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…)

Entertainment industry? Heads in sand? Still? Surely not.

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

Want to know the most illegally downloaded TV show of 2008? It was Lost with 5.73-million downloads per episode, which across its four seasons makes for an astonishing number. Heroes and Prison Break complete a blockbuster top three, but it’s the show at number 6 on the pirate list that is most surprising.

Stargate Atlantis is rubbish. This is a fact. This one single photo should tell you just how rubbish it is, but if it doesn’t, well, let me tell you: It’s rubbish. Really.

But the real eye-opener is not that people like it, it’s that in 2008 more people downloaded each episode from torrent sites worldwide than watched it on TV in America. While the big shows mentioned above still roped in vastly more TV viewers than downloaders, Stargate Atlantis tipped over the edge.

Why this show? (more…)