t600 20110225

April 10, 2023

What it's Like to Teach on the Bleeding Edge

Developing a 3D Advanced Production Class

Chris Eller

April 10, 2023UITS - Advanced Visualization Lab

Abstract3D movies have come, once again, into the public eye. Modern 3D technology has overcome many of the shortcomings present in the last Golden Age of Hollywood 3D circa 1955. We are now in a position to develop 3D movies that can stand on the merits of storytelling and cinematic craft without 3D problems hampering the success of the production. The technology of stereoscopic production has come a long way since Sir Charles Wheatstone published his paper concerning stereopsis in 1838.

Now, 173 years later, Hollywood and Indie productions are finding fresh success at the box office while at the same time discovering that precious few people actually know HOW to make a good 3D movie or TV show. T452 was conceived of and designed to address this knowledge gap and equip our students to successfully compete for jobs on 3D productions after graduation.


Where It All Came From• 1838

Sir Charles Wheatstone describes stereopsis• 1851

Sir David Brewster shows his stereoscope at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London


Where It All Came From• 1860s

Oliver Wendell Holmes designs a simpler stereoscope

• 1905

The Holmes Stereoscope is refined


Where It All Came From• 1922, September

The Power of Love premieres as the first 3D featurette with an admission price (lost, RG anaglyph, dual-band projection)


Where It All Came From• 1952 – Bwana Devil

First 3D feature, 79 minutes

First 3D movie in color• Presented in dual-band

Natural Vision


Does it Make Money?• House of Wax (1953)• Budget $1 million• Domestic Lifetime Gross $23.7

million• All Time Rank (adjusted) 93

Box Office Mojo


Does it Make Money?• Avatar (2009)

Budget $237 million (estimated)

Domestic Lifetime Gross $760.5 million

World Lifetime Gross $2.8 billion

All Time Rank 1

All Time Domestic Rank (adjusted) 14• Gone With the Wind $1.6 billion


Does it Make Money?• Clash of the Titans (2010)

Budget $125 million (estimated)

Domestic Lifetime Gross $163 million

World Lifetime Gross $330 million

All Time Domestic Rank 176

All Time World Rank 84• Dimensionalized


Does it Make Money?• Domestic Box Office Revenue from 3D

2009 $1.08 billion (~76% was Avatar alone)

2010 $2.17 billion (~8% was Clash)• 1/5 of total domestic box office was 3D

– Screen Digest


Does it Make Money?• Good 3D

Designed to be 3D from the beginning

3D as a device for story• Coraline, Avatar

Trained stereographers and crew

• Bad 3DDimensionalized

3D as a gimmick for ticket sales• Clash of the Titans

Cinematographers and crew faking it


What about 3DTV?• Home 3DTVs introduced in 2007• 2nd Gen 3DTVs introduced in 2010

2nd Gen are broadcast friendly• 3D Framepack intermediate format• Full HD 2D+Delta in the works


What about 3DTV?• Very few broadcasters of 3D• ESPN 3D went 24/7 at 9:00

am EST, Feb. 14th

Took over a year to develop enough content

• One truck with 5 cameras for coverage


What about 3DTV?• 3net went 24/7 on DirecTV on

Feb. 13th

• Consortium of: Discovery, Sony, and IMAX

• Shortage of new and original 3D content


T452 – 3D Storytelling• Developed August 2010

Susan Kelly, Sean Connolly, Chris Eller

• First offered Fall 2010 to 12 advanced production students

• Offered again Spring 2011 to 12 advanced production students


T452 – 3D Storytelling• New technology• New curriculum• New equipment• New experiences• New productions• New everything!


T452 – 3D Storytelling• Goal oriented

Good 3D

Good stories• Very popular• Forward looking• Very exciting


Technical Challenges• Make or buy the rig?

3rd option, borrow!• Learn theory and apply• AVL rig = $25,000• Commercial rig = $45,000+


Artistic Challenges• Teaching good 3D• Assessing good 3D

“I know it when I see it.”• Not good enough

• Producing good 3D• Showing good 3D• Sharing good 3D


Pedagogical Challenges• Teaching new techniques

Cameras and Editing• Developing assessments

specifically for 3D• Building from existing

knowledge

T283, T351, and T436


Pedagogical Challenges• Can we fit a completely new course into our

existing offerings smoothly and quickly?• Capitalize on the hype while developing a quality

course• Assess in a meaningful way that reinforces

lessons


Pedagogical Challenges• Start with what we know and scaffold• Build on prior classes and skills• Introduce easy 3D (unrefined)• Jump up to complex systems


Pedagogical ChallengesConverged camera rig (toe-in) * Depth budget * Depth cues (monoscopic and stereoscopic) * Depth script *

Hierarchy of 2D and 3D depth cues * Orthostereoscopy * Parallel camera rig * Perspective * Placement sizing effect * Previous knowledge of shapes * Genlock * Interaxial separation * Phase (in phase and out of phase) *

Plane of interest * Point of interest * Split-beam rig (under-slung, over-slung) * Stereoscopic depth cues * Timecode link * 3D comfort zone * Accommodation * Active projection/display * Anaglyph * Column-interleave

* Depth bracket and depth position * Depth chart * Depth continuity * Depth cues * Depth placement and perceived size * Dolby Infitec * Fusion * Fusion range limitation * Ghosting (cross-talk, cross-eye extinction) * Homologous points * Horizontal image translation (HIT) * Line-interleave * Negative parallax * Neutral parallax (zero parallax) * Passive projection/display (linear and circular polarized) * Phase (in phase and out of phase) * Pixel-interleave (checkerboard) * Positive parallax * Retinal rivalry * Roll * Screen-distance effect * Screen-size effect * Screen space (positive parallax) * Stereo window * Theater space (negative parallax) * Vergence

(convergence and divergence) * Vertical image translation (VIT) * Atmospheric blur * Binocular parallax * Color shift * Disparity * Hyperstereoscopy * Hypostereoscopy * Interocular separation * Monoscopic depth cues * Motion parallax * Motion-based depth cues * Occlusion * Parallax * Perspective * Placement sizing effect * Previous knowledge of shapes * Proprioception * Relative size * Stereo blindness * Stereo pair * Stereograph * Stereographer * Stereopsis * Stereoscopic * Stereoscopic depth cues * Texture gradient


Pedagogical Challenges• Books and Articles


Pedagogical Challenges• Exams designed to feed back into the class

Stereographer’s Exam

Editor’s Exam

Director’s Exam

Line Producer’s Exam


Pedagogical Challenges• Everyone works on the camera rig

Each project has a stereographer

Each stereographer has a 1st AC• Everyone edits in 3D

Each project has an editor

Each project’s teaser has an editor


The Bleeding Edge• NYU, USC, and IU• In house skills

Telecom

AVL

IU Cinema• We are training ourselves


The Bleeding Edge• Like color and sound, 3D is

going to be a part of rich media

• IU is developing knowledge and skills that don’t exist in large numbers anywhere yet

t600 20110225

Education

d technology

d productions

d problems

d contentfebruary

d storytellingdeveloped

d featurette

millionall time rank

millionall time domestic