Why 3D and modern filmmaking techniques don’t mix

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

This is the fourth in a series of blogs based on a seminar by Buzz Hays, chief instructor for the Sony 3D Technology Center in Culver City, California.

To be done well, a 3D film really needs to be 3D from the outset, as the tools and techniques that work in three dimensions are very different to those most cinematographers have grown used to. In fact, some even require a step back in time to a more artistic age of cinema, as Buzz Hays explained.

Depth of field

Take depth of field, for example. It’s a staple of modern films, commonly used to direct the viewer’s eyes to the key point of the screen, guiding us through the scene as the director intended. Yet it’s an effect that simply doesn’t work in 3D. (more…)

From the Pole to Pandora: the shaky progress of modern 3D

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

This is the third in a series of blogs based on a seminar by Buzz Hays, chief instructor for the Sony 3D Technology Center in Culver City, California.

As senior producer of 3D Stereoscopic Feature Films for Sony Pictures Imageworks for more than five years, Buzz Hays has been there for the peaks and troughs involved in getting 3D cinema into the mainstream. Over the course of an afternoon he led us through many aspects of 3D, but for this blog I’ve collated his experiences of working on various films into one timeline. It begins a mere six years ago on a train, and ends with the revelation that Avatar was, in some respects, a disappointment…

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Why bad 3D, not 3D glasses, is what gives you a headache

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

This is the second in a series of blogs based on a seminar by Buzz Hays, chief instructor for the Sony 3D Technology Center in Culver City, California.

3D is an ever-evolving process, which is why the effect can be such a hit-and-miss affair. But those who insist 3D glasses give them headaches are a little wide of the mark, according to the man who trains the filmmaking pros.

“It’s not the technology’s fault, it’s really the content that can cause these problems,” explains Buzz Hays. “The more care taken when making the content, the better off everyone’s going to be. My mantra is that it’s easy to make 3D but it’s hard to make it good – and by ‘good’ I mean taking care to make sure that this isn’t going to cause eyestrain.”

There are several common mistakes that can cause discomfort, and easy ways for that to be reduced, yet they’re only just being learned and put into regular use. (more…)

Why we can’t ditch 3D glasses just yet

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

This is the first in a series of blogs based on a seminar given at the BBC by Buzz Hays, chief instructor for the Sony 3D Technology Center in Culver City, California. The series starts with an answer to the most common complaint about 3D.

The question always comes up and rarely gets answered properly, so to hear such a measured dismantling of glasses-less 3D was illuminating. But then, Buzz Hays has been pioneering and improving the art of creating 3D for five years, so when he says we’ll be sticking with the glasses for a while yet, you tend to listen.

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So far, so good with the switch to ADSL

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Back in January I wrote about my impending flat purchase, and the concern I had over being forced to move from cable to ADSL broadband. Well, by now I’ve been in the flat a few months, I have my broadband up and running, and I’m pleased to say it’s been plain sailing so far.

Thanks to all the readers who commented both with suggestions and with their own experiences – good and bad. After much consideration and a good look through the deals offered in my area, I opted for Be’s Unlimited package. It’s not cheap at £17.88 per month, but I was won over by the promise of a support team that actually knows about broadband and the lure of a static IP address, no download cap and 1.3Mb/s uploads.

It activated right on cue, and I even got to try out the support first hand. I have to confess to attempting the setup process with my own 802.11n router at 12:45am on a Thursday (don’t ask), and had a few issues with the settings for my static IP. Despite the ungodly time and my suspiciously slurred speech, a knowledgeable Dutch chap was all too happy to walk me through the process and we had it up and running within minutes. He was even chatty and cheerful, which is not something I’m familiar with when it comes to ISP staff.

