Visual Effects Pioneer Ray Harryhausen Dies at 92 - The Hollywood Reporter

Visual Effects Pioneer Ray Harryhausen Dies at 92

10:37 AM PDT 5/7/2013 by Duane Byrge

Ray Harryhausen

Stop-motion legend developed many of the techniques that have become today's industry standards.

Animation effects wizard Ray Harryhausen, who pioneered many of the stop-motion techniques that have become today's industry standards, has died at 92.

Utilizing his Dynamation process, Harryhausen brought to life both mythological figures and pre-historical creatures in such films as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts where he created the famous skeleton swordfight. He created extra-terrestrials in such entertainments as Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and Twenty Millions Miles to Earth.Revered for his cutting-edge effects work in the '50s and '60s on such fantasy classics as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts, Harryhausen developed the technique of projecting footage from the front and rear, one frame at a time. He dubbed the technique “Dynamation.”

In 1992, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences presented Harryhausen with ah honorary Oscar, a tribute to his visual magic. He was presented with the Gordon E. Sawyer Award, an Oscar statuette, given to an individual “whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry.”

In those early years, he performed his stop-motion techniques on very low-budgeted projects. His effects created spectacular havoc in such disaster films as The Best from 20,000 Fathoms and It Came from Beneath the Sea. He re-created dinosaurs in One Million Years B.C.

During the '70s, he created cutting-edge special effects for three films: Golden Voyage of Sinbad,Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger and Clash of the Titans.

“They were considered B pictures because they were made on a budget. But we outlived many of the A pictures made at the same time,” he once noted.

More recently, he produced MGM's Clash of the Titans (1981), which starred Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Claire Bloom and Ursula Andress.

Harryhausen considered his specialty to be creating “fantasy creatures,” where he would insert the monsters believably in the same frame as actual actors. “I don't do monsters you know. Monsters are associated with horror. I'm not interested in horror…I don't' want to deceive or frighten. I want to create illusions, fantasies, legends,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1981.

Harryhausen inspired a cult following and was the subject of a 1986 documentary, Aliens, Dragons, Monsters and Me, directed by Richard Jones.

Other films included: Valley of the Gwangi,  20,000 Miles to Earth, First Men in the Moon, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, Mysterious Island, Animal World and The Valley - Time Forgot.

To read the entire article, click here!

Dr. Sandrew - High frame Rate 

Movies Are Inevitable 

3D NEWS> 3D FILM

In the final part of our interview with Legend3D founder Dr Barry Sandrew, we discover that high frame rate movies are inevitable, that the 3D Blu-ray market is starting to heat up and why the Top Gun 3D re-release has proved so popular.  If you missed part one, click here.

3D Focus: Is it too simplistic to say, the more depth created in a shot, the more time, talent and cost required?

Dr Barry Sandrew:  There are times when that is the case.  While our entire creative conversion team is critical to each film we take on, I think one of the important areas of talent required for films with significant positive (inside the screen) and negative (outside the screen) depth and volume falls into the lap of the compositors.  They have to clean up the edge gaps that come along with significant depth.  The real challenge is when there is not enough background data to fill in the gaps.  Then it becomes a painting issue, which in 3D is very challenging.

3D Focus: Can you reveal if Paramount or others are looking to re-release classics?  We have heard about Lionsgate’s plans- will the 3D Blu-ray market be a small but important growth area?

Dr Barry Sandrew: The 3D catalogue business is starting to heat up.  I think with the success of titles like Top Gun and Jurassic park as well as the soon to be released Little Mermaid we’ll see many more of the most iconic feature films going through the creative conversion process.

3D Focus: As conversion technology like Legend3D solutions increasingly makes a compelling case for creativity and quality, do you predict 3D rigs to eventually only be used on lower/mid budget movies in several years’ time?

