Sandrew – Expect more post 2D to 3D converted films in 2012

In part two of “What Next for 3D?” Legend3D founder, COO and CTO Dr Barry Sandrew reveals the company’s focus on affordable 2D to 3D conversion for television, and that we should expect many more post conversions of iconic feature films after the expected success of Top Gun 3D, Titanic 3D and Star Wars 3D.

Legend3D is the largest company that specialises in the 2D – 3D conversion of motion pictures, television shows, advertisements and other visual entertainment assets.

Legend3D’s team of artists have been behind the conversion of parts of HUGO, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Alice in Wonderland, the Shrek trilogy and The Green Hornet and Dr Barry Sandrew’s conversion process evolved from his previous work on colorisation. The company also recently secured $19 million in funding by venture capitalists Northwater Capital Management to fund ongoing R&D efforts to enhance Legend3D’s proprietary 3D conversion pipeline.

We started by asking Dr Barry Sandrew whether he is more or less optimistic about the future of 3D compared to this time last year…

Dr Barry Sandrew: I am definitely more optimistic today than I was a year ago.  A year ago we were preparing for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, knowing we would also have portions of The Green Hornet, Green Lantern, Priest, Conan the Barbarian and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides to convert scenes from 2D to 3D. To date, three of the films we have worked on over the past 18 months have brought in more than one billion dollars each. Today, we have achieved a level of proficiency in 3D conversion that allows us to convert virtually anything, with the highest-quality stereo product.

The consumer electronics industry is cranking out 3D HDTVs, 3D smartphones, 3D tablets, and 3D game systems at a rapid rate to meet anticipated consumer demands. The whole industry seems to have revitalised itself within this new dimension. With the HDTV market saturated there needed to be a mechanism that would inspire new product turnover and 3D fits that bill!  Over the next three years, 3D will become ubiquitous.

Internationally, the number of 3D movie theatre screens has increased dramatically. Today, there are more than 30,000 3D screens worldwide and there is no sign of this trend slowing down.

The international response to 3D is huge. In fact, U.S. theatrical distribution appears to now be taking second seat to international distribution. Indeed, Transformers: Dark of the Moon represented the biggest revenue generator in the history of Chinese box office.

3D Focus: Has anything surprised/impressed you about the 3D industry during 2011?

Dr Barry Sandrew: I’m impressed that the biggest names in filmmaking are embracing 3D. Today, we have Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Tony Scott, Michael Bay, JJ Abrams and many others hopping on the 3D bandwagon. Directors of this calibre would not be in this game if it were for short-term play.

It is gratifying that the quality of conversion is now becoming much more acceptable.  Most recent conversions are of better quality than we have witnessed in the past, though there still needs to be more significant progress made in guaranteeing the quality of the final product. Legend3D has been leading the way on this front, with the acclaimed high-quality conversions on Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The Smurfs and Hugo.

A big surprise was the significant international demand for 3D, which appears to have taken Hollywood by surprise as well.

3D Focus: What projects will Legend3D be involved with throughout 2012?

Dr Barry Sandrew: Aside from Top Gun 3D, which we expect to be released in 2012, I can’t discuss the projects that we currently have in house. We are in active negotiations on two other iconic classics, for which we will partner with the studios. In addition, we have been focused on a progressive marketing campaign that will be delving into areas outside of just 3D TV, catalogue titles and new theatrical releases. Stay tuned! As always, we will continue to serve the entertainment industry by utilising our enhanced 3D toolset and upgraded pipeline to provide work that seamlessly complements each filmmaker’s storytelling.

3D Focus: Were there any pivotal moments for 3D during 2011?

Dr Barry Sandrew: Transformers: Dark of the Moon was pivotal for several reasons. It was likely the most complex conversion ever executed. More than half of the film was converted but some critics got the impression that the film was entirely shot in 3D. The effect was that moviegoers never had a chance to prejudge the film as a post conversion project.  Amazingly, many are still saying the reason the 3D was superior was due to it being all shot “natively”. The fact is that conversion, camera capture and CGI were seamlessly intercut throughout the movie in a checkerboard fashion, and this major accomplishment was achieved by Director Michael Bay and the film’s Stereographer, Corey Turner.

Hugo was almost entirely shot in 3D.  However for some key sequences we were the lead 2D-to-3D conversion studio. It was one of the most beautiful 3D films I’ve ever seen. It was Martin Scorsese’s first 3D film and he directed it masterfully. In fact, I believe it was one of the best 3D films produced to date.

3D Focus: Do you believe conversion will become affordable at a high enough quality in 2012 to boost 3D television rather than just movie content?

Dr Barry Sandrew: At Legend3D, we’re proud to say that we’re already there. In 2011 alone, Legend3D made enormous technological and creative strides.  Legend3D invested millions of R&D dollars specifically in preparation for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, significantly upgrading our conversion process and building a whole new suite of conversion tools.  As a result, we can now offer the fastest turnaround time and the most competitive pricing within the industry, without compromising the high quality 3D conversion that is synonymous with Legend3D. Additionally, we have completed several conversion tests of popular, current TV series that were met with unanimous praise by the studio that owns the copyrights. We were able to achieve this with a derivation of our newest processes and a special 3DTV pipeline we developed that allows us to produce high end, affordable 3D conversion for TV.

3D Focus: What expectations do you have for the 3D entertainment industry for 2012 and do you think 2012 is a particularly important year for shaping the direction the 3D industry takes moving forward?

Dr. Barry Sandrew: I think we’ll see significant movement in the installed base of HDTVs.  Next year, it will be difficult to buy an HDTV that is not 3D ready. This is essentially a “Trojan Horse” strategy that will make 3D in the home common place in the coming year. The quality of 3D feature films will improve dramatically over the next 12 months. The international theatre going audiences will continue to outshine the U.S. but both will show significant growth. With the release and anticipated success of Top Gun, Titanic and Star Wars in 3D in 2012, there will be a whole new initiative to convert many of the top iconic feature films from major studios.

3D Focus: Do you feel the pursuit for 3D ubiquity (3D phones, 3D laptops, 3D games consoles etc.) has been misguided or premature?

Dr. Barry Sandrew: Absolutely not, I think the more distribution avenues for 3D the better. The incremental cost of 3D capability is not significant enough to hold it back. This is particularly true because of the significant increase in 3D content that is anticipated to be available over the next 12 months. Indeed, 3D phones, laptops and game consoles will be instrumental in making 3D ubiquitous in the home.

3D Focus: Is there anything you will be especially looking out for in 2012?

Dr. Barry Sandrew: I expect there to be many more post-converted films in 2012.  The public will become more accepting of conversion once they start to see converted catalogue titles released that have the quality necessary to capture audiences worldwide.

For more information about Legend3D visit www.Legend3d.com

TOMORROW ON WHAT NEXT FOR 3D? – ANTHONY GEFFEN FROM ATLANTIC PRODUCTIONS

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