One of the primary topics of concern among 3D experts from all arenas at iHollywood Forum‘s latest 3D Next all-day conference Monday was rushing poor quality 3D movies and TV programs to the market.
IMAX Filmed Entertainment chairman and president Greg Foster warned studio executives during the day’s first panel at the Radisson Los Angeles Westside about undercutting the credibility of 3D by giving in to the temptation to use 3D as a factor in deciding whether to greenlight a movie for production.
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During a later panel at the sold-out conference with more than 300 attendees, Prime Focus president Rob Hummel said studios trying to save costs are handing over 3D work to companies unfamiliar with the nuances of 3D and then coming back to Prime Focus in panic mode asking them to fix it when it turns out to be disastrous.
In response to moderator and iHollywood Forum CEO Michael Stroud, 3ality CEO Sandy Climan said that his company and others are trying to train filmmakers how to do 3D right and avoid just the kinds of problems Hummel described. He referred to his company’s work on a 3D episode of the TV series “Chuck” last year as being done in the inferior anaglyph format, but noted that it still resulted in a ratings boost for the show and that TV series fitting the early adopted demographic should consider producing new episodes in the new 3D technology.
Sony 3D Technology Center senior vp and general manager Buzz Hayes, one of three keynote speakers, said learning to produce high quality 3D is important for everyone involved in the industry.
DirecTV senior VP Steven Roberts said his company, which launched ESPN 3D only three days earlier, said it was important for DirecTV to be the leader in 3DTV as it has been with HD and with sports programming. With the morning’s keynote speaker Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, CTO of Panasonic North America, returning to the stage just before lunch to join Roberts in discussing sports 3DTV programming, Roberts said DirecTV and Panasonic would produce original 3DTV programming in the near future to fill out the three 3D channels offerings by DirecTV and supplement ESPN 3D, the coming Sony/IMAX/Discovery joint venture, and other 3D programming.
— By Scott Hettrick