3D FUTURES

3D FUTURES

3D – Definitely Here To Stay?

post production next year.
In summary, if 2010 was about excitement
and innovation, 2011 is about using 3D as
BEN DAIR visited the second a creative tool to communicate stories and
annual 3D TV World Forum distribute content. It could be bold to say,
and found a significant 3D is on the verge of moving from novelty to
decrease in delegates from norm. One particular comment resonated
last year’s inaugural event and set the tone throughout forum, “3D is
easy, good 3D is hard!”. The only difference
but content that appealed to
now is that anyone who has worked with
the serious operators 3D really understands the difference. Every
presentation and panel either explicitly or
more discussions about the monetisation of
3D content, where last year predominately
analysed the technical aspects of producing
and delivering 3D content. Consistently and
rightly, the importance of production value
(quality) was discussed in the area of 3D
context and story. Most agreed that, 3D used
correctly can enhance the story dramatically,
used incorrectly the viewer becomes
distracted and lose track of the story –
this isn’t a new problem and education is
considered to be the key factor in future 3D
film making.

T
implicitly said 3D is definitely here to stay.
he second 3D TV World Forum held
First to present was John Cassy, Director,
recently in London, gave delegates an
During the first day it was argued that Sky 3D and he showed a 3D demo of the
insight into the application, adaptation and
3D is the next natural evolution of moving latest content produced and shown over
use of 3D content creation and delivery.
image entertainment from black and white past 12 months. A combination of arts, sports
From production to consumption, the forum rapidly
TV, colour TV, widescreen TV, digital TV, high and natural history content interleaved with
covered all aspects of 3D use. An exposit of the
definition TV and 3D TV. The key component movie examples both action and CG based
current thinking from the perspective of production/
that will actually determine the on-going material. The live 3D opera was stunning
storytelling, platforms, broadcasting, and consumer.
success will be how the content creators use but the live 3D soccer was not as effective in
In essence the 3D TV World Forum provided a lens to
3D, not necessarily how consumers view 3D comparison due fast panning and movement
the living room impression of 3D TV as of today and
and this was an interesting debate during the of the shots.
potentially the future.
two days.
John’s first rule about working with 3D
Day one of two predominately focused on, best
In comparison to last year, there were is “forget about 3D!” – In context, he was
business practices 12 months on, frameworks for
success using 3D and 3D applications uncovered
(ranging from TV, Gaming to Mobile TV) and finally
a deep dive into the production of 3D content. A
year on the forum explored discoveries and key
lessons learnt due to the explosion of available
content.

Day two focused more on the technical aspects of

using 3D, optimising 3D capture, delivery transmission
and display. Interestingly, the number of delegates this
year was down in comparison to last year. The lack of
novelty and hype being the main possible reason, but
it could also be argued that many people were busy
making and producing 3D content.