Dr Barry Sandrew:  No, I don’t see stereo rigs ever being used less on major feature films simply on the basis of cost.  Stereo rigs and conversion are both illusions.  Both native and conversion are special effects that are important story telling tools for the filmmaker.  I’m biased toward conversion because I know the significant creative potential and creative freedom of the process.

A 3ality Pulsar rig

After Legend has converted a film, the filmmaker can use our new, real time editing system to further direct, modify, polish and enhance their film.  This is a huge advantage for the filmmaker.  I don’t believe a true real time editing system for conversion has ever been available before. 

The Amazing Spiderman. Legend 3D provided conversion work and assisted with 3D VFX work. 

3ality Technica provided the 3D rigs

However, there will always be filmmakers who want to frame each shot in camera because that’s how they feel most comfortable.  Also, there are times when a hybrid approach might be most suitable.  While there are many good native rigs and native stereographers out there, I think high tech rigs like those Steve Schklair created for 3ality are unique in the native world.  I’ve seen times when his rigs have taken a lot of the risk and cost out of shooting.  I’m sure there will always be select titles where Legend3D will be called upon to collaborate with native capture.  In those cases I can see high tech rigs like 3ality being brought in for the purpose of combining the best of both worlds.

3D Focus: If higher or variable frame rates do become popular, will this dramatically affect the workflow of a conversion at Legend3D?

Dr Barry Sandrew: Well, it will increase the number of frames we need to design and render.  But we’ve been working on technology to handle that issue as well as a 4K pipeline.  At NAB last week it became crystal clear to me that HFR and perhaps variable frame rates are inevitable for select films.  Both Warner Brothers and SMPTE are supporting it and I certainly can see its value as another visual effect.  VFX and conversion technologies will have to adapt.

3D Focus: Can you share the rationale behind what movie gets re-released in 3D and what does not?  For example, Finding Nemo did not do as well as expected but The Lion King did very well.  Is there any industry research coming through to suggest what makes a good candidate for a catalogue re-release?

Dr Barry Sandrew: That’s a complex issue.  I can point to Top Gun as a catalogue title that is very successful in 3D because it has a very wide demographic.  Also, it’s an iconic film that people will go see in 3D because they remember it from their childhood.  Many people love to see it over and over again because they know the dialog by memory.  In fact, the dialog is fun, the music is great and, hey… it’s Tom Cruise.  Oh and for some reason the volleyball scene has some special significance to many women. 

I believe that typically if a catalogue title is currently generating a good deal of revenue as 2D Blu-ray releases, they should do considerably better in 3D.  For instance, I believe The Little Mermaid will do outstanding numbers in the home video marketplace.  Movies that are not doing well in home video today as 2D films will likely not do well in 3D either.

To read the entire 3DFocus Article, click here.

Top Gun 3D Blu-ray exceeding expectations

During the recent 3D Creative Summit in London, 3D Focus caught up with Dr Barry Sandrew, Founder & CCO/CTO of Legend3D, following a session that discussed the use of 2D to 3D conversion.

The man who invented digital colourisation presented 3D clips of the movie 300, a dog food commercial (my favourite) and a trailer of a major summer blockbuster Legend3D is currently converting.

The company has converted some of the highest profile 3D movies since the 3D boom in 2010 and last year converted the 1986 classic Top Gun over a twelve week period which, according to Sandrew, is currently doing very well on Blu-ray and is exceeding all expectations.

Angus Cameron (Vision 3), Barry Sandrew (Legend3D), Matt Bristowe (Prime Focus World)

before Post Conversion Evolves talk at 3D Creative Summit

In the first of a two part interview we start by asking Sandrew whether Legend3D has any creative influence on how a movie is converted.

Dr Barry Sandrew: I believe that one of the reasons Legend3D has become the gold standard for conversion is because we have had assigned to us some of the most demanding task masters when it comes to stereo like Corey Turner, Rob Engle and Phil McNally.  These stereographers really know their craft and we have learned an incredible amount from them.   They set the quality bar for Legend3D from the very beginning so we’ve known no other way to do conversion. 

