Steve Schklair, 3Ality’s founder and CEO, delivering the IBC 3D Day Keynote, made a powerful plea to the creative community. “There’s a big difference between the 1990s, and producing for TV and today’s 3D.”
“In the past there was good content, bad content and in-between content,” he continued. “It didn’t really matter because it filled the channel anyway!
“The difference today is that if it’s really bad 3D content, then it is painful! Our content has to be compelling. If the 3D broadcast is not more compelling than the 2D version then who will care? Who will watch it? People might watch for the first 20 minutes because it is a novelty, it’s seen as being cool. But they’ll switch back.
“You are not broadcasting to an audience of 3D nutcases but to an audience of sports or music fans who want to watch the show,” Schklair cautioned. “Let’s stop talking internally and remember the much wider audience. If 3D content is not compelling then the technology will disappear again.”
Schklair told delegates that 3D was a “really cool tool, a wonderful new paintbrush, but you’ve really got to paint good pictures with it”.
He also used IBC to unveil 3Ality’s latest bit of kit, a portable rig. “It does everything that the big rigs do, but is smaller, lighter and wireless,” Schklair explained.
“The rig has already been trialled on Peter Jackson’s latest film in New Zealand, and last week was used to shoot an NFL game in the US for the Verizon FiOS IPTV network. It means we can now do touchline shots, portable shots, free of cables or restrictions.”