Interview 46 26/2013/E
“There’s an unbelievable amount of potential in 3D”
A conversation with Florian Maier*
Your job title is “stereographer”. ceived, the impression it makes on What opportunities does this third What exactly does a stereographer the viewer, and how the story is un dimension offer for storytelling, do? derstood. It makes a difference, for and for story comprehension on The job of a stereographer can best example, whether I have an intimate the part of the viewers? be compared to that of a cinemato dialogue scene in which I want to We go through the world with 2 grapher, but for stereo 3D. In a nor present the participants as suitably eyes, that is, we see everything in 3 mal 2D film you tend to have a “duo” 3-dimensional, so that the scene dimensions. The US director James consisting of the director and the cin seems as natural as possible and you Cameron put it very nicely once. He ematographer. In a 3D film there’s an feel as though you’re standing next to said that even with HD or super HD other “key role”, the resolution in 2D, person responsible it’s as if we were for the whole 3-di going through the mensional execution world wearing an of the film. Together eye patch. But super with the director, HD and high frame the cinematographer rates in 3D are far and the other depart more like the way ments, the stereogra we perceive the pher tries to develop world. So the ques a third dimension tion is “Why should which supports the we be satisfied with story and takes into the 2-dimensional account what the di when we have the rector wants to ex option of seeing press in a particular in 3 dimensions?” scene, for example. Of course over the On the other hand, the stereography them, or as though you’re part of the decades, in fact for a good century, is meant to fulfil viewers’ expecta conversation. But if I choose a focal we’ve got used to seeing in 2D, be tions of a 3D film and to bring them length that gives a flat representation cause we never had the opportunity closer to the story – enabling them to of the face, which seems unnatural to capture the environment in good experience it more intensely. to the viewer, then I lose this inti quality 3D. We’ve learnt to abstract to For example, the strategic selection macy and create distance between the a 2D film by leaving out one dimen of focal lengths can be used to influ viewer and the film instead. One of sion. But of course this dimension ence what is known as “roundness”, the tasks of the stereographer is to contains important information. We i.e. how round a body is perceived choose the right focal length and use have become accustomed to using a as being. This in turn influences how this tool of roundness to create effects depth of field that is as shallow as the specific sequence or scene is per such as this intimacy. possible, so the background is soft Interview 26/2013/E 47 and the foreground can stand out normal world and, in contrast, the ex ridiculous or lose its freshness. And I from the background. This enabled citement of the parallel world with its think we succeeded in using it in the us to draw attention to the important different 3D design and colouring. right places: when I saw that 80 % of parts of the picture. But now that we the audience jumped and instinctively have the option of capturing the world Amongst other things, you worked jerked their heads back in the arrow around us in high resolution, good as the lead stereographer for the scene, I knew: “The viewers are emo quality 3-dimensional images, we film Vicky and the Treasure of the tionally engrossed in the film, that can of course convey quite different Gods. What are some prominent worked brilliantly there.” things in a film. The separation of examples in Vicky where the po- But we also used 3D technology to foreground and background is already tential for storytelling with 3D was express Vicky’s emotions. In emo achieved by the 3-dimensional me used? tional scenes when Vicky talks to his dium itself, and no longer has to be In Vicky I used a technique that en father, for example, we conveyed in conveyed circuitously with a shallow abled us to express different 3D timacy by minimizing the distance depth of field. between the two of them, including Can you give a the spatial distance. specific example The opposite ap of how 3-dimen- plies to the scene sional effects can in which Vicky is play with different sitting in the dun moods? geon with his com A good example is panions from the the animated stop- village after being motion film Cora duped by Svenja, line. It’s about a girl the daughter of who moves into an Sven the Terrible. old villa in the coun At first he thought try with her parents. they were friends, She loses all her and entrusted her friends and is utterly with secrets. But bored. The 3D is con then suddenly he structed to be equally is let down, and is boring, i.e., everything is presented moods throughout the film. We had 3 totally shocked to discover that she is in a rather flat, conservative manner. categories: one in which the 3D effect the daughter of Sven the Terrible. In This impression of boredom is also was conceived as “low-key” and was this moment, in which his father and supported in the colour grading, by meant to recede into the background, the other men are also furious with keeping the colours relatively dull. one with a “normal” 3D effect, which him – where they say “How could you And then the girl discovers a secret was supposed to be perceived as nei fall for that?” – I used a “3D vertigo door in the villa, which takes her into ther boring nor too obtrusive; and effect”. That is, we simultaneously a parallel world. This parallel world one with “strong” 3D effects for the zoom in with the camera and move it is a mirror image of the boring one, relevant scenes. My concern in the backwards – and all this in 3D – and so to speak, except that everything is 3-dimensional execution was on the at the same time I also changed the colourful and exciting all of a sud one hand to bring viewers closer to stereo settings, i.e. the spatial depth: den, and the people are much nicer the