Other conversion studios haven’t had the benefit of this experience so they have not developed an eye for tentpole quality conversion.  As a result of our reputation for quality, in many cases we are given creative freedom by the filmmakers.  We are currently converting one summer tentpole film in which the director has given us complete creative freedom, albeit with his buy off.  In other words, the studio has not assigned a separate stereographer to the project, but instead made the decision to rely on us.  To date, he has kicked back a very small fraction of shots. 

With Top Gun, Tony Scott gave us complete creative freedom and we had no kickbacks of our work at all.  He was very happy with our results.

Conversion artists work in Legend3D's new California facility

3D Focus: Conversion for broadcast does not appear to have had much take-up.  Is Legend3D any nearer to offering a cost effective solution?

Dr Barry Sandrew:  It’s a real challenge but we’ve developed a solution for broadcast, which can also be used for some catalogue titles.  It is neither real time nor a hybrid of 'real time plus manual' conversion. I contend that real time conversion does not work.  In fact I believe it’s antithetical to conversion because conversion was and is intended to be a creative process that cannot be substituted with a push button solution. Real time conversion will not produce creative quality that is acceptable in my mind. In fact I consider it an insult to our audiences.  Our broadcast process is separate from our theatrical process.  Nevertheless, while it falls within broadcast budgets it remains very much a creative process.  It allows us to get very high quality broadcast stereo but at a relatively affordable price.

3D Focus: Are you finally winning the conversion debate?

Dr Barry Sandrew:  People who say conversion is fake and shooting with camera rigs is real have no idea what the facts are. Both are illusions, they are visual effects.  Neither represents how we see the world with our two eyes nor is projected feature films in a theater, a natural stereo experience.  I think that both technologies have merits though of course I’m biased toward conversion. 

I’ve seen raw footage come out of 3ality’s high tech stereo rigs that looks awesome.  But I think 3ality is a special case.  For normal beam splitter rigs, there are many disadvantages.  Also, for heavy visual effects films, most people in the industry feel that conversion is the answer.  So while the debate continues, in reality both conversion and native shooting are essential creative tools for the filmmaker.  It really comes down to what the filmmaker feels most comfortable using in the process of storytelling.

Legend3D was selected by Paramount and Michael Bay as the primary conversion partner for 

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

To read the entire 3DFocus Article, click here.

Air Force Museum Theatre adds “Goose” power to star lineup

of TOP GUN 3D presenters at 
Reel Stuff Film Festival of Aviation

Award-winning actor & pilot Anthony Edwards to make Dayton appearance

with other industry luminaries presenting aviation classics over three-day festival

(DAYTON, Ohio - April 4, 2013)  Actor Anthony Edwards has been added to a pair of film industry luminaries participating in the Air Force Museum Theatre’s special presentation of TOP GUN 3D on Saturday, April 13, in Dayton, Ohio.  Edwards, who played the role of Navy Lt. Nick “Goose” Bradshaw in the 1986 Paramount Pictures blockbuster, will co-present the screening with pilot Clay Lacy, the film’s aerial cinematographer, and Barry Sandrew, Ph. D., founder of Legend3D, the company that recently converted TOP GUN for Paramount Pictures into digital 3D from its original 35mm film format. 

Two rare theatrical screenings of TOP GUN 3D are among eleven aviation films shown as part of the First Annual Reel Stuff Film Festival of Aviation, April 12-14, 2013.  The Reel Stuff Film Festival serves as the grand re-opening of the Air Force Museum Foundation’s newly renovated, state-of-the-art 400-seat giant screen theatre.  The event is attracting cinema and aviation buffs from across North America.

A second screening of TOP GUN 3D will conclude the festival on Sunday, April 14, and features the return of Dr. Sandrew co-presenting with retired Navy Capt. Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson, a former “Top Gun” fighter pilot and retired five-time Shuttle astronaut.   An audience Q&A session with the filmmakers will follow each show.

