Stereoscopic 3D With SOFTIMAGE|XSI
By Alexandra Pasian
When Walt Disney Studios announced early in 2008 that they would be releasing the third installment of their ground-breaking Toy Story series in “Disney Digital 3-D,” they joined what is shaping up to be a new 3D revolution. With films like The Polar Express, Spy Kids 3D, and Beowulf, the new wave of 3D, or stereoscopic 3D, is bringing action off movie screens and into theatres, giving audiences a truly immersive cinematic experience.
Stereoscopic 3D is different from other forms of 3D in that it achieves depth of field by offering both a “right eye” and “left eye” view of the same scene. The brain then interprets the two similar images as a unified whole that “pops” off the screen. This means that objects and characters appear to come into the theatre space, forcing some audience members—me included—to actively resist the urge to reach for the falling ball or duck away from the jumping fish.
One of the companies that has been at the forefront of the stereoscopic 3D revolution is Quebec’s Hybride. Hybride worked on both of Robert Rodriguez’s forays into the genre: Spy Kids 3D and Shark Boy and Laval Girl as well as Eric Brevig’s Journey To the Centre of the Earth and they are now working on an undisclosed stereoscopic 3D project.
According to Philippe Theroux, Lead 3D Supervisor at Hybride, "With every production we’re getting better. Working in stereoscopic 3D is a very complicated process, but we’re learning what works and what doesn’t.”
Based on Theroux’s experience, Journey to the Centre of the Earth stands to be a big success. As he says, "This film was really well-shot for a stereoscopic movie. In particular, the camera rigs are better and continue to improve, which makes our job easier. With more experience, our job is getting easier.”
TM and © MMVIII Images property of New Line Productions Inc, courtesy of Alliance Films
One of the things that always helps make their job easier is SOFTIMAGE|XSI software. Says Theroux, “SOFTIMAGE|XSI is the heart of Hybride’s pipeline. Everything revolves around it. Every aspect of our process is done around XSI, and we have to ensure that all our software is compatible with it.”
XSI at the Heart of Hybride’s Stereoscopic Pipeline
The team at Hybride uses XSI for everything from modeling to texturing and rendering. And, of course, they use it extensively for animation. "All of the tools we have for animation in SOFTIMAGE|XSI are extremely helpful. In particular, for this film, we were able to create rigs that were light and easy to work with for our animators and this was really great for these complex scenes.”
For Journey to the Centre of the Earth, the team at Hybride used XSI to create the “glowbird” and dinosaur skull as well as the giant carnivorous plants. They also created several virtual environments, including the chamber of diamonds, the volcano and the thermal river. In all, a team of 80 people at Hybride spent more than 15 months creating 234 scenes in stereoscopic 3D for this film.
For the audience, Hybride’s work on the movie translates into 18 minutes of screen time. But, in fact, because everything has to be done twice—once for the right eye camera and once again for the left—it actually works out to 36 minutes. According to Theroux "Although the process is roughly the same as any other movie, stereoscopic 3D is double the work.”
TM and © MMVIII Images property of New Line Productions Inc, courtesy of Alliance Films
To ensure visual accuracy in the final film, the team starts by building a duplicate rig in CG that is identical to the real one on set. Then they place their cameras and begin the tracking and layout for each scene. It is a very time-consuming process, up front, but the results are amazing. Through their careful process the team at Hybride is able to create greater environmental immersion for the actors as well as a more immersive experience for the audience. Of course, now that they have the ability to make the actors appear in—as opposed to in front of—their synthetic environments, film-makers want to take things further, which means even greater challenges for development teams like Hybride.
Greater Immersive Possibilities
For Journey to the Centre of the Earth, director Eric Brevig wanted to increase the interaction between the actors and their environments.
Says Theroux, "In the past, we have been asked to place backgrounds behind actors, but, for this film, we had to put actors in their environments. Trevor (Brendan Fraser), Hannah (Anita Briem), and Sean (Josh Hutcherson) didn’t just walk in front the forest of giant mushrooms; they also had to jump over debris on the ground as well as duck under vines overhead.”
Another particularly challenging scene was when Trevor and Hannah fought with the giant carnivorous plants. In this scene, Fraser was shot first in front of a green screen and fought with a blue stick. Then, the team at Hybride animated the plants into his hand.
Says Theroux "in addition to doing the layout, we also had to do a kind of choreography. But, it was a choreography for a couple when one person is already filmed, and we have to put the other one in his arms.”
This scene is done so successfully that it is difficult to believe that Fraser is not holding a model of the actual plant.
Stereoscopic 3D On Your Screen
Others in the industry are also using SOFTIMAGE|XSI to produce stunning stereoscopic 3D. New York’s design, production, and motion graphics boutique UV Factory used the Hair and particle tools in XSI to create the fantastical river in Bjork’s Wanderlust video. A team of 40 artists at UV Factory worked on the project to create 37 different shots that make the water seem alive. The water becomes a character itself as Bjork rides the river for most of the seven minute video while it bubbles and splashes around her.
A special version of the 3D stereoscopic video was released on DVD early in 2008 as part of the singer’s new album Volta and included glasses so that fans could get the full immersive experience in their own homes.
TM and © MMVIII Images property of New Line Productions Inc, courtesy of Alliance Films
According to Theroux, Hollywood is embracing stereoscopic 3D with a passion. The move to digital projectors in theatres is making it easier to show stereoscopic films, and, with more 3D theatres being built, it is easier than ever for viewers to see films in 3D. In addition, there is increased investment in stereoscopic technology, including eyewear that will increase comfort and enhance the viewing experience. Clearly, this is great news for Hybride, UV Factory, and audiences worldwide.
To order your DVD with Bjork’s Wanderlust video in stereoscopic 3D, check out her website. To see Hybride’s work on Journey to the Centre of the Earth, check your local listings. And, when you do, remember it’s not really coming at you. It just looks that way.
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