The reduction in delegates did not dilute the value

over the two days due to range of representation from
content producers, platforms, academia and display
vendors. It was literally the full gamut of 3D minus post
production. I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one
facility talking about the trials and tribulations of 3D
At a recent Elbow concert three Panasonic AG-3DA1 integrated 3D camcorders were used alongside
two mirrored 3D rigs and one side-by-side rig using six Panasonic AJ-HPX3100 P2 broadcast
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 3D FUTURES
“There is one clear difference
between the introduction of HD and
3D. HD was about improving the
quality of the image, whereas 3D is
about improving/emphasising the
experience through immersion.”
The BBC has announced it will broadcast live 3D coverage to homes across the UK for
the first time, when it broadcasts the men's and ladies' finals of the 2011 Wimbledon
Championships via the BBC's HD Channel.
The free-to-air broadcast of the Championships in 3D will be available to anyone who
has access to a 3D TV set and to HD channels, regardless of which digital TV provider
they use.
The live 3D coverage of the ladies' and men's finals on Saturday 2 July and Sunday 3
July will mark the 125th anniversary of the Wimbledon Championships.
3D specialist Can Communicate will be shooting the finals and using three Element
Technica Quasar rigs, two Element Technica Pulsars, and one Calcutta, all with two Sony
P1s with Canon lenses.
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emphasising the importance of the core principals
of content and story being ‘king’. Initially, Sky want
to answer the questions, “what is the story?”, “what
is the event?” and “why should the viewer/customer
care?”., reiterating the age old adage of “content is
definitely king”.
For those who remember, this is exactly what we
were all saying with introduction of HD as a super
16mm replacement. There is one clear difference
between the introduction of HD and 3D. HD was
about improving the quality of the image, whereas
3D is about improving/emphasising the experience
through immersion.
The focus for Sky will be Movies, Sport, Live music/
events and culture and most of the content will be
distributed via the new facilities called Harlequin 1
– the most sustainable broadcasting ever designed.
Officially, Sky are calling their new facility a “factory
for creativity”.
As a way of sustaining and rewarding loyalty Sky
3D is included as part of the Sky World package. The
model also encourages existing customers to upgrade
to the premium package and Sky is working display
vendors to provide cash-back on the existing TVs. Over
the past 12 months there has been an acceleration of
both content creation and delivery of 3D content, and
it is not all 3D movies. Event ranging from Premiership
matches, Manchester United vs. Arsenal, World Cup,
live 3D opera and other special events both delivered
to the home and cinemas have been on the increase.
Sky anticipates that autostereoscopic presentation
or glasses-free 3D (GF3D) will definitely accelerate 3D
use and hence drive production. Sky estimates it will
be 5-7 years before GF3D displays hit the market.
With respect to advertising, another major source
of revenue for Sky, it is very early days. Normally,
advertisers are interested in reach, however the
current levels of 3D specific subscription is relatively
low. Therefore, certain brands that are associated
with innovation are very interested in working
Sky. Therefore, the focus for the advertisers at the
moment is more about brand association rather than
reach.
Straight after Sky was a presentation by
Virgin Media by Kevin O’Neil, Head of On
Demand Development. The Virgin Media
product is different to Sky, instead of a ‘3D’
roll call there are Video On Demand (VOD)
services. The company explicitly differentiates
its movies by format i.e. SD movie £3.99, HD
movie £4.99 and 3D movie £5.99 per limited
play. On Demand content is the key driver
of customer satisfaction and growth in the
business that is split between TV cable, fibre
optic and mobile.
Both Sky and Virgin Media transmit
using the existing infrastructure i.e. they
utilise pre-existing HD channels/pipes to
deliver 3D content. Most productions will
have digital stereo masters which are full
resolution HD left and right eye content. It
is not commercially viable to broadcast using
2xHD channels with the current platform
infrastructure and each eye is encoded either
side by side or over under; 50% reduction
in either the horizontal or vertical resolution
(1920x1080i to 960x1080i or 1280x720p to
1280 x 360p). Technically, this is a backward
step, but visually and from the perspective
of the consumer they don’t notice a 50%
reduction as the actual perceived drop in
resolution (not quality) is 30%; and even
this is subjective. The current situation is a
limitation of the delivery platform not the
acquisition hence we are currently in the first
iteration of delivery.
At the moment, the reduced resolution is
considered tolerable for the early adopters
and will obviously get with better with time.
With the introduction of “Smart TVs” some
providers are looking at using full resolution
over terrestrial or satellite and the different
channel provided over the internet. There
are some synchronisation issues that still
need to be refined but this is a considered
to be a very efficient way of maximising
the resolution while fully utilising both the
traditional and new broadcast interfaces i.e.
IP streams.
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3D FUTURES
As with all providers/platforms/
broadcaster, 3D content is an issue – a sense
of déjà vu comes to mind when HD was
first introduced. Interestingly, it is not just
the classic movie and sport programming
that is developing a lot of interest. Natural
history, documentaries, 3D shorts and
animation are high on the shopping list for
many. The situation is still a classic content
dilemma; existing consumers want content,
producers need markets and large audiences
to justify the additional expense in producing
a 3D version. As we all know there is an
additional component and it has been clear
that 3D movies have 25-33% upsell on their
2D counterparts almost two years after the
release of Avatar. But movies alone will not
guarantee the success of 3D in the long-
term. The format needs to be supplemented
with additional content that opens up either
dedicated channels or VOD content for main
stream audiences. According to the BBC
we are very far away from 3D becoming
mainstream and argued if we should really
push for this. As always in broadcasting, the
