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Getting U in2 3D
Catherine Owens, co-director of U23D, has been bitten by the 3D bug.
Niamh: So 3ality approached you initially with the project?
Catherine: Pete Shapiro, one of the producers of the film and also one of the founders of 3ality approached me in 2004 and asked me if we’d like to experiment with the cameras. We did a test in ’05 and really liked the results.
You directed with Mark Pellington, how did that relationship function?
Well, Mark wasn’t actually involved in the post-production, he joined us as guardian angel for some of the shows in South America. 3D is interesting because it really is made in the post-production phase, so that was just myself and my team.
So is the editing process done through 2D or 3D?
I think people do it differently. We worked on a 2D edit first, of the right eye. Olivier Wicki – my editor – and myself, we’ve got a good ability to see ahead of where we are. So we knew that if things were working in 2D, they were going to look pretty spectacular in 3D. Also, a lot of revision work with the band meant me travelling to Ireland where at the time there was no 3d facility. So a lot of our sign-off sessions had to be in 2D. It’s a cost-effective way to work, because if you go back and make changes in 3D, which we would have had to do, that’s a huge cost. So you get it to where you want in 2D, then you take everything you’ve shot for the right eye and everything you’ve shot for the left eye and you work with an incredible team of conform artists, who basically carve those shots and weave them together. There’s a lot of math that happens in the 3D space and the conform artists will tell you whether the shot is working or not.
Tom Kreuger, U23D's co-DOP, tries not to let the technology get in the way.
Niamh: So how did you first get involved with the project?
Tom: I worked with Catherine Owens on the music video for [U2’s] ‘Original of the Species’. The band really liked it and Catherine and I enjoyed working together. However, when this project came up, initially I said no. I have had difficult experiences with other well-known bands. I just felt like I’d be struggling through diplomacy with the lighting crew and the stage crew and the army of people that a band of this size would have, instead of doing my job. But then Catherine persuaded me so reluctantly I said yes and I was so glad I did. Everybody turned out to be phenomenal, from the lighting/stage designer Willie Williams to Bruce Raymond the board operator, technical operator and lighting chief. I feel like I have friends for life now as opposed to what I was worried about, which was adversaries for life.
This was your first time shooting in 3D – what would you say are the main challenges?
Well, it’s a lot of equipment. The most challenging aspect is to forget about that and concentrate on what’s in the frame and not get bogged down or distracted by the technology. In the end, it’s a
lot like shooting good 2D, in that you want to enhance the depth, with lighting and composition.
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