HP TouchSmart Blog

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Most of us have seen one of the latest 3D movies that have hit theaters, such as Avatar, Monsters versus Aliens and Up. As the emergence of 3D begins to translate from the theaters into a home experience, it is important to understand what is needed in order to create, produce and distribute good 3D content. Quality content, after all, benefits everybody.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I chaired a workshop at the Sundance Film Festival with a panel of professionals from different industries: DreamWorks, Sony, Disney, NBA and NCM Media Networks. We came together to discuss the challenges and considerations to bringing a rich 3D experience to the consumer. During the session, each of the panelists shared their experiences and thoughts on film, television and advertising.

The members of the workshop panel included:

• Bruce A. Hendricks, President Physical Production, Disney
• David (Buzz) Hays, Senior VP, Sony Technology Center, Sony Pictures Image Works
• Ken Venturi, EVP Interactive Media & Chief Creative Officer, NCM Media Networks
• Mark Lewis, Independent Producer/Director, Radio Pictures and Director of “Cane Toads: The Conquest”, the only 3D film that premiered at Sundance 2010
• Phil McNally, Global Stereoscopic FX Supervisor, DreamWorks Animation
• Steve Hellmuth, CIO, EVP Technology, NBA

We had a standing room only crowd that showed up to hear the discussion, and the energy was great because there was a long line to get into the session. For those of you unable to attend in person, I wanted to share the footage from the 3D workshop. HP also demonstrated Project Pluribus. Pluribus is the name we use for a 3D development project in HP Labs, a part of our continuing research of the rapidly growing 3D market. With Pluribus we use several projectors to create a seamless, high-resolution 3D viewing experience that is projected on a large screen. You’ll see the 11’ x 6’ Pluribus screen in the videos.

For independent film makers, a very popular portion of the workshop included a segment from Buzz Hayes about understanding, at a core level, of how 3D works. Take a look at the video below for the “Five Minute 3D film school.”

Of course, 3D is not just going to be relevant to the consumer space; it also has a wide range of applications in the enterprise space. For example, imagine surgeons being able to see MRI imagery in 3D. This will help make surgery less invasive, more accurate, and improve the recovery time for patients.

When you look at the growth of bandwidth and improvement of camera technologies, 3D may become much more commonplace in the home in the next two years. Of course, our objective at HP is to continue to develop and improve the technologies that bring a rich and immersive 3D experience to our customers.

What content would you like to see in 3D, and what innovations are you most excited about? I look forward to reading your thoughts in the forums, or find me on twitter at @PhilMcKinney.