Re: Pixar rendered Toy Story

[P3D Larry Berlin <lberlin@xxxxxxxxx>]

>P3D Gregory J. Wageman Wrote:
> But my point was, that there are a lot of effects that
>are used routinely in modern films that would be useless in stereo,
>because they depend on being able to 'fool' the single-camera 'eye',
>like forced-perspective shots and even matte paintings do.  Hardly
>a film is made these days without one or more matte shots to establish
>a (non-existant) location or to create a fantasy background behind a
>'real' set.  None of this would be possible in stereo; the matte
>illusion doesn't work.  These types of effects are *far* more common
>than completely computer-rendered effects.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  Of course you can't use ordinary Matte paintings, but they
still work in stereo 3D. The concept is more complex but the principle is
the same. You just have more dimension in which to play. 

The trick is to prepare stereo matte paintings and match them in scale and
parallax with the appropriate action scenes. It is the individual eye that
is "fooled" so now you have to fool two eyes. In the computer this is
relatively easy and allows 3D special effects that are free from the
challenge of having to pretend to be 3D. The problem seems to be not the
lack of ability to use the old tricks, but an overabundance of new tricks
that are still unexplored.

Forced perspective becomes forced parallax when blending scene elements from
different source mediums. Instead of having to imitate 3D you get the chance
to create your art in 3D, "painting" at any depth desired. This is a new
freedom and takes getting used to.

>P3D Gregory J. Wageman Wrote:
>3D would automatically take away a huge number of standard effects from
>a production.  New techniques would have to be developed from scratch
>to replace them, or else the filmmakers would have to confine themselves
>to non-F/X subjects, which I believe would mean box-office death.  I
>don't think the movie-going public would tolerate a giant step backward
>in effects, "just" to get 3D.
>
>I believe this is a major obstacle facing any proposed major 3D film.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  The fact that 3D can be done in the computer to
create so many new special effects is what makes 3D have a powerful
potential at the box office. This is exciting because it is so far unused
even though many have understood the specifics about how to do it for a long
time. Current revolutions in computer graphics capabilities, help make
possible a new universe of options when it comes to 3D movies and special
F/X. It can be done with a lower budget today than it would have cost even a
few years ago. 

The stage that will open the way is the home computer because the new
material can be distributed faster and farther through computers. The
studios will eventually catch on and start learning the new tricks and
figuring ways to make their projection job easier too. New challenges can be
obstacles but they become easier viewed as opportunities.

Larry Berlin

Email: lberlin@xxxxxxxxx
http://www.sonic.net/~lberlin/


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