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RealD Cinema

 
Wikipedia: RealD Cinema
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RealD glasses
Two pairs of RealD glasses demonstrating the polarization effect

RealD Cinema is a digital stereoscopic projection technology. It is the world's most widely used technology for watching 3D movies in theatres and is the cheapest to install and maintain.[1] It requires only one projector, unlike older film-based stereoscopic 3D projection technology. A high-resolution, digital cinema grade video projector is used. The projectors use Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing device or Sony's reflective liquid crystal display. RealD has an exclusive agreement with Sony to provide technology to project 3D movies with the Sony 4K projector.[2]

Contents

Company history

RealD was founded in 2003 by Michael V. Lewis and Joshua Greer. Between 2005 and 2007 the company purchased Stereographics Inc. and optical components technology company ColorLink, a provider of RPTV, polarizing film and optical technologies including technologies for the US Military. RealD further developed these companies' technology to create its 3D cinema systems.

RealD supplies 3D technology to customers including Fortune 500 companies[3], theme parks[4], education centers, and for medical research and procedures.[5]

Technology

RealD 3D cinema technology uses circularly polarized light to produce stereoscopic images. Circular polarization differs from linear polarization in that viewers are able to tilt their head and look about the theater naturally with no loss of 3D perception whereas linear polarization requires viewers to keep their head within a certain degree of tilt for effective 3D perception; otherwise they may see double or darkened images.[6]

The projector alternately projects the right-eye frame and left-eye frame 144 times per second, and circularly polarizes these frames, clockwise for the right eye and counterclockwise for the left eye. A push-pull electro-optical modulator called a ZScreen is placed immediately in front of the projector lens to switch polarization. The audience wears recyclable circularly polarized glasses to make sure each eye sees only "its own" picture, even if the head is tilted. In RealD Cinema, each frame is projected three times to reduce flicker, a system called triple flash. The source video is usually only (2x)24 frames per second (which can result in a subtle ghosting and stuttering on horizontal camera movements). A silver screen is used to keep the light polarized and to reflect back as much light as possible to counter polarization losses. The result is a 3D picture that seems to extend behind and in front of the screen itself.[7]

Viewing comfort

A common complaint with many 3D display systems is that some viewers may feel nauseated or experience a headache. This effect is more likely with rapid cuts between scenes with very different depth, which directors and editors of 3D movies generally try to avoid.

Polarized 3D systems for movies cause a loss of screen brightness. The polarization filter in front of the projector blocks half of the outgoing light, causing an equivalent loss of brightness on the screen. However, as half of all other ambient and reflected (i.e. non-polarized) light in the theater is blocked by the polarizing lenses of the viewer's glasses, there is no loss of contrast between the screen and its surroundings. The overall effect is that of wearing a pair of slightly darkened glasses in a standard movie theater, which could be compensated by using brighter projector lamps.

The fact that only one eye is seeing an image at any given instant has no bearing on the perceived brightness of the movie as the human brain does not process brightness by adding the contribution from each eye. This fact becomes evident if one performs the simple experiment of closing one eye and noting that the brightness of one's surroundings has not changed.[dubious – discuss] In physical terms, brightness is based on light intensity, which is measured in units of power per unit area, and is thus unaffected by the size or number of sensors, assuming they are all equidistant from the light source.

