GRAVITY Stereo Supervisor Chris Parks will take you behind the scenes of the worldwide blockbuster at 3Tec - 3D Quality & Technology Summit and 2nd BFA Film Science & Technology Forum, held at the Beijing Film Academy on 18 and 19 April 2014
3D has made a journey from AVATAR to GRAVITY and from FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE to YOUNG DETECTIVE DEE, and it had its ups and downs in the format's short history. In this time, questions about the long term viability of 3D as a cinema format and a successful business formula have continued to be raised – until the release of GRAVITY.
With a budget of less than $ 100m the film has amassed box office earnings exceeding $ 690m at the end of January already, only four months after initial release. Leading the Oscars with 10 nominations this year, it is not only financially the biggest cinema success of last year, but also in terms of creativity and technology the film has managed to attract new audiences to 3D. Its innovative approach is setting GRAVITY apart – the film is an effective combination of 2D‐3D post conversion, stereo rendered CG (computer graphics) and VFX (visual effects), blending the latest cinema techniques to create a unique audience experience. Chris Parks, Stereo Supervisor of GRAVITY was involved in the production from the earliest stages in June 2010, working closely with Director Alfonso Cuarón, to design the award winning 3D.
Chris says:
“To achieve the best stereo, any stereographer will tell you how critical it is for the 3D to be considered both in the planning phase and in the shot composition – lens choices, lighting, framing, blocking etc. I was involved from over a year before we started shooting which helped ensure that I was working in sync with how Alfonso was thinking”.
This new way of using technologies for the production of a blockbuster movie is the core topic of an event during the Beijing Film Festival in April to which the Beijing Film Academy, the entgroup and imcube Technologies have invited Chris Parks of Vision 3, London, together with other international experts in 3D film production technologies. On the first day of the event (18th April) Chris and his colleagues will present insight views into new quality standards in 3D production and post‐production, from international 3D professionals “who have done it” exclusively for professionals in the Chinese movie business.
The presentations will include exclusive “behind the scenes” footage, from the shooting of stereo reference plates of moving models with different focal length lenses and different distances, just to communicate to the 2D‐3D conversion artists how far back on the side of the head the ears should be to give the heads of Sandra Bullock and George Clooney the most natural look in dimensionalization. The second day (19th April) is reserved for workshops in which the professionals can meet the international experts in small working groups in order to be able to get a more indepth view into the technology and quality requirements for movies for international distribution.
About Vision3:
Vision3 are the leading experts in creative Stereo 3D. Formed in 2008, by renowned 3D experts Chris Parks and Angus Cameron, Vision3 act as the vital link between technology and ideas. Recently awarded 'Best Stereography' by the International 3D Society for their highly praised work on Warner Bro's 'Gravity' – Vision3 continue to use 3D as a way to deliver unforgettable cinema experiences to audiences worldwide. In addition to Gravity, Vision3 have designed and supervised Stereo 3D for several high profile Feature Film and Television projects, including 'Flying Monsters with David Attenborough' – the only 3D project to receive a BAFTA award. Vision3 are currently completing the WB summer blockbuster 'Edge of Tomorrow' starring Tom Cruise, and the highly anticipated new film from the Wachowski Siblings 'Jupiter Ascending'.
About imcube:
imcube Technologies and imcube labs GmbH, Berlin, Germany, are divisions of the imcube 3D Solutions Group, with operations in Germany, China, Hong Kong and the UAE. imcube labs is an R&D company, a spin‐off of the Communication Systems Group of the Technical University in Berlin which is specializing on image processing and computer vision technologies for the film and video business. It has close ties with the Fraunhofer Heinrich‐Hertz‐Institute for Image Processing. imcube’s founders have been involved in ‘3D Quality’ research and development for over 10 years, in the fields of Computer Vision, 2D to stereoscopic 3D conversion and native stereo 3D repair. Recent projects have extended into an alternative hybrid stereoscopic 3D post‐production workflow for feature films (imcube Cinema) and into a dedicated 2D to stereo 3D conversion workflow for broadcast and Internet applications (imcube Home). Semi‐automated tools are available for stereographers, such as the imcube Instructor for easy conversion instructions, the imcube QC Player for conversion quality control, and the imcube Daily for quick scribble‐based test conversions, pre‐visualisation and mobile conversions.
www.imcube.com
Contact + Information Europe:
Svea Rühl
imcube labs GmbH
tel: +49 (0)30 314 28 501
mail: svea.ruehl@imcube.com
Contact + Information China:
Rayly Yang
EntGroup
tel: +86 135 0100 2990
mail: rayly@entgroup.cn