nofilmschool » 3D

Building Color Models and Exploring Color Spaces in Three Dimensions with Blender

Dave Kendricken — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 00:13:22 +0000

Color spaces and color models can be difficult to wrap your head around completely. There are additive and subtractive spaces, like RGB vs. CMYK, and different format/display technologies, like analog’s YUV vs. digital’s YCbCr — all of which you may have to traverse to achieve the final ‘look’ you want for your imagery. Not to mention that many color spaces are not absolute, meaning they don’t profile device-specific color representation. This can certainly induce a bit of a headache for newcomers to the color science realm. A great post by photographer Mark Meyer, featured recently on PetaPixel, explains how you can quite literally better-orient yourself to color spaces and models by, well, modeling them — in 3D open suite Blender, no less. (more…)

Directing Duo 'Us' Connect the 3D Dots in Foals 'My Number' Music Video

Mar Belle — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:32:33 +0000

If you look back fondly on those days of seeing an image reveal itself point by point as you worked your way through a dot-to-dot puzzle, then the new video for Foals’ My Number from Christopher Barrett and Luke Taylor, better known as the pronoun ‘Us,’ is going to fill you full of sequential number hunting nostalgia. (more…)

Is the First 'Instant' 3D Modeling and Motion Capture Camera the Future of CG Animation?

Dave Kendricken — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 01:34:34 +0000

In creating computer generated imagery, reference photographs of real-life objects may assist modeling, texturing, and animating a 3D object. In animation, this practice translates into something called motion capture, or ‘performance capture’ when facial expressions are the focus (see: Avatar). Fixed reference points on an object or surface help artists recreate something virtually, but Microsoft XBox 360′s Kinect technology is actually able to recognize shape and motion on its own, turning you into a full-body video game controller in real-time. The new Lynx A Camera looks to take this a step further. Meet the world’s first ‘point-and-shoot’ camera that can model and capture the geometry, texture, and motion of anything you aim it at, right before your eyes. (more…)

Academy Award Nominated Animation 'Paperman' is a Gorgeous Blend of 2D and 3D

Joe Marine — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 23:34:45 +0000

Academy Award nominees are rarely available for free (legally) online before the actual Oscar ceremonies, but that’s exactly the case with the short animation Paperman, produced with the help of Disney. The film is getting attention for more than just the nomination — the technique used is an interesting blend of 2D hand-drawn animation mixed with a 3D world. It’s not the first time that we’ve seen techniques like this used, but it may very well bring back some of the things many of us loved about traditional 2D animation. Check out Paperman and some behind the scenes videos below. (more…)

Ridley Scott Talks RED EPIC and Explains How We Can Save the Theatrical Experience

Joe Marine — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 20:30:10 +0000

Digital technology is racing to replace celluloid in the theatrical space at an incredible pace. With many of the top professionals in the industry moving solely to digital, the landscape is changing drastically. Just recently we had one of the more respected cinematographers working today, Roger Deakins, talking about his experience using the Arri Alexa. Now, Ridley Scott gives us a little bit about his experience working with the RED EPIC in 3D and also explains how we can get people back into movie theaters: (more…)

Luke Scott's Sci-Fi Short 'Loom' Now Online, Shown in 3D on RED's Laser Projector at NAB 2012

Joe Marine — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 23:43:14 +0000

Loom, a science fiction short film directed by Luke Scott (son of Ridley and nephew of Tony), was used by RED to show off their 4K 3D projector at NAB 2012. The last time we talked about Luke Scott, he had just directed a viral video for his father Ridley’s Prometheus. While you won’t be able to watch it in 4K (or in 3D), the H.264 file is remarkably clean. The film is set in the mid-21st century and stars Giovanni Ribisi as a scientist working at a laboratory attempting to grow meat for human consumption. While he plays worker bee during the day, he’s got a secret that could land him in jail. (more…)

Valve's Source Filmmaker Animation Software Featured in its Own Oscars, the 'Saxxy Awards'

Benjamin Dewhurst — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 12:30:02 +0000

Back in July we covered the release of Source Filmmaker, a powerful animation program that Valve uses internally to create movies and cutscenes for games like Team Fortress 2, Counter Strike, and Left 4 Dead 2. Originally released as a closed beta, the software has since been opened to the public and has been in the hands of digital filmmakers for a little over a month. To continue growing the user base of the tool, Valve has announced that Source Filmmaker videos will be able to compete in the 2nd Annual Saxxy Awards — a program run by Valve that is their own version of the Academy Awards (if Oscar wore a cowboy hat). If you’re wondering what Source Filmmaker is capable of, check out the video embedded below. (more…)

