Sanctum 3D

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to screen the new James Cameron-produced psychological thriller, Sanctum 3D, in preparation for my interview for Mingle Media TV with the film's director, Alister Grierson.  I will be honest by saying that my film tastes usually skew more towards dramas and documentaries versus intense action movies. If I told you that I white-knuckled my way through the film would be an understatement, but the movie was a wild ride.



I headed down to The Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills to interview Alister to really focus on the technical aspects of how the film was made.  When we got there, we found out that Alice Parkinson, who plays Victoria in the film, was also going to drop in on the interview. Score!  This movie was so intense for everyone involved and now I was able to get an actor's perspective.

The most pressing question of the day started right off with asking about Jim Cameron.  It had been announced that he was THE most successful man in entertainment last year earning close to $257 million thanks to Avatar.  What was it like working with him?  Both Alister and Alice had an enormous amount of respect for Mr. Cameron especially for his pioneering technologies like the Pace-Cameron Fusion 3D camera system that helped make Sanctum possible--in 3D and underwater. (To understand how revolutionary this system is, read this article.) Alister even had the pressure of being hand-picked by the movie mogul, so the whole film became a career-defining moment for him and one that he handles with total aplomb.

The actors had the challenge of training in rock climbing and scuba diving plus their job of acting.  In fact, they also had to act as their own lighting specialist since much of the underwater light came from the battery-powered lights on their heads.  This created scenes of organic lighting, but with having to remember lines and their scuba techniques, it was a lot of multi-tasking on their part.  Alister also waited to shoot the underwater scenes the last month on set so that the actors had several months of Scuba training under their belt.  He wanted them to be as confident and safe as possible because they were constantly in dangerous situations.

The fascinating aspect of the film is that it is a true psychological drama based on a true story experienced by the film's writer, Andrew Wight.  It preys upon the audience's fear of suffocation, drowning, and claustrophobia in a visually stunning use of camera techniques, sets, and locations.  It also brings up a few questions of morality and human behavior when you find yourself in a dangerous situation. Do you help those in need or do you move forward and save yourself?  What would you do?  After seeing Sanctum 3D, your answer just might change........



All photos are property of Mingle Media TV.

In-Three: Pushing 3-D to New Limits

We've seen the proliferation of 3D movies in the past few years: Up, Beowulf, and Hannah Montana:Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour. Is it a gimmick being pushed by the movie studios to get us out of the house and into the theatres or is it the next level of technology that will become a part of our everyday movie going experience? Well, In-Three executives, CEO David Seigle and Executive Vice President Neil Feldman, want you to know it is here to stay and they are going to do their best to educate the viewer to become a critic of quality 3-D.

In-Three has pioneered the way to take a 2D film and convert it into an experience with 3D images all while maintaining artistic integrity along the way. While this may sound like a simple conversion from one dimension to the other, it is not. It involves a process they patented and developed called "Dimensionalization". This allows the director to choose a depth rating which allows them to achieve a comfortable level of 3D for the viewer or to go more dramatic with specific style choices for their film. This also means a more affordable way to create 3D film: shoot the film in 2D and three-dimensionalize it in post which results in half the cost of a traditional 3D movie. It truly involves an advanced set of tools and an undercurrent of new thinking in the 3D industry.

Comfort level is not something you may think about as a viewer of 3D film in the movie theatre, but it is important to In-Three. They have also created a software tool that will measure "the visual impact of 3D content". Adults and children view 3D images differently because the ratio of where kids see 3D is dramatically different than that of a fully-developed adult. The images will seem even closer to a child which is why they are sometimes terrified by even the most harmless image jumping out in front of them. Other issues they are concerned with involve "3D Fatigue" where the viewer's eyes are exhausted from images on the screen. They have scientifically researched where the separation of the screen's images rest most comfortably with an adult and a child's eye. This is known as the parallax which rates the depth perception for the audience. An adult's eye will rest most comfortably at 2.5 inches apart, so the next time you are at the theatre, take off your glasses and start judging the quality of your 3D experience.

Outside of the revolutionary technology, where does In-Three see 3D headed? Like many, they find the current economy to be a major player in holding back the digital upgrades that are necessary on the exhibition side. 3D is the driver in the digital age, with approximately twelve 3D films slated for 2009 and upwards of sixteen on the schedule for 2010. Audiences are willing to pay a premium for the theatre experience, but without the continual upgrades on digital projectors, it may take longer than you think to see this as a standard in the theatre exhibition industry. If studios subsidized some of these improvements, maybe we will all be able to see some of the classics in 3D.

The idea of classic movies in 3D may bring traditionalists to the streets to riot, but with the backing and testimonials from high level entertainment moguls like James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, the viewer may be watching "The Wizard of Oz" in 3D before you know it. Lucas even has a benchmark in mind. If 5000 screens become available with digital technology, Star Wars geeks might see Princess Leia in a gold bikini in 3D. Currently, the US has 2500 3D digital screens, so it may take awhile. Yet, with the return of event movies, maybe Lucas will change his mind.

3D is becoming more relevant, not only in the movie industry, but also in the automotive and consumer electronics industries. Viewers will see more applications of 3D technology in their dashboard displays of their vehicles and in home theatre configurations. Anyone attendee at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2009 can attest to its presence. So, In-Three is ready for you to become a consumer of quality 3D in the entertainment industry.
To check out examples of their dimensionalization at work, be sure to see Disney's G-Force opening Friday, July 24th. For more information on In-Three, head on over to their website: In-Three.