Films featured using RealD

  • Chicken Little was the first film released using this format in 2005. For this release, the computer-animated film was rerendered in 3D by Industrial Light and Magic and exhibited on RealD Cinema Systems using Dolby Digital Cinema servers.[8] The 3D version of Chicken Little has so far earned about 2.5 times as much per screen as the flat version. When the movie was first shown in 2005, fewer than 100 theaters around the US were equipped to show the movie in 3D.[9]
  • Meet the Robinsons was released March 30, 2007, in both traditional "flat" and "3D" versions of the film. The film was converted to stereo by Digital Domain. The film was on 581 3D screens.[10] That made it the largest release up to that time using the RealD system.
  • Beowulf, directed by Robert Zemeckis, released in November 2007 is another film that uses the RealD 3D technology. Beowulf opened on close to 900 RealD screens. RealD at that point had passed its stated milestone of 1,000 global RealD screens installed for the release of Beowulf.
  • Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds Concert was released on February 1, 2008, and marks another in the Disney stable of 3D films. "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" was only shown on digital 3D screens, 97% of which are RealD 3D screens, and brought in $31 million in its opening weekend, virtually all of which was generated in RealD theaters. (Disney Digital 3D films originally did not exhibit in IMAX 3D theaters, which utilize an analog technology).
  • U2 3D, U2's concert film based on the Vertigo Tour, debuted in RealD in 2008. The film was exhibited in both IMAX 3D and RealD Cinema.
  • Journey to the Center of the Earth from New Line Cinema and Walden Media was released on July 11, 2008, in both 3D and 2D, making it the first live-action film to be released in RealD 3D. Director Eric Brevig used the same cameras that James Cameron used for Ghosts of the Abyss, shown in IMAX 3D.[11]
  • My Bloody Valentine 3D was released on January 16, 2009 by Lionsgate, the first horror film and first R-rated film to be projected in Real D 3D.[12] It was released to 1,033 3D screens, the most ever for this format, and 1,501 regular screens. Opening week saw 3D screens outperform 2D screens 6:1.
  • Coraline, released on February 6, 2009 by Focus Features and Laika, Inc., was the first stop motion film to be first filmed originally in 3D.
  • Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience was released on February 27, 2009 by Walt Disney Pictures. Though the film was the first Disney Digital 3D film to be exhibited in IMAX 3D, only those equipped with digital technology at the time exhibited it in IMAX 3D.
  • Monsters vs. Aliens was released on March 27, 2009 by DreamWorks. The film opened in 1,550 IMAX and 3D theaters, which is a new record for 3D films.
  • Battle for Terra - on May 1, 2009 by Lionsgate.
  • Up - on May 29, 2009 by Pixar.
  • Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - on July 1, 2009 by 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios.
  • G-Force - on July 24, 2009 by Walt Disney Pictures.
  • The Final Destination - on August 28th, 2009 by New Line Cinema.
  • Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs - on September 18th, 2009 by Sony Pictures Animation.
  • On October 2nd, 2009, Pixar re-released Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D.
  • Avatar - on December 18th, 2009 by 20th Century Fox. Avatar was initially offered in 2D, RealD, Imax 3D, and Dolby 3D, and the RealD version garnered more than 50% of the domestic gross of the film.[13] Combined with the large overall gross, this easily set records for largest 3D film opening, beating the previous record, Up, by about 55%.[14]

Future films

  • On March 12, 2007, DreamWorks Animation announced[15] that beginning with the second quarter 2009 release of Monsters vs. Aliens, all of their features will be released in theatres in both 2D and 3D. On April 8, 2008, Disney Feature Animation followed suit, announcing that from the November 11, 2008 release of Bolt, all Disney/Pixar animation features will be released in 3D.[16]
  • Other upcoming releases include 3D conversions of all Pixar's Toy Story films; Robert Zemeckis's A Christmas Carol; and Tim Burton-helmed versions of Alice in Wonderland and his original short Frankenweenie. Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil releasing on January 15, 2010, the sequel to Hoodwinked!. Horrorween 2009 will also be filmed in 3D and showed in RealD theaters. In 2009 The Weinstins announced Halloween 3D for 2010.
  • 3D legend Chris Condon and director Ed Meyer are set to remake The Stewardesses, the most successful 3D film in history, in RealD in 2009. Also, Dante's Inferno is expected to be released as an animation feature in 3D as well as a live-action feature in 3D in 2009[1]. In conjunction with being released in RealD, Horrorween 2009 will also appear as the first 3-D Webisode series, starting September 1, 2009.

List of RealD released and upcoming films

See also

References

  1. ^ "3D Technology Firm RealD Has Starring Role At Movie Theaters"March 26, 2009, "LA Times"
  2. ^ "Sony and RealD to Provide Complete 3D Digital Cinema System for Exhibitors" February 25, 2009
  3. ^ "RealD Professional Case Studies"
  4. ^ "LEGOLAND Windsor Taps RealD 3D Technology for Imagination Theatre" April 27, 2009, "BusinessWire"
  5. ^ "World's First 4K Laparoscopy Performed-Surgery in 4X HD!" October 22, 2009, "Docinthemachine"
  6. ^ Cowan, Matt. "REAL D 3D Theatrical System". European Digital Cinema Forum. http://www.edcf.net/edcf_docs/real-d.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-28. 
  7. ^ Cowan, Matt. "Presentations (technical)". RealD Media Room downloadable files. http://www.reald.com/Content/Presentations.aspx. Retrieved 2009-03-28. 
  8. ^ "A Look at Chicken Little in 3D" July 5, 2005, movieweb.com
  9. ^ "Specs sells: why 3D movies have become the real thing" September 14, 2009, "Sydney Morning Herald"
  10. ^ "More 3D Films to be Released" April 9, 2007, FoxNews.com
  11. ^ "Behind the Scenes of a Next-Gen 3D Film". PC Magazine. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2320526,00.asp. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
  12. ^ "Movies". Los Angeles Times. 2009-01-11. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-list-movies11-2009jan11,0,4953295.story. Retrieved 2009-01-21. 
  13. ^ http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=61777
  14. ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2632
  15. ^ "DreamWorks going 3D in 2009". Variety Magazine. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117961023.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
  16. ^ "Disney unveils animation slate". Variety Magazine. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117983709.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2008-04-08. 
  17. ^ "DreamWorks going 3-D in 2009". Variety Magazine. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117961023.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 

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