Which 3D TV to consider getting

Some thoughts on active vs passive 3DTV technology.  We just purchased the LG 42LW5300 3DTV bundle for under $700 from NewEgg (which is a phenomenal deal), part of their Cinema 3D line that uses the same 3D glasses as you get in a RealD equipped movie theater (the AMC chain here in Bloomington).  This bundle also includes a 3D Blu-ray player, so it's basically a 3D cinema in a box.

We went with the LG Cinema 3D technology for reasons pertaining to the glasses technology.  Being a home with small kids, we didn't want to risk the breakage of more expensive LCS (liquid crystal shutter) glasses that are part of the 3D systems in 3DTVs by Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, and a few others.

We also wanted to be able to invite friends and family over for viewing 3D content (either via 3D Blu-ray, YouTube 3D, or 3D channels on our DirecTV plan) and purchasing and maintaining a number of LCS glasses was cost prohibitive.  Now, with the LG Cinema 3D technology, people can just bring their glasses they received when seeing a 3D movie in a theater.  We also have a bunch of these glasses on hand from our various trips to the theater.

tl;dr
We went with the LG Cinema 3D equipped 3DTV that uses passive polarization in the glasses.  If the glasses get broken or lost (very possible in a home with kids) replacing them is a matter of a few dollars or a trip to the local theater for a 3D movie viewing.

4K Digital Intermediate workflow for "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

Interesting interview from the folks at Creative COW with the production team that made working at 4K in real-time.

Re-teaming with director David Fincher after their successful collaboration on The Social Network, Michael Cioni and the team at Light Iron built 5K workflows for real time, full resolution post for Fincher's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The running time of the 4K print is 2:38, creating a data size larger than six 2K features combined. Cioni and Light Iron co-founder Ian Vertovec spoke to Creative COW's Debra Kaufman about how working that way in real time is even possible, working with David Fincher, and what frame sizes larger than 4K mean for all of us.

http://magazine.creativecow.net/article/4k-di-on-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo

Digital Storytelling Degree at Missouri University

This is very cool news!  I hope they're successful and that we can look at their program as a working model.

Digital storytelling could be offered as an interdisciplinary degree at the University of Missouri if some cross-campus faculty members get their way.

Leaders from several MU schools, colleges and departments — including English, communications, film and journalism — are hashing out details of a digital storytelling degree. Pat Okker, an English professor, expects the group to submit a proposal soon.

“The key idea is preparing students to communicate in multimedia environments,” she said in an email, “and the major requires students to develop skills in writing, visual communication and design, and production.”

Read the full article.

Cameras and color bit depth

This is really just a long winded introduction serving as a link to an article on color bit depth and Premiere Pro.  The Sony XDCAM EX-3 cameras we use in our 3D rig are capable of generating 10-bit 4:2:2 color out the HD-SDI tap.  If, however, you're using the onboard SxS cards for recording you get 8-bit 4:2:0 color.  It seems that more and more cameras in the pro-sumer range are now offering 10-bit 4:2:2 recording to onboard media, so folks are going to run into this more and more.

Most people have 8-bit monitors and displays at their disposal, so even viewing their 10-bit content is problematic.  We want to be 10-bit (and 12-bit) aware since most digital cinema projectors are 10-bit capable.  If you've been to a d-cinema screening, you've seen 10-bit color.  Interestingly enough, the Digital Cinema Package (DCP) format supports up to 12-bit color, so it's a little future-proof at the moment.

Now, on to the article about 10-bit color in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Getting ready to teach 3D in the spring

Indiana University allows me to teach a 400 level production course with stereoscopic technology and concepts.  this will be the third semester that the 3D course is taught at Indiana University and we have a great cadre of incoming students.

We're still planning on having the class complete six short productions over the course of the semester with the goal of screening them in the IU Cinema in late April or early May.  We're also working on refining some of the assignments to better assess each students' understanding of stereoscopy.

Best of luck to the dozen proto-stereographers at IU!