audience will determine the outcome.
Sky creates and distributes 3D content as
part of the premium subscription where 3D
is free if you are on Sky World subscription
package. The business model is about
maintaining the premium subscription while
rewarding loyalty of the customers. Over the
past 12 months there has been an acceleration
of both content creation and delivery of 3D
content, and it is not all 3D movies. Events
ranging from Premiership matches, World
Cup, live 3D opera and other special events,
both delivered to the home and cinemas.
One small note about cinemas, with the
introduction of digital projection, the major
circuits are changing the concept of going to
the cinema. It is not just about going to see
a movie anymore – cinemas are now being
used for public or prestigious events that can
be sold at a premium. The interesting aspect
about special events is they are presented at
one-time only presentations rather than the
 3D FUTURES
tradition multi-play movie playout.
The BBC’s approach is far more deliberate
and considered in how to use 3D creatively
and adding to the story telling process.
Traditional visual/depth/story cues have
changed with the introduction of 3D and this
is the area where the BBC are focusing on; “It
is more about the art rather than the science
of 3D”, commented Danielle Nagler, Head of
3D and HD, BBC.
The presentation was reminiscent of the
days when we were all debating the merits of
moving from Super16 to HD and one of the
most important messages being, “it’s vital
we understand audiences and where they
are in relation to 3D if we’re fully to exploit
3D opportunities.” It is believed that 3D has
longevity, but it will be some time before it
becomes mainstream - it could be argued
that most viewers would be interested in
watching 3D constantly.
The BBC view point was illuminated by a
breath taking 3D demo reel of high speed
3D content, natural history and a special
showcase of Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing
with the Stars) in 3D. The high image quality
was what you would expect from the BBC
where the context and 3D effect was
choreographed perfectly between action
and camera work. For the Strictly demo,
the 2D set was reused but cameras and rigs
took two hours to setup, 45 minute shoot
and it took three days to edit and refine to
produce a few minutes worth of content.
Danielle did make the point that we are
nowhere near providing a consistent 3D
experience that produces a compelling
audience proposition and hence there is
much work to be done and many lessons to
be learnt about transiting a well-established
format to 3D. Examples were, 2D vs 3D shot
differences, set and lighting considerations,
optimising the talent movement through
careful choreography and not the over use
of close ups.
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Using variable 3D is the right way forward
to provide natural lulls and crescendo in
line with the narrative. Constant ‘WOW’
usage will become tiresome and distract
from the story telling. One of the major
accomplishments of Avatar was the careful
use of stereoscopic effects that immerse the
viewer at the correct time i.e. action shots,
wide vistas and intimacy scenes.
Conversely, with Dorcel, Playboy TV and
other adult content producers are using
3D to immerse the viewer into more of an
intimate experience, as if viewer was in the
same room as the model(s). It is obvious
the format can capitalise on “outie” effects
amplifying the erotic nature of the program.
And it is not surprising to find out that most
adult content is viewed by individuals and
for short period of times!
Historically, adult entertainment has been
the forefront of technology and a major
adopter of online distribution. With 3D
there has been more of a reserved adoption
due to the practicalities and expense of 3D
productions. Portability is a major issue with
a dual camera rigs and the additional setup
time required for each shot – sustainability
both in the production crew and the talent
is a concern with the current cameras. It has
only recently become practical to use 3D
techniques with the introduction of smaller
cameras and rigs etc and this is going
improve with the next generation HDV type
dual lens stereo cameras.
Is 3D TV going to be the de facto standard
for next generation entertainment? One must
be careful not to draw too many comparisons
to the transition from SD to HD and analogue
to digital television. 3D TV is not the same
as transition to HD, even though it was
mentioned several times that 3D TV is an
evolution of television. It is fully recognised
that here are parallels with the discussions of
today with the conversations of 10 years ago.
3D FUTURES
“With the current platform
Flying Monsters 3D with David
infrastructure each eye is encoded Attenborough for Sky 3D, became
either side by side or over under and the first 3D documentary ever to win
a BAFTA for the Specialist Factual
there is 50% reduction in either the category. Sir David Attenborough’s
horizontal or vertical resolution .” venture into the prehistoric era
brings a view of an unobserved
world, back to life on 3D television
The current impression is that 3D
and the giant IMAX screen.
provides film makers an additional set of
creative tools to help improve the story
telling process; 3D is not a format per se
as viewers are not exposed to a consistent
3D experience throughout a feature/
production. Whereas, HD is consistently
better than SD by the very nature of
going from standard definition to high
definition, 3D is not a 3D definition. Used
correctly 3D enhances the entertainment
effect through subtle or not so subtle
depth cues that support the narrative.
The effect of 3D is variable via the control
of negative or positive parallax that
focuses the viewer on certain elements of
the scene/view i.e. a depth cue, “3D is
like looking through a window rather than
looking at a painting.”
The 3D TV World Forum illustrated there
is a lot of money been spent in technologies
from lens to living room and is a highly
valuable forum and networking event. With
the support of most TV manufacturers around
the world, 3D is definitely here to stay and
2015 is considered to be the turning point
with most new TV screens being “3D ready”.
The real question as rightly pointed out
by the BBC, will 3D become the mainstream
or just a creative toolset to immerse the
viewer and amplify the story telling process?
Time will tell and the destiny of the 3rd or
4th iteration of stereo content will be in the
hands of the film makers and broadcasters
themselves; we are mere consumers… or are
we? HD
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