Andy Millns, co-founder and director of 3D creative services company Inition, has called for a more considered approach to 3D production. While the technical issues of producing 3D can still be problematic, he feels this has become more straightforward, but that the creative side of 3D projects leaves a lot to be desired.
Millns, a speaker at 3DMasters 2011, points to a general inability to understand what works and what does not in stereo.
“Perhaps because 3D is shoe-horned in at the last minute, or is something directors aren’t willing to change their approach for, or there’s a basic lack of knowledge about how to work with the format,” he says.“Most 3D doesn’t provide enough of a reason for viewers to put the glasses on for. It feels undercooked. One classic error in approach is because the image looks flat, like layers of 2D compositing, because the scene has been filmed against a flat background.”
Millns thinks viewers want to see natural looking shapes and volumes, “the kind of layered look that you get when looking through binoculars. If there is a huge range of depth to a scene, such as shooting open air vistas, the depth becomes compressed on viewing.
“Whereas if you shoot a scene with a defined background, such as in a small room, the depth of objects in that scene becomes more pronounced and more satisfying as a 3D image.
He adds: “There are so many visual opportunities in 3D that haven’t been explored yet because most great directors have yet to touch the format.”
Millns says Inition, and in particular new creative imaging arm Pointy Stick, launched in collaboration with director Michael Lindsay, is trying to take a crafted approach: “We don’t just turn up and cover a show but craft a treatment which is informed by 3D throughout.”
Inition celebrates its tenth anniversary this month with a rebranding that includes a new website.
Among Pointy Stick’s recent productions is a promo for band Cloud Control, shot in a small studio and finished with a 3D60 sound technology.
www.inition.co.uk/
