BBC 3d plans for 2012 Olympics

Found this article.
Quite interesting.
The BBC is lining up boxing and gynmastics as its lead sports for a 2012 Olympics showcasing 3D and Super HD TV.
But the corporation is unlikely to launch a dedicated 3D channel for the Olympics – using live venues and ‘red button’ event streams to air the coverage.
Sports with a sense of depth and confined space are expected to make the most impact in 3D, but major field games will also be captured to ensure the BBC has an archive packed with 3D and Super HD.
“The compact space of a boxing ring gives a real wow factor,” Roger Mosey, the BBC’s director of London 2012, told trade paper Broadcast.
“And with gymnastics, if you think about someone doing a vault, they start a long way away and move towards you – there is a real sense of depth.
“Team games and big pictures don’t really work – corner shots in football are good but often the players look like little models running across the field.”
International broadcasters are set to give their requirements for 3D, Super HD and other feeds to the Olympic Games’ official broadcaster, OBSL, this summer.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/broadcasters/bbcs-3d-olympics-plan-shapes-up/5013262.article

Stereo 3d and Liverpool University

My few baby steps in learning how to shoot stereo 3d produced some results...
A very impressive anaglyph quicktime that when you watched felt like an alien spaceship was hovering above your head and was sucking out your visual cortex with a Star Trek transporter!
clearly I had a way to go...

Enter LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY in the North West of England.

As a self confessed 'businessman' in the film industry, I applied to the Regional Development Authority for a Training & Innovation Grant', and I was absolutely amazed when I was successful! Great, I thought, I'll be heading down to Pinewood, Britains very own film industry, to play with the professionals and learn all their secrets... but NO, it was not to be. What happened was that the Innovation Grant wasn't money in your hand, it was 'training to the value of...' with one of the regions 'knowledge providers'. Which I found out in my case was to be Liverpool University. What could I learn at my age and with my experience in the film and tv industry, by going back into 'academia'??? The answer, as it turns out, is a fantastic amount.

Stereo 3d is 1/3 biology 1/3 psychology and 1/3 technology.

This is the first BIG thing to learn in stereo 3d, especially as a director and stereographer.
Learn and understand the biology of the human vision system (also known as 'eyes').
Our eyes are NOT video cameras, they don't zoom or 'pull focus'. they are NOT 3d imaging devices.
Learn and understand the psychology, or in other words how your brain 'sees' - How it interprets the monoscopic depth cues to provide a depth map of the environment and how it combines all the information from all its 'sensors' with sight, and also how the brain combines its existing data on imagery and spatial awarness to navigate us and help us interpret what we see...
Learn how the technolgy that is available to us as filmakers and stereographers can be used to best effect to tell stories, evoke emotion and 'paint' 3d pictures based on reality...

As I start my training with Dr Harper and Rob Black I am getting to see the importance of at least getting a basic level of understanding of the biology and psychology of stereo 3d if I am ever going to be able t0 shoot and direct a high standard of stereo 3d.
The technolgy is easy in comparison! You hand over responsibility to the guys with the big rigs and hand over some serious bucks at the same time! BUT, I have learnt that you really need to get a thorough basic knowledge of 'how we see', and 'how our brains interpret what we see'. THEN you can play games with technology to do the film makers thing... and around creating non real 3d reality!

I think I may be turning into an OCD 'Ortho' Stereographer - or pehaps that should be OSD - Ortho Stereo Director!
As I carry on my stereo 3d jouney I have come across 'purists' portrayed as amateurs and Hollywood Stereo crews portrayed as 'Industry Experts' . But I am starting to worry about this battle over the I-O (the distance between the 2 cameras when filming)...
I need to go and find out more.
Stay tuned as I report back daily...
Cheers
Reg Sanders - UK Stereographer http://www.shoot3d.tv/

A Christmas Carol - Not a good 3d experience DEC 2009

On one of those rare 'days off' moments - I decided to take the kids to see a 3d movie, kind of busmans holiday! Nevertheless we turned up at the local multiplex which had recently had its main screen converted to 3d.Infact, it was using the new Dolby 3d system which I had read was vastly superior to the Real D system, so I was keen to hand over my hard earned and get into the cinema... We took quite a load of kids with us, as our kids brought their friends who brought their friends! We ended up with 12 kids and 3 adults.

The first thing I noticed was that the glasses were duly handed out, beautiful shiny mirror look lenses and deep wrap around sides. I later discovered this is to maximise light the coming into each lens. During my stereography training I was told that the Dolby 3d system uses a combination of filtering to very finely control the colour information to each eye, so that although the channel separation is slightly less than the Real D polariser system the final result is better overall colour reproduction. I was looking forward to this screening, probably more than the dozen kids I was sat with!
I noticed there was a lot of activity pre-movie as the audience kept popping up and down to the attendant getting 'wipes' for their 3d glasses, getting them cleaned. I had to for some of our kids.
As the lights went down and the opening title sequence began I noticed I could see something in my lenses.
Again I cleaned them but it wasn't on the lens. What I could see was the reflection of my eyes and eyelids and lashes in the lens, as they were so shiny. Also the ambient light in the auditorium was very high, not helping the situation. In the UK they have strict regulations governing light levels in cinemas, and generally the cinemas have 3 levels. The walking in / walking out level well lit 'house lights' - then the next level of dimming is the spot reel or the adverts before the main presentation, I assume they have that lighting so that we can juggle our popcorn and kids, and get settled for the main movie. Finally, darkness for the main feature.
However, in my cinema trip, the lights never dimmed down to full darkness for the movie. You could extend your hand out and clearly see a shadow cast on the floor from the lights above. This caused problems with the 3d viewing because the images I could see through my lenses were overlaid with reflections, also the movie itself had a fairly 'dark' feel to it (being set in Winter in Dickensian London).
And therein spoilt what should have been a great 3d experience. The trouble is these multiscreen movies have very few people involved in their running. It's all done by computers... as they say. A Christmas Carol started and I went off like Scrooge trying to track down the projectionist. I went to the front of house area, to find a couple of students selling popcorn and coffee, they told me the projectionist had 'gone home' and would be back later to turn everything off... I asked for the manager, there was none. So the next day I'm on the internet and phone trying to find someone from the Vue Cinema chain to talk to... No luck. I sent an email to their customer services team who eventually reply with some brush off corporate letter about local planning regulations on light levels in public buildings... And didn't take on any of my points about 3d needing more careful light control than 2d so that the viewer can properly extract disparities and depth information for proper 3d viewing. I think they were worried about me trying to get my 50 quid back from them for the trip, but I made it clear I just wanted some technical dialogue on their procedures and spec for 3d cinemas... Bah humbug!