back to article Disney finds new way to give movies depth

Disney Research in Zürich is working on ways to improve how 2D composite images can be turned into 3D models. The basic techniques are well known, but – according to the research the group presented at the recent SIGGRAPH conference – there are limitations. Lasers can capture data to present a 3D surface, but are blocked by …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Grikath

    Hold On....

    Any form of "depth" in a Disney movie? Come on, pull the other one, it's got bells on..

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      3D

      Is a fad, eventually it will disappear again as before. Sadly the industry was able to con enough people into buying 3D TVs as the new 'best thing'.

    2. Geoff Campbell Silver badge
      Go

      Re: Hold On....

      Be fair, they nailed it with The Black Hole. It's been kinda downhill ever since, I grant you.

      GJC

    3. Amorous Cowherder

      Re: Hold On....

      Ah come on, who didn't cry when Jessie got left by the side of the road in Toy Story 2? A 38 year old bloke crying along with his kids on the sofa, which my wife still thinks is bloody hilarious!

      Disney made "Something Wicked This Way Comes" from the book by Bradbury, then again they did release Hannah Montana:The Movie and The Mighty Ducks, some things should never be forgiven!

    4. Maharg

      Re: Hold On....

      I must disagree

      There was a film about two poor orphaned sisters living in a rundown home, the elder sister, still a teenager was trying to support them both by working long hours on minimum wage, they couldn’t pay the bills so the power was regularly shut off and the house was following apart, at the same time, the younger of the sisters, still a child, has behavioural issues, brought on by the loss of her parents and lack of any kind of family unit, due to being bullied at school, she often cuts class and spends most days roaming the streets stealing and getting into trouble.

      One day she is found by the bully and her gang, she gets in a fight and ends up injuring the bully, this is promptly reported and social services launch an investigation, to try to take the younger sister into care.

      While this happens a dangerous wanted criminal arrives and befriends the younger sister, she helps hide him from the authorities and teaches him English, and shows him affection and sweetness that changes his outlook on life, he even helps a local boy who is in love with the elder sister gain her affection and they become a couple, and the four of them become what they all wanted, a family. Unfortunately both the authorities and social services are closing in and a it is just a matter of time before they are discovered and the family that they all crave is split up forever.

      I also saw a film about a family who are attacked by a serial killer, while the father is knocked unconscious the killer murders the wife and all but one of the children, leaving the only surviving child physically disabled.

      As the child grows up his father is over protective, afraid of losing the his only son, the child becomes rebellious and starts acting out, and is then kidnapped and taken away as a slave.

      The father has to overcome his fears, and with the aid of his mentally disabled friend escape from a murderous gang and travel thousands of miles to rescue his son.

      The first one was called Lilo and Stitch, the second was Finding Nemo.

    5. xperroni
      Gimp

      Re: Hold On....

      To be fair, Clu from Tron Legacy is as complex a villain as you'll find this side of Fantasy.

  2. Tom 35

    Depth

    Or they could take the film and the committee that wrote the screen play and drop them down a mine shaft...

    1. Gray Ham Bronze badge
      Happy

      Re: Depth

      @Tom 35

      Are you one of these old fogeys who believe a movie should have a coherent plot and believeable characterisation? Come now, it's in 3D, what more could you want?

  3. Homer 1

    Want depth?

    Try adding an actual plot.

    1. LaeMing
      Mushroom

      Plot! Schmot!

      Look at the shiny!

      Look at the shiny now in (sort-of) 3D!

  4. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

    I knew the movie was missing something.

  5. jake Silver badge

    3-D video?

    Always gives me a headache and leaves me nauseous ...

    Why bother, until it's functional?

    I know, I know, the marketards are making money ...

  6. tommy060289

    What's the point?

    3D is crap and a gimmick that people don't really want. I've used the 3D function on my TV twice in a year(just to see what it was like!) and the only time I see a 3D movie at the cinema is either because it's in IMAX or there isn't a 2D at a suitable time!

    1. wowfood

      Re: What's the point?

      I enjoy playing games in 3D when possible, in many games it actually does make a nice improvement. However I agree, in movies it seems really... naff. Even the ones designed for 3d aren't all that great, rather than bringing you further in to the world, they make it more obvious that you're not.