Several readers suggested looking at SamKnows and ThinkBroadband, so before I made my choice I had a rough idea I’d be getting around 5Mb/s speeds at 800m from my local exchange. I ran some checks over the weekend and my actual peak-time speed seems fairly stable at between 5Mb/s and 5.8Mb/s. It’s not exactly Virgin cable broadband speeds but it’s plenty for my needs, and it’s good to see the estimates proved on the money.

So it’s first blood to Be, and a positive experience for me with ADSL so far. The next hurdle will come when BT’s Infinity fibre lines make their way to my area – pencilled in for late this year - ready for ISPs to take advantage. Has this reached your area yet? If so, has it met expectations? Let me know in the comments below.

The phone with the real flaw? It’s not the iPhone 4, it’s your Android

Monday, July 19th, 2010

So Apple has made its defence. Whether right or wrong, wise or foolish, the media circus rolls on. This blog isn’t going to cover that. Instead, this blog will discuss the most consistent comment we get when we talk about the iPhone 4:

“Why don’t you buy an HTC Desire/Dell Streak/other-as-yet-unreleased Android handset? You can hold that any way you like!” [presumably accompanied by self-congratulatory smirk.]

In response to this, there’s one very simple reason why I won’t, at this point in time, be buying an Android handset, and it’s one that I consider to be more damning than a rare, entirely avoidable signal drop.

The story begins late last year, when PC Pro’s own Mike Jennings bought an HTC Hero. It ran Android 1.5. HTC decided to skip 1.6.

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DisplayMate boss attacks the TFT marketing myths

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

If you’re a regular reader of our monitor reviews, you’ll know we use an excellent suite of tests called DisplayMate. It covers colours, backlight levels, response times and any number of other tests for both digital and older analogue display types.

You’ll also know we have a real issue with many claims made by manufacturers. We generally find dynamic contrast (and its ludicrous headline-grabbing figures) detrimental to the movie-watching experience, and we’ve long stopped seeing any real motion blur on today’s panels. Quoted brightness figures don’t often appear to have any relation to the panels we test, and the pre-defined modes for movies, games and text usually make things worse.

It seems we’re not the only ones fed up of wading through hype and misdirection to gauge the actual quality of a monitor, though. (more…)

How to change the default template in Word 2007

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

After more than two years with Word 2007 I’ve finally snapped. No, Microsoft, when I create a new document I don’t want to use the Calibri font, I don’t want huge margins and I absolutely, positively NEVER want an extra break after every paragraph. It’s not how I format my documents, and it never will be.

So today I did what I should have done a long time ago: I fixed the default template. Having cursed it for more than two years I’m almost embarrassed at how easy it was. (more…)

Acronis customer support update

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Since we put Acronis True Image Home 2010 on the A List last year, we’ve had a steadily increasing flow of comments and emails disagreeing with our decision. This is generally to be expected with such popular products – True Image has been on the A List for several versions now – but the volume of messages on this product far exceeds the norm.

The majority of the complaints stem from problems being met with a lack of support from Acronis. It was brought to our attention that many users deemed the single month of phone support to be inadequate, and many also told of frustrating experiences with the Acronis Live Chat service and forums.

We don’t take such complaints lightly, and we have been in lengthy discussions with Acronis with the aim of improving things for customers. Last week I spoke to Ed Benack, Chief Customer Officer at Acronis, and explained in detail the issues many of you have been having. (more…)

Dreading the move to ADSL

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

In a few months I’m buying a flat. It’s not quite finished yet, but I’ve been inside it and I’ve seen the specs, all of which look impressive, except for one tiny problem. The block will have a communal Sky dish and connection points in every property, but I was told this week that cable won’t be an option.

This is bad. Very bad.

I’ve been with Virgin broadband in various properties for nearly four years now, and I’m genuinely despondent at the thought of switching to ADSL. Some of you will probably bring up traffic shaping, customer service and other less appealing aspects of Virgin’s offering, but I’m not listening. The blinkers have gone up and my opinion is set in stone: cable broadband just works, and I can’t live with anything less.

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