On Monday 15 February 2016 a selection of thirty 3D filmmakers’ works were showcased at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square Hotel as part of the 27th annual Stereoscopic Displays and Applications (SD&A) conference 3D Theater Session. 200 attendees including some of the world’s foremost experts in stereoscopic imaging technologies were treated to a wonderful selection of 3D cinema and video content from twelve different countries. The event showcases the wide range of 3D content being produced and exhibited around the world – from major studios to researchers to talented individuals.
In order to reward and recognize the high quality work that is being conducted in this field, the producers and judges of the session are pleased to announce the following Best of Show award winners:
Best of Show Live Action:
“Amongst” from Chisa Hidaka and Benjamin Harley (USA).
Synopsis: Lose yourself in the radically different world of wild dolphins as you follow graceful dancers into the deep ocean, surrounded by swirling, chattering, and squawking, at once familiar and unfamiliar.
Title frame from “Amongst” showing graceful dancers swimming with majestic dolphins.
Best of Show Animation:
“Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 3D – From Biological Cells to Biofuels”
from Björn Sommer and Niklas Biere (Australia / Germany).
Synopsis: Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a green algae which is often used in biotechnology as a model organism. This single-cell organism has a size of ~10 μm, contains a very large chloroplast relevant for the energy production which is partly used to move by using two flagella. Recently, it moved into the focus of biotechnological research due by the idea to produce biological fuels. This stereoscopic 3D animation illustrates and breaks down the complex intracellular relationships and processes involved.
A still frame from “Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 3D – From Biological Cells to Biofuels” shown in anaglyph 3D – view using red/cyan 3D glasses. All films at the 3D Theater Session were shown in high-quality polarizeld 3D.
This last winner was also jokingly referred to as the Best of Show with the worst name.
The full list of 3D content exhibited at the event is as follows:
Competition Category:
- “Amour Fou 3D” – Florian Werzinski (Germany)
- “Happy When It Rains” – Karel Bata (UK)
- “zeitRaum II” – Volker Kuchelmeister (Australia)
- “We Built a Ship” – Stefan Sargent (USA)
- “Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 3D – From Biological Cells to Biofuels” – Niklas Biere and Björn Sommer (Germany / Australia)
- “Inside the Dome” – Stuart Bender and Mick Broderick (Australia / Japan)
- “Safety Geeks SVI” – Roger Tonry and Tom Konkle (USA)
- “Riga – 2041” – Kārlis Vītols, Triin Ruumet, Adina Istrate, and Didzis Eglītis (Latvia)
- “The Simple Carnival – The Problem with Friends” – Jeff Boller (USA)
- “Transference” – Sean Arden (Canada)
- “The End of the Dark Ages” – Ralf Kaehler (KIPAC/SLAC), Marcelo Alvarez (CITA), and Tom Abel (KIPAC/SLAC) (USA)
- “Adidas Originals ‘Bushwick’” – Ben Schwartz (USA)
- “Magic Field 3D” – Masuji Suto (Japan)
- “DNA of Angel” – Aleksey Osipenkov (Russia)
- “Towards a Six-Dimensional Cinema” – Peter Rose (USA)
- “Valor Cat” – Ben Reicher (USA)
- “Crime Squad 3D (Episode 6: Interview3D)” – Enhanced Dimensions (UK)
- “Educational 3D Content: Onnabori” – Shibata lab, Tokyo University of Social Welfare (Japan)
- “Grami’s Circus Show – Season 1” – Studio Gale Co, Ltd. and KBS Media (South Korea)
- “Pocket Universes Macro Shoot” – Eric Deren, Dzignlight Studios (USA)
- “City Kay Live in Printemps de Bourges” – Fabien Remblier (France)
- “Amongst” – Chisa Hidaka and Benjamin Harley (USA)
Demonstration Category:
- “Carta De La Muerte A Frida (A Letter For Frida From The Death)” – Ana Leticia Reyes and Diego Sandoval (Mexico)
- “Every Two Minutes” – Catriona Baker and Curvin Huber (USA)
- “Geopark 3D Teaser” – Helio Augusto Godoy de Souza (Brazil)
- “Inside Out” – Pixar Animation Studios (USA)
- “CODA” – Denis Poulin and Martine Époque (Canada)
- “Big Hero 6” – Walt Disney Studios (USA)
- “Aliens Dancing Sirtaki” – San Base (Canada)
- “Lava” – Pixar Animation Studios (USA)
Each of the winners received as a prize the 3D Blu-ray disc “3-D Rarities”, which illustrates the amazingly rich history of stereoscopic cinema, and was also the subject of a keynote presentation at the SD&A conference.
We wish to thank all of the contributors who kindly allowed their 3D content to be screened at this event. Some 200 people enjoyed this 90-minute session held as part of the 27th annual SD&A conference.
The judges at this year’s event were: Eric Kurland (3-D Space), Shyam Kannapurakkaran (stereo artist and president of the LA 3-D Club), and Dan Sandin (University of Illinois at Chicago). The producers were: John Stern (Intuitive Surgical, retired), Chris Ward (Lightspeed Design Group and DepthQ Stereoscopic), and Andrew Woods (Curtin University). Management and playback of 3D content was expertly handled by Dan Lawrence (DepthQ Stereoscopic).
We are grateful for the support of our projection sponsors: DepthQ Stereoscopic, Christie Digital, and Tekamaki; and our 3D Theater partner: LA 3-D Movie Festival.
About SD&A
The annual Stereoscopic Displays & Applications (SD&A) conference is the world’s premier conference for 3D innovation. It is the largest and longest-running technical conference dedicated to the discussion of stereoscopic imaging topics. The next conference will run January 30 – February 1, 2017 near San Francisco.
The SD&A conference is part of the IS&T International Symposium on Electronic Imaging organized by the technical society IS&T. The SD&A conference program includes a range of exciting and useful special sessions, as well as research-based oral and poster presentations dedicated to stereoscopic imaging topics. Special sessions include keynote presentations and live demonstrations of stereoscopic displays and applications.
Further information about the SD&A conference is available at: http://www.stereoscopic.org
Information about the Electronic Imaging Symposium is found at: http://www.electronicimaging.org