3ality’s founder and CEO Steve Schklair kicked off IBC’s 3d day on Monday with a keynote speech about how best to capture stereoscopic images for live broadcast. I caught up with him at the show to talk through his vast experience of all things 3d.
“It’s all about ensuring everything is quality 3d. During my keynote speech I’ll show everyone what badly shot 3d looks like. You may not notice much of a difference at the start but after 10 minutes it will give you a headache.
We were the first guys to set up a major 3d company based around the new methodology of doing 3d. That was a decade ago. I had no doubts then that things would go 3d, not just for movies but TV too. Where else would media go? In the last decade, we’ve already had better quality, immersive surround sound, so it’s natural you’d want better quality, immersive images too. To me, it’s clear TV will eventually be a 3d device.
When 3d is done properly the content is far too compelling to not want 3d. And if it’s done badly it shows, you’ll get a headache and not want to watch it. And it’s important to remember that 3d doesn’t make something that’s bad in 2d good, so storytelling is still key to any content’s success.
To produce 3d shouldn’t add anything to the production schedule. We shot an NBC sitcom recently and ended up getting through more shots than previously when the show was 2d. If you have the right technology you’re fine.

But you need a similar range of shooting options as with a 2d show. If you can’t pan fast or zoom in beyond a certain point, the 3d isn”t going to be so compelling as the 2d, so the viewer will just want to switch back to how it was before.

Likewise, in sports, the stereo 3d needs to be better than 2d if it’s to survive, otherwise again viewers will just want to switch back to 2d.

New editing tools save on post production time for stereo 3d. I think SGO’s Mistika is the best option right now. It was the Pablo before but now it’s the Mistika, as it handles the geometry of 3d better. You can make slight adjustments to the interaxial settings, and it’s the only system that can do that.
Sky and Telegenic’s stereo 3d services are built around 3ality kit. They’ve done 3d so well at Sky. They found a business case for it – which has initially been sports in pubs – and made a deal with a TV manufacturer to provide pubs with the sets.

They did a sponsorship deal with the glasses and bought the best quality stereo 3d kit for their coverage. Sky trained their staff correctly and practiced for months before going on air. Crews were being sent out every weekend to practice getting the stereo 3d production right, which was expensive but totally the right thing to do. And it shows."

For more on stereo 3d from Steve Schklair, here’s a recent Sky News interview….

Staff Reporter

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