The Art and Craft of Converting 2D Films to 3D

E.M. Taboada — Thu, 10 May 2012 22:30:25 +0000

If you caught this past weekend’s big blockbuster, Marvel’s The Avengers, then you may have watched it in 3D. Many of you may or may not have been aware that the film was first shot in 2D and converted to 3D after the fact. Wondering what that process involved? Or why some films would shoot in 2D and then convert, vs. shooting stereoscopically from the start? In a fascinating in-depth article, fxguide delves into the many challenges vfx artists face when converting 2D films to 3D — also known as “stereo conversion” — revealing the kind of pain-staking labor and ingenuity required as well as some of the aesthetic differences between the two formats: (more…)

Dolby's Great Leap Forward - 'Atmos' Aims to Take Theatrical Sound Where 3-D and IMAX took Visuals

E.M. Taboada — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:07:02 +0000

What if you could hear Michael Myers’ footsteps as he moved through a victim’s house? Or be immersed in the soundscape of a gun battle, with such life-like quality that you might run for cover from that tower sniper? Dolby‘s newly announced format, Atmos, is aiming to push theatergoer’s auditory immersion in the way IMAX and 3-D pushed visual immersion. So how exactly is this different from existing surround sound systems, and what effect will it have on a viewer’s experience? Check this video out: (more…)

Could RED's Projector Save Indie Theaters (and 3D)? Reactions From the Luke Scott Film 'Loom'

Joe Marine — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:03:28 +0000

Earlier in the week I was able to watch the short film Loom, directed by Luke Scott and produced by his father, Ridley Scott. The entire futuristic sci-fi film was shot on Epic in 3D, and it was being projected on RED’s (not new) Laser Projector and RED Ray. Both of those products were announced a long time ago but RED may finally release them this year. Unfortunately at the beginning of the week the projector was only displaying 2K 3D in each eye, but it’s actually capable of 4K in each eye. I went back later in the week to see if it had been fixed but they were still working on the system, so I imagine at some point it will be 100% working as it ships late this year (hopefully). But the real question is: can 3D make a comeback with RED’s projector? Will the lower cost be beneficial to the survival of independent theaters or will this projector not be adopted by theaters at all? (more…)

Insightful Q&A from Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof, and a New Viral Ad for 'Prometheus'

Joe Marine — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 16:55:25 +0000

Though this may be the least amount of direct filmmaking knowledge you may get from this site, I thought it was worth following up with the previous Prometheus TEDTalk. We’ve got three new videos: an official full-length trailer, a Q&A with Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof, and a new viral ad. The Q&A does have some particularly insightful moments that go beyond just the film, but part of the reason I’m sharing this is that on a base level, I really feel that Ridley and his team are now bringing science fiction to even greater heights. They also shot in 3D on the RED Epic…so throw that in there for good measure. (more…)

3D Haters Beware: Peeking at a 3D Future with the JVC GS-TD1 Twin-lens Camcorder

Guest Author — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:14:15 +0000

This is a guest post by Zack Lieberman, a filmmaker in preproduction on his debut (3D) feature. He was also co-creator of The West Side with NoFilmSchool’s numero uno, Koo.

This post is fundamentally a review of the twin-lens, 3D JVC GS-TD1 camcorder and so I’ll get it out of the way up front and say that I really liked this camera. A lot. For a two lens system, it’s incredibly small and durable, it makes a beautiful image, and is about as good as I could reasonably expect for 2011. Done! Okay, fine, I’ll go a bit more in-depth, but this won’t be an extremely technical rundown. I will talk a lot about why I think 3D is the future, though. (more…)

New Plugin Brings Stereoscopic 3D Editing to Final Cut Pro X

Ryan Koo — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:15:49 +0000

Thanks to Dashwood Cinema Solutions’ $99 plugin Stereo 3D Toolbox LE, Final Cut Pro X can now handle stereoscopic 3D footage. Just don’t try to bring in that old FCP7 timeline (sorry, couldn’t help myself). The plugin works in Final Cut Pro X, Apple Motion, and Adobe After Effects, and is said to work fine in OS X Lion. Here’s a tutorial of how to use the plugin (note: this won’t be of interest to you unless you’re thinking about, or are already, working with 3D): (more…)

