Avatar

[ra7]

At Autodesk University, I got to see a preview of Avatar, the new James Cameron film. It was in 3d and dolby stereo (whatever that is!). It was the single most thrilling and wonderful movie experience I have ever had.

I had seen 3d movies before, but it just felt like this was done right! No blurry images... This was superb! And the sound.. Oh, the sound! Although I was quite a few rows away from the humongous speakers, I felt wind on my face at times.

What made it even wonderful was the movie itself... classic James Cameron. He has his own way of telling stories.. the way he draws you in, ties you to the characters and makes you believe...very engrossing!

They went on to tell us how we have windows but we work in a 2d space. The movie is a showcase of the latest in 3D technology and it will supposedly be the norm soon. They said a lot of other things which I'm not supposed to disclose

Well, just wanted to share my experience... Avatar comes out tomorrow and looks like it will break new ground (as with past JC flicks).

Rahul


P.S: I have no affiliation with Avatar or Autodesk. Just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

[vinylkid58]

You learning Inventor?

Avatar looks like a really cool movie. Did you have to wear the goofy 3D glasses?

Jeff

[ra7]

Yes, 3D glasses and everything! But the cool thing was that they worked. Almost every other time I've had to use them, the experience was not very satisfying.

Inventor? No. I'm more on the energy side of things. It was fascinating to see all the new stuff though. Exciting times!

[chris661]

Anyone else wondering how they work?

The glasses seem normal enough, but they give you the 3D effect..........

[powerflux]

Originally Posted by chris661

Anyone else wondering how they work?

The glasses seem normal enough, but they give you the 3D effect..........

they are probably shutterglasses at a higher-than-normal frequency
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCD_shutter_glasses

[TheShaman]

I watched it two days ago (at the premiere). Great movie and great experience in general. The best 3D I've seen on cinema; by far.

The glasses are passive in Dolby3D.



There is another cinema in town that features the XpanD system (which does have active glasses) but, unfortunately, they didn't have Avatar.

[Ron E]

The old way to do it would be crossed polars. They would either need two projectors, each with a polarizer, or one projector with double frame rates and a "shifting" polarizer. Looks like that is the technology used in RealD Cinema - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Looks like Dolby3D uses dichroic filters from the picture and link.

Not sure what xpand uses. Their website is a useless flashy mess.

I wish I had been at AU this year. I dropped in on a few virtual classes, but many of them were for commercial products rather than "how to" videos.

[TheShaman]

Originally Posted by Ron E

I am pretty sure they are crossed polars. They would either need two projectors, each with a polarizer, or one projector with double frame rates and a "shifting" polarizer. To confirm, take two pairs of the glasses and put one in front of the other and rotate it - there should be a point where it goes completely dark.

Yes, they are, you are right.
I've already done the test (at the Avatar preview a few months ago) using my polar-lens-equiped Ray-Ban sunglasses...

[ra7]

Originally Posted by TheShaman

I watched it two days ago (at the premiere). Great movie and great experience in general. The best 3D I've seen on cinema; by far.

Those were my thoughts as well.... best 3d on cinema yet.