow solution: “Stereo3D CAT is a versatile tool that integrates many features formerly available only in a combination of high end systems, and it is poised to be a winner as a standalone approach to on-set stereoscopic monitoring.” Reade further adds, “The intuitive tools and features for alignment and parallax evaluation have been very well thought out. Of particular value is the ability to set and view HIT values in real time and the package is extremely portable. The small footprint was welcome on a theatrical set, but will be of even greater interest to smaller independent and documentary crews.”

Stereo3D CAT Feature Highlights:

• Alignment Tracker™ with iPad® or iPhone® integration for lightning-fast rig alignment*
• Stereo3D Visualizer to calculate dimensions of a scene, render a visual representation of the objects in the scene (including apparent roundness) and warn against settings that may cause viewer discomfort
• Parallax Inspector™, which is a “magnifying glass” to confirm that positive parallax is within specified limits and will not cause divergence of the eyes
• Stereoscopic Scopes including vectorsope, waveform and histogram overlay left and right eyes to aid with alignment of camera exposure, gamma and colorimetry
• Stereoscopic Preview Modes including anaglyph, difference, split, side-by-side, line-by-line, and top/bottom
• Depth Analysis mode to hi-light negative and positive parallax cues in the scene
• Discreet or Muxed stereoscopic input*
• External Output in side-by-side, top/bottom, or interlaced*
• Transmits alignment data to iPad for display in Dashwood 3D chart*
• Support for most third-party I/O video cards that are Mac Compatible*
• Compatible with most Mac Pro and Macbook Pro models*

“What makes Stereo3D CAT so different is that it’s built by professionals who know the ins-and-outs of the rapidly changing stereoscopic 3D production industry,” says Tim Dashwood, Founder, Dashwood Cinema Solutions. “Since its introduction, our Stereo3D CAT beta has been in the field, supporting some of the industry’s most in-demand S3D production teams. The real-world application not only helped accelerate our development, it demonstrated just how powerful the new workflow was for production teams. Even very early on, one of the beta testers was able to use Stereo3D CAT to analyze S3D images for an upcoming feature film they were shooting. Stereo3D CAT was so successful, it actually supplanted the 3D field monitors that would normally have been used.”

Dashwood Cinema Solutions is dedicated to developing 3D solutions that facilitate 3D Stereoscopic Workflows from production through post. In addition to Stereo3D CAT, the company offerings include a DSC Labs produced Dashwood 3D Chart for manual rig alignment, or heightened calibration when working with Stereo3D CAT; and Stereo3D Toolbox for 3D mastering in post-production.

Stereo3D CAT is available today for 3D productions around the world. For more information about where you can purchase or rent Stereo3D CAT, please contact sales@dashwood3d.com.

About Dashwood Cinema Solutions

A part of the Noise Industries Development Partner Program since 2009, Dashwood Cinema Solutions is an R&D wing of Stereo 3D Unlimited, a Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based production company that specializes in pre-visualization, music videos and film production. Dashwood Cinema Solutions’ mandate is to find solutions to common problems in film production and post-production. Their award-winning flagship product, Stereo3D Toolbox™ is utilized by post-production houses around the world for easy stereoscopic 3D mastering on the Mac platform. For more information about Dashwood Cinema Solutions, please go to www.Dashwood3D.com or www.noiseindustries.com.

Stereo3D CAT™, Stereo3D Toolbox™, Dashwood 3D Chart™, Parallax Inspector™, and Stereo3D Visualizer™ are trademarks of Dashwood Cinema Solutions, a division of 11 Motion Pictures Limited. All other trademarks, registered trademarks and products mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

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Zazil Media Group
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(email) janice@zazilmediagroup.com