3ality Digital and RealD‘s first-ever live digital 3D broadcast of an NFL game between the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008, has been named one of the decade’s ten best innovations by Sports Illustrated magazine.
“The production uses completely foreign camera perspectives to create a new standard of immersion and viewer engagement,” wrote SI.
For years Art Modell shaped NFL broadcast policies as the owner of the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. Modell’s sons, David and John – 3ality Digital’s chairman and co-founder, respectively – were instrumental in the landmark 3D broadcast.
“On behalf of everyone at 3ality Digital, we’re thrilled and honored…,” said David Modell.
“I’m proud and humbled to see our work included on such an exclusive and prestigious list of achievements,” said John Modell, who also serves as a 3ality Digital producer.
“If a one-sided snoozer of a game can be that engaging, one can only imagine the excitement of a postseason game or Super Bowl in three dimensions,” according to SI. “…the brilliant final product is a testament to the inevitability (of 3D in the home).”
The live 3D broadcast of the NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football was shot and transmitted by 3ality Digital and shown to invited guests at theatres in Boston, Hollywood and New York City. Soon after, 3ality created another first with the live 3D broadcast available to the general ticket-buying public of the BCS college football national title game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the University of Florida Gators on Jan. 8, 2009.
“3D for cinema is easy compared to live broadcast, yet we always knew that the right set of technologies would make live broadcasting in stereo a reality,” said Steve Schklair, CEO of 3ality Digital Systems, the technology arm of 3ality Digital. “Our live 3D broadcast of the Raiders versus Chargers was a key milestone in 3D’s migration from the cinema to the living room.”
“The NFL has a long tradition of using emerging technologies to enhance the consumer experience, and live-action digital 3D clearly has enormous potential in this regard,” said Howard Katz, the NFL’s senior vice president of broadcasting and media operations.
“This is an amazing way to close out 2009 and begin what promises to be another watershed year for 3D,” said 3ality Digital LLC CEO Sandy Climan. “I’m thrilled to see the impact this broadcast and similar 3ality Digital projects have had on the global broadcast community. From the United Kingdom to Spain to Japan, broadcasters around the world have seen the potential of live-action 3D and will be launching dedicated 3D initiatives in 2010.”
In addition to the NFL games, 3ality Digital claims several other industry firsts, including the first movie shot completely in digital live-action 3D (“U2 3D”); the first 3D commercial broadcast on television (Sobe “Lizard Lake”); and the first episode of a scripted TV series shot in digital live-action 3D (“Chuck’ vs. The Third Dimension,” aired on NBC on Feb. 2, 2009).
— By Scott Hettrick