      The Hobbit for example, I was enjoying the movie, and then a load of butterflies start floating about in front of the screen, I don't want butterflies, they're not parto f the moving scene, so why are you making them so prominent?

      That and I don't like passive 3d, I've trieid glassesless 3d, passive 3d, and Active 3d. I'd rate the 3d quality in that order too. glassesless unless you're sitting just the right distance and at just the right angle is terrible. Passive is much better, but you still have the problem of turn head at an angle and things go off occasionally (and the fact it makes everything darken) for a home TV I think I'd only ever buy active 3d, or an HMD.

      As for 3D in disney films? I don't even like CGI in disney films. It may just be nostalgia, but I've always loved the animated disney films. I can still sit down and watch dumbo or snow white and enjoy it. All the new CGI stuff is just terrible in comparison, sure I can watch them once and enjoy it, maybe even twice. But after that I have no inclination to see them anymore.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Here's the REAL benefit

    Ignore being able to view movies in 3-D...

    Once you run a 2-D movie through this software and have 3-D models of everything, you should be able to very easily and accurately increase the movie's resolution and framerate. Should make for a much better 2-D viewing experience!

  8. Zmodem

    bunch of loosers if they cant afford a super computer movie studio`s have to render special FX

  9. Ragarath

    Fill in the blanks!

    Yes the tech works but to change a 2D image to a parallax image you need to fill in the blanks. How is the software going to manage this?

    Yes you can possibly write something to fill in the blanks but it is going to look quite obvious surely?

    1. Lunatik

      Re: Fill in the blanks!

      Not necessarily. It's a fair bet that what Photoshop can do today to a 2D image in terms of content aware fill, something like this toolset will be able to at some point with 3D imagery.

      Hat's off to the boffins, this is impressive stuff that could have many more applications outside of the film industry.

      1. Ragarath

        Re: Fill in the blanks!

        But with Photoshop there is someone sat there defining it all. Eye-balling it to make sure it is right. I guess because this is going to be used for backdrops and such that it is feasible that there will be someone Photoshoping it.

        My comment was about auto-filling content on the fly, I did not think about the use of this. Your not going to make a full film in this method I guess.

  10. Annihilator
    Alert

    Hmm

    While I congratulate them on the work, the cynic in me can't help but think "oh good, a new tool at their disposal for them to ruin Star Wars with"

  11. Seanie Ryan

    i dont see it

    Can someone explain the differences in the video examples? Side by side comparison looks as near the same to me. I just dont get it.

    Any movie I have been watching, when the camera moved around the corner, I got to see what was around the corner. Why would i want to see whats behind the Tree if the director of the movie didnt thing it was important??

    As for 3D, i get that experience everyday, just by walking around. Seeing it on a TV isnt anything to get excited about. I've had 40 years to get used to it in real life,

    Disney, How about a remake of the Powers of Mathew Starr , seeing as you have no other bright ideas left?

  12. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
    Pint

    Oh god no!

    Pretty much all of the 3D film and TV content is contrived in it's use of 3D to the extent that it distracts from what you are watching rather than adding to it. eg depth perception is increased beyond what is natural and characters and backgrounds often seem to to be flat cut outs at different depths rather like those old cardboard cut out puppet theatres you used to see many years ago.

    While what the Disney techs have done is technically very impressive, the way their 2D-->3D technology will likely be used is bound to be a massive fail in most cases. Think "Autotune" turned up to 11 with a crap singer.

    No doubt it will be put to some good uses, but I have no doubt the dross will bury the good stuff.

    ------------------------->

    Because of any of, beer goggles, alcohol make everything funny, too drunk to care or simply passed out.

    1. Tom 35

      Re: Oh god no!

      Coming this Christmas...

      A Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim. In super 3D ultra color! and Sensurround.

    2. Zmodem

      Re: Oh god no!

      they are talking about 2d images, into 3d models i guess, its not that hard, you just have to tweak then all up, or just redraw them in zbrush

      http://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/14104/how-to-transform-a-2d-drawing-in-a-3d-model-in-easy-steps-where-to-start

      1. Zmodem

        Re: Oh god no!

        and to pull of transformers and avatar, you need 1 massive super computer to be able to just render 100 frames

This topic is closed for new posts.