story – to make it more tangible when Vicky sinks down on the floor, etc. On the one hand this is expressed – and on the other hand to deploy 3D realizing “I was friends with an en in the colour grading, through more effects strategically in order to em emy”, and his father begins to scold brilliant colours and contrasts; on the phasize things, and of course to give him in the background, at this mo other hand it is also shown in the 3D the children a certain fun factor. For ment the background becomes more through bigger depth budgets, much example we only made strategic use and more separated from Vicky in more interesting depth staging, and of out-of-screen effects where it fitted the foreground. And at the same time “out-of-screen” or “pop-up” effects the story, e.g. when Vicky shoots an Vicky’s face becomes flatter and flat which make the whole picture more arrow to pull Schnorre’s tooth. We de ter; it loses its roundness. This effect exciting. This approach emphasizes liberately didn’t use the pop-out effect can be put to wonderful use in 3D to both the feeling of boredom in the all the time so that it wouldn’t become reflect the distance between Vicky Interview 48 26/2013/E and his mental state on the one hand, Glossary and his father on the other. I see this as an excellent illustration of how Roundness: the degree of roundness with which 3-dimensional objects brilliantly 3D can be used to give are perceived emphasis to feelings. Focal length: the focal length has a big impact on 3-dimensional percep Another example has to do with tion. If it is too short, everything looks too small and overly round, if it is long takes, i.e. plan sequences/long too long, everything appears too flat. 3D images thus tend to remain within tracking shots with the Steadicam or the range of normal focal length dolly, without many cuts. This brings Out-of-screen/pop-up effects: when an arrow or a sword comes out of the us much closer to natural vision, be screen, so that it seems as if one could almost touch it, this is referred to cause it imitates what we do in eve as an out-of-screen effect. In the past, 3D films consisted almost entirely ryday life, i.e. moving around in a of these effects, which sometimes came across as gimmicky and forced. space “continuously” (that is, without Today these effects are deployed much more strategically and can be used “jumps”). This works amazingly well, to emphasize a particular moment in a film is exciting, authentic, and close to the action. And at the same time the film 3D vertigo effect: the camera moves e.g. away from an object, but one also works in 2D, without seeming zooms in on the object and simultaneously changes the distance between boring in terms of its camera work. the 2 cameras. This means that the way the space is perceived is also 3-dimensionally “distorted” – similar to the 2-dimensional vertigo effect Is there anything else that is set up Monocular depth cues: depth cues which are based solely on monocular, differently in 3D camera work? i.e. one-eyed cues, e.g. the interplay of light and shadow, texture, propor Yes, for example in the choice of lens tions, perspective, motion parallax, occlusion of objects etc. es or the settings in general. I always Miniaturization: objects seem very small in relation to the viewer, almost try to construct the whole film in such as if one were looking into a doll’s house a way that it is visually attractive, for Giantism: objects seem gigantic in relation to the viewer; as a viewer, one example by trying quite deliberately has the impression of being very small to incorporate monocular depth cues, Stereoscopy: the reproduction of images with a spatial effect of depth which are also used for stereoscopic vision. Instead of standing face-on Stereography: the art of 3D design in front of a wall, it looks consider ably better to angle the camera in, i.e. to use perspective lines. I keep seem gigantic. I used this for a his shoulder, such as our lightweight rig noticing that, when filming in 3D, torical film, for example. It was about or our nano rig, and that are not much you often use camera angles or move normal humans fighting against gi bigger or heavier than a normal film ments which are not often used in 2D ants. And these giants were filmed in camera. It’s possible to make fantastic – whether out of convenience or be such a way that they looked gigantic. 3D with relatively little effort, a small cause it’s not considered necessary. In The normal actors, on the other hand, budget, and a well-trained crew. You 3D, on the other hand, we look for the were deliberately filmed in a some just need to take a chance. There’s most unusual camera angles and then what “miniaturistic” way, so that the an unbelievable amount of potential realize later that this also looks great difference between the giants and the in 3D! in 2D. For example I deliberately try humans became even greater. to design the space in a way that gives * Shortened ver good depth staging, i.e. a foreground In what productions can 3D be sion of a conversa object, a middle-ground object, and a used? tion between Flo background object, not just 2 levels, When you say 3D, people always rian Maier and Dr. Maya Götz (IZI). foreground and background. In 3D think of major feature films in which a Florian Maier is it’s also possible to express various budget of millions is spent on effects; stereographer and both founder and proportions – think “miniaturization” they never think of using it in a televi CEO of STEREOTEC, Landsberied, and “giantism”. That means that I can sion drama or something for educa Germany (www.stereotec.com). use a wide interaxial base and a wide tional television, for which no special For Vicky and the Treasure of the angle of view to make actors appear effects are needed, and no elaborate Gods he won 3 Lumiere Awards dwarf-like; at the same time I can tracking shots or set extensions are for Outstanding Achievement from use a very narrow stereo base and a required. By now we’ve developed the International 3D Society in narrow angle of view to make things 3D rigs that can be carried on the Hollywood.