The Opposite of DIY: Michael Bay and James Cameron Talk 3D Production on the $195 Million 'Transformers'

Ryan Koo — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:53:55 +0000

When a director like Michael Bay talks about his $195 million 3D blockbuster to-be (regardless of whether it’s any good) Transformers: Dark of the Moon, you might think that very little of it would apply to indie pictures. But in the new era of large sensor digital cameras, the Sony F23 and F35 cameras Bay used are more similar to the new Sony F3 and FS100 than you’d think. When I watched F35 and F3 footage side by side, in fact, the F35 actually lost to the F3 in some tests (notably low-light). The Hollywood Reporter, in its reincarnation as a weekly publication, recently sat down with the duo of blockbuster directors to talk 3D, which, love or hate the technology, is a technology all filmmakers should be aware of — whether you’re indie or Hollywood. (more…)

Chris Milk's Mind-Blowing 3D Music Video '3 Dreams of Black' Redefines Web Browsing

Ryan Koo — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:31:12 +0000

Director Chris Milk, whose work I’ve covered here before, has released in conjunction with some Google Chrome developers his latest music video, “3 Days of Black,” for the supergroup Rome (which, for this song, consists of Danger Mouse, Daniel Luppi, and Norah Jones). The first full 3D scene is literally eyebrow-raising and the video highlights a number of important web-based storytelling tools, like the 3D browsing technology WebGL. Requires Google Chrome. (more…)

NAB Video: Adobe's CS5.5 Presentations and Stereoscopic 3D in After Effects

Ryan Koo — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:40:18 +0000

With all the hubbub about the new Final Cut Pro X, it’s easy to forget Adobe announced new versions of their video applications only the day before Apple’s sneak peak event. CS5.5 has a lot of significant new features, and Adobe was demoing the video-centric Production Premium suite all week at their NAB booth. Here’s what they were showing: (more…)

Panasonic Announces Three New Compact HD Camcorders and a Full-Size 3D Rig

Ryan Koo — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:36:39 +0000

At yesterday’s NAB press event Panasonic unveiled the AG-HPX250 (its first handheld P2 HD camcorder), the AG-AC160 and AG-AC130 (two new compact AVCCAM HD camcorders), and the AG-3DP1 (a full-size twin-lens 3D camcorder). They also showed a number of P2 transfer tools. For filmmakers interested in a shallow depth-of-field aesthetic, none of these cameras (without a 35mm adapter) is going to give Panasonic’s own AF100 a run for the money. Read on for more details: (more…)

JVC Announces 1080p Consumer 3D Camcorder and Demonstrates 4K Prototype

Ryan Koo — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:06:56 +0000

The 2011 Consumer Electronics Show took place this weekend, and among hundreds of new product announcements were a couple of interesting camcorders from JVC. The googly-eyed 3D GS-TD1 is the first 1080p 3D consumer camcorder (seen at left; previous 3d cameras were limited to 720p), and JVC also showed an as-yet unnamed 4k camcorder that looks to match RED’s resolution: (more…)

Tackling the Challenges of Shooting 3D with the Panasonic AG-3DA1

Ryan Koo — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:38:16 +0000

3D is somewhat of a controversial topic here, with no shortage of comments both lauding and decrying the third dimension. While I’m not a huge fan of where 3D is today, we’re only scratching the surface of what displays are capable of. Regardless, shooting 3D today requires an entirely new skillset from shooting 2D, and cinematographers and directors have to basically re-learn how to shoot. Video guru Adam Wilt has an in-depth post on learning to shoot with Panasonic’s AG-3DA1 3D camcorder, as he recently attended createasphere’s $795 3D workshop; his notes are invaluable for anyone thinking about shooting 3D. (more…)

How Far Away is Glasses-Less 3D TV?

Ryan Koo — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:03:00 +0000

3D, 3D, 3D. Everyone’s talking about the technology and films are raking in much higher returns by utilizing it, but do any of us actually want to sit down in our living room and put on a pair of special glasses in order to watch TV? Not really. If 3D TV is going to take off in the home, it’s going to have to be sans specs. I’ve said in the past that it’s only a matter of time until this happens, and Toshiba will soon be shipping some small TVs that fit the bill. However, 3D torchbearer James Cameron has his own take on how long it will be before most of us have a glasses-free unit in our own living room: (more…)