by Limor Schafman
This statement was made by James Cameron during the opening Keynote of NAB 2011 that he did with Vince Pace. Their fireside chat was part sales pitch of their newly formed partnership - Cameron Pace Group (CPG)- and a peek into the future of 3D film and broadcast.
Their newly formed company is a declaration of their belief that 3D will become part and parcel of all film and video capture. They ultimately envision that having separate units to film 2D and 3D will be replaced with all film/video capture taking place in 3D with 2D being stripped out and used when needed.
One aspect which I found both interesting and greatly appreciated about their talk is Pace's bottom line perspective that 3D needs to generate revenue and it should not be costly. They stressed repeatedly how important it is approach 3D filimg with operational intelligence. And that 3D is second to the way operators work, Directors direct, and to the story. They do not believe that anyone should be forced to change how they work. Rather, to use the expertise that people have and add the component of 3D when it makes sense. This is clearly a message that was directed to the broadcasting audience that is value+cost sensitive.
One example that took place this past weekend is the PGA Masters. Of the 18 cameras filming the Masters, 6 had a 3D shadow cam on the unit which used the same eye, 2 shared robos and 2 cameras shared jibs. The whole point of the CPG approach is to integrate 3D video capture seemlessly/with minimal impact with existing 2D operations. And to keep costs down. And btw, the 3D picture looked beautiful.
Cameron spoke of the content gap that exists currently with regard to 3D video. The Consumer Electronics market leaped ahead beginning last year into 3D. Without content, purchases are low. Producers don't want to shoot in 3D because of the low audience numbers. Regardless of this slow uptake of 3D in theatres and home entertainment, Cameron and Pace believe that 3D is the future with technology arriving within 4 years to a place where glasses will not be necessary for 3D viewing. At this point, Cameron warned, if a company does not have experience with 3D and that content in the can, they will be behind the wave. Production and distribution winners will be 3D-rich in content.
The session was capped with upcoming 3D film releases for Transformers, Cirque de Soleil, The Three Muskateers, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. And let me tell you - they looked great!
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