Edwards is equally known for his award-winning portrayal of the overworked but dedicated Dr. Mark Greene on the hit series, “ER."  In addition to TOP GUN, he has starred in over twenty features and numerous television shows and has directed several more.  Edwards is also an Emmy award winning producer and his next producing project is the documentary film SEARCHING FOR HOME: COMING BACK FROM WAR, about military veterans returning from war and assimilating back into society.  He recently made his return to series television with ABC’s adventure-drama, “Zero Hour.”  The upcoming August release of PLANES from Disney Animation will feature Edwards and TOP GUN co-star Val Kilmer as the voices of two F-18’s characterized in the animated film.  Edwards, a licensed pilot who flies as much as he can, currently lives in New York City with his wife and four children.

The complete list of films and presenters, screening schedule, and festival ticket information is available at www.airforcemuseum.com/reelstuff.  With several screenings expected to sell out, advance reservations are recommended and can be made online or by calling (937) 253-4629.

The Air Force Museum Theatre is operated by the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc.  Proceeds will allow the non-profit 501(c)(3) foundation to bring this world-class festival to Dayton and help support entertainment and educational programs for patrons throughout the year.  The Foundation was established in 1960 as a philanthropic, non-profit organization to assist the Air Force in the development and expansion of the facilities of the National Museum of United States Air Force®.  The Foundation raises funds through its Museum Store, Air Force Museum Theatre, membership program, flight simulators, and Valkyrie Café, as well as from direct donations.  For more information visit www.airforcemuseum.com.

Reel Stuff Aviation Resources LLC is dedicated to supporting non-profit aviation organizations through producing entertaining events and programs that cinematically celebrate the people, wonder, and joy of flight.  Reel Stuff founder and director, Ron Kaplan, is past executive director of the National Aviation Hall of Fame, a columnist for Pilot Magazine and Warbird Digest Magazine, and provides research and on-camera services to aviation film and media productions.  His work appears on such projects as the Miramax documentary, The Role of Howard Hughes in Aviation History; PBS-TV’s Emmy-winning series,Legends of Airpower; and Discovery Channel’s Showdown: Air Combat series, among others.  For more information visit www.reelstufffilmfest.com.

#   #   #

Media contacts:

Mary Bruggeman, Chief of Theatre Operations

Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc.

T: (937) 656-9623

mbruggeman@afmuseum.com

Ron Kaplan, Founder & Director

Reel Stuff Film Festival of Aviation

T: (937) 212-8847

director@reelstufffilmfest.com

Pascale Marchand
Head of Communications
LEGEND3D
T: (323) 860-8224
C: (714) 473-2500
www.Legend3d.com
pmarchand@legend3d.com

Top Gun 3D: Why The IMAX Presentation Might Have Looked Different Than The Blu-ray Release

Top Gun 3D: A Tale of Two Presentations

by Jeff Kleist

Top Gun has always been, for me, one of those films that simply screams out for big screen presentation. The epic aerial photography, the over-the-top action, the pounding soundtrack — unless you have a truly monumental home theater with a >100-inch 4K screen and gigawatts of power behind your sound system, you just can’t do justice to all of those elements at home. That’s one reason I could not wait for Top Gun‘s recent IMAX revival; the other reason, of course, was the film’s 3D conversion.

But a curious thing happened to Top Gun on its journey into the third dimension. Parked in the money seat of my local IMAX theater, I found the 3D effect rather reserved. By comparison, the Blu-ray positively pops! At home, the film is everything I expected its 3D presentation to be on the big screen.

To find out why Top Gun 3D feels more dimensional on a smaller scale, I chatted with Barry Sandrew, founder, CCO and CTO of Legend3D, which did the conversion on Top Gun and other recent standouts like Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Sandrew was kind enough to give me some insight into the differences between 3D on large and small screens, as well as the challenges involved in converting an older 2D film into 3D.

To read my interview with Jeff Kleist, click here!