THE STEREO TYPES How To Make 3-D Work In Post We wanted a link with a camera rental house,” said Concrete Post boss David Cox. “When we first went into HD in 2001 we had to find out about cameras and lenses so we could help our clients make the right choices in the shoot so that the post went smoothly. Axis was at the top of our list of people we wanted to work with. “Then they contacted us, because they felt they wanted to co-locate a DI suite in Soho to supplement their facilities out in Shepperton,” he continued. “They wanted to be able to offer their clients the right camera for the job and be sure that the post works. We could offer all the post under one roof: offline, graphics, visual effects, CGI and audio. And we were already doing a lot of grading and were keen to move into more features work. So co-operation worked perfectly for both of us.” While the initial discussions centred around digital intermediate, the subject of 3-D – or stereoscopic imaging to give it the more technically accurate name – was being heard on the street a lot more, and that was added to the debate. The result is that Axis’s Quantel Pablo has been upgraded to stereoscopic capability and moved to Concrete. The Pablo has been installed in a new suite in the basement with a pair of projectors and a four metre screen. As David Cox points out, there are plenty of reasons why 3-D is not quite as simple as some would have you believe. For example he quickly killed the idea that stereoscopic post was just like any other DI workflow, working on one ‘eye’ and just running the final pass on the 3-D projector. “Even in the offline you would have to be careful,” he said. “A cut in geography may look fine in two dimensions but would be disastrous in 3D. “Visual effects can be potentially very difficult, because you have to be absolutely precise on both channels or you will end up creating a new object in a different plane,” he explained. “Take something as everyday as wire removal. If you do not get it absolutely right you will end up with a blue line floating in front of the sky. “Graphics, too, can be a new skill,” Cox added. “In stereo there is a big difference between a large object and a small object close to you, in front of the screen. And we are finding that the perception of depth can be really useful in titles when used subtly.” The primary system that Concrete is using for stereoscopic post is the Quantel Pablo, and David Cox is absolutely certain that this is the only tool for the job. “Nothing else on the market will give you real stereoscopic work – no proxies, the real image – in real time, at 2k resolution.” Page 2