April 14, 2010

3D, Cineform, and CS5

Note: this web page is OLD, and the info likely outdated after 5 years and several app and codec releases. Please don't take the info too seriously -- now it's just an archive.
_________________________________________

FreshDV has a discussion on 3D with David Newman from Cineform, embedded below. While 3D may be more of a niche in the end, there is interest in it now. For other background see Stereoscopic 3D resources for After Effects and Downloads for stereo 3D.

freshdv_nab10_cineform
Also, here's an excerpt from Adobe Conversations from the NAB Show Floor at PVC, by Dave Helmly aka DavTechTable, who's working a full workflow video on 3D:

Attendee commenting on 3D:
“I had no idea Adobe had a 3D workflow for Premiere Pro and After Effects. Being able to render effects and transitions and keep those processes as true Left and Right eye (Stereo) on a single timeline has a leg up on the competition. Their Export process was clean and simple, the whole process was really not that much different than editing standard video.”

My response:
The credit here really needs to go to the mind-blowing development team at Cineform who always seem to keep Adobe Premiere one-step ahead in the latest high-tech trend in video. They’ve been a longtime developer partner for us and know our SDK inside out. Their new CS5 NEO3D plug-in works fantastic in 64 bit. I’ve been working on our 3D CS5 workflow story for while now with Cineform and I must say that what Cineform brings to Premiere and After Effects arrived just in time for all of the new 3D content that needs to be created to support the new 3D channels launching soon. This is a MUST SEE at NAB (I suggest heading to Cineform or NVIDIA to see it in 3D), as the attendee noticed, you can render the timeline in left and right eye in a single pass. Other workflows require you to export each eye separately and then Mux them back together and re-import--not fun!

Premiere does all of this in 1 step. You can even edit in CS5 with your 3D glasses on.I’ve been testing different monitoring solutions ranging from NVIDIA 3D VISION Active glasses (very clear) and various Passive 3D display monitors. (If you saw me on the plane coming to NAB , then you saw me with my paper anaglyph glasses from Shark Week a few years ago editing 3D in CS5 on my laptop). Cineform supports switching to and from all these modes including AJA SDI support. Cineform even has our Titler working in 3D!

I recently setup my first 3D Stereo camera rig using a pair of Canon cameras to shoot my hometown of Annapolis Maryland in 3D. I worked through the simple Cineform NEO 3D and CS5 workflow switching LUTs on the fly and was sold on the future of what 3D video will bring to the CS5 Editor. This is first new high-tech feature that can be used in a wide range of areas ranging from an event video to a Kiosk in a local mall or car dealership to broadcast and film. Seeing my footage in 3D that was shot hours before changed my opinion of this market entirely. There is money to made here for any editor looking for a leg up on the competition. Watch for a full workflow video coming to Adobe TV or my YouTube Channel (DAVTechTABLE).

5 comments:

Dirrogate Maya said...

I was playing around with the trial of CS5 Premiere and Cineform NeoScene.

I put two Neoscene converted (from AVCHD source of 1920 x 1080 HD) clips on the time line with 50% opacity on one track and it played back in realtime but ONLY at 50% or Half quality.

I then put three AVCHD (1920 x 1080) of the same videos on the timeline and put opacity effects on them. They ALL played back in realtime at FULL quality.

So for me using AVCHD in native form with Mercury running on an GTX 285 (cuda capable) is giving me Stereoscopic 3D playback and editing in real-time.

Is Neoscene 3D optimized to take advantage of the Mercury engine?
Or is it using dependent on CPU power?

Regards

Rich said...

I wish I knew more, but I'm waiting for Dave Helmly aka DavTechTable to release his workflow video on 3D. I'm a more stenographer than journalist!

Eurekam said...

hi everybody, and forgive my poor english: i'm french! I'm producing as everybody a lot of professional movies, with cs4 and now Cs5 and I will have to edit a 3D shoot with the new panasonic camcorder 3DA1. And I just don't know how to make it. do I use Premiere with de 50% opacity on two tracks and monitor it with a couple of 3D video card screen? Or use a cineform.. So please what is the workflow you use? the soft/hardware I should use? thanks a lot... eureka.medias3@gmail.com if you need

Rich said...

You might find better help at the Adobe Forum or an e-mail list:

http://forums.adobe.com/community/aftereffects_general_discussion

-Rob E. / Walnut Creek Boutique said...

How does Premiere deal with Cineform "in one step"? That's not true at all. Even if you bring a Cineform 3D file into Premiere, (having already MUXED it, since there is NO WAY to MUX in Premiere OR After Effects), all you can do is output ONE EYE at a time OR out put a HALF Side-By-Side file. Its not that great. I've used it for a year and it's totally messed me up with those half SBS outputs! PLUS .... the Default Quality setting "High HD", is NOT LOSSLESS!!! only switching to "FILM SCAN 2" setting gives 100% quality, and that turns out to be the same file size as After Effects 'lossless" AVI output!) In Sony VEGAS, you can PAIR Left and Right Clips and no Intermediate Codec is needed, you can see even 2 Streams of TGA files as 3D Vision output in near real time, right off the timeline.