And as the film world continues its rapid transition from traditional 2 D celluloid film to 3 D digital, a weekend conference at the TIFF Bell Lightbox is aimed at boosting the Toronto film community鈥檚 chances of capitalizing on the next wave in film 鈥� 3-D, wrote the :

The [] conference is co-sponsored by 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Fine Arts and the 3-D Film Innovation Consortium (3D FLIC), a group of GTA-based film companies.

Ali Kazimi, professor in the University鈥檚 film department, said the three-day event will bring together an 鈥渆clectic mix鈥� of filmmakers, artists, academics and theorists. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a truly interdisciplinary event. We believe it鈥檚 not just a first in Canada, we believe it鈥檚 the first time anywhere in the world that these...fairly disparate groups of people have been brought together to discuss the future of 3-D cinema,鈥� Kazimi said.

鈥淚 think this is going to be a very special event for the city. Our project has really put Toronto on the map because with this incredible sharing of knowledge,鈥� he added.

Until the debut of Avatar in December, 2009, there was little interest in 3-D as a new frontier in film, Kazimi said. 鈥淣ow everybody is jumping on the bandwagon. As a filmmaker, I feel it鈥檚 a very exciting time because when used properly, 3-D offers a whole new language for filmmakers,鈥� Kazimi said.

The conference and 3D FLIC also involve psychology and computer science researchers within the . The centre's conference on runs June 15-18, allowing researchers to attend both events.

For more background on the Toronto International Stereoscopic 3D Conference, see its or this .

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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But while moviegoers have flocked to recent 3-D offerings, film fans also have had mixed reviews about their experiences, with some reporting headaches, nausea, vision problems and motion sickness. With 3-D leaping to the small screen, clinical researchers and tech experts want to know whether the special effect might damage eyes in the process.

鈥淭he problem with 3-D displays is that unlike the real world, only a subset of the information that normally informs us about the 3-D structure of the world is present,鈥� said , a computer science professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science & Engineering who specializes in 3-D vision and technology.

And processing that incomplete visual information does, in fact, impact our eyes.

Better technology is alleviating the problem.

Allison also noted that recent 3-D movies have gotten better at reducing eye strain by mimicking our natural stereoscopic vision. 鈥淧eople are becoming less gimmick-oriented in terms of 3-D content,鈥� Allison explained. 鈥淭here鈥檚 more emphasis on a comfortable viewing experience where stereopsis enriches the experience rather than defining it, and recent movies like Avatar or Up have been very easy on the eyes.鈥�

The complete article is . For more information about visit the project's website.

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Sturgeon鈥檚 internationally known research on the relationship between environmental and social justice movements, her planned collaborative research with 91亚色 faculty and her graduate course on environmental justice cultural studies qualified her for the award.

The Fulbright Scholar Program, sponsored by the United States Department of State's Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs, sends 800 faculty and professionals abroad each year to lecture and conduct research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields.

Right: No毛l Sturgeon

鈥淔ES at 91亚色 is the largest environmental studies program in North America,鈥� says . 鈥淚鈥檒l have a chance to work with prominent scholars and graduate students in a rare interdisciplinary environmental studies context, defining and expanding the new field of environmental justice cultural studies.鈥�

Her聽most recent research examines environmental messages portrayed in popular culture since the late 1980s. In one chapter of her recent book, , for example, Sturgeon has identified a consistent formula in popular movies that inaccurately depicts an inherent spiritual closeness of indigenous people with the natural world. This stereotype appears repeatedly in movies such as and .

Sturgeon believes this misrepresentation is just the beginning of where these plots go awry in terms of real solutions to current environmental problems. Typically, these formulaic storylines then morph into action-adventure dramas where the heroic American white male archetype, who has 鈥渟een the light鈥� 鈥� usually through romantic involvement with a native woman or an attachment to a special animal 鈥撀燽onds with the indigenous culture to save them from the 鈥渂ad guys鈥�, for example other American-like white males who are fixated on conquering land and indigenous people for their own gain.

To Sturgeon, these movies are insidious on many levels, but especially because they leave moviegoers empty in terms of environmental solutions that are just and fair for all. 鈥淲hile people today might admire the many traits typically assigned to indigenous people, fantasizing that all would be better environmentally if we could just become hunter-gatherers or escape to another planet is a dangerous fantasy,鈥� says Sturgeon.

And when these formulaic plots become focused on the fight for colonization, real solutions for global environmental action are bypassed. 鈥淚鈥檝e spoken with students who have left Avatar feeling powerless about issues surrounding environmentalism聽鈥� they are given no tools for correcting injustice or saving the planet,鈥� she says.

Her book unpacks a variety of cultural tropes, including ideas about Mother Nature, the purity of the natural and the allegedly close relationships of indigenous people with the natural world.

Sturgeon聽is on the graduate faculty for the WSU American Studies program. In addition to environmental cultural studies, her research and teaching interests include feminist theory, social movements, and theories of globalization and transnationalism. She is widely published in peer-reviewed journals and is also the author of .

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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At the April 23 launch at Toronto鈥檚 , 3D FLIC researchers Professor from 91亚色鈥檚 and Professor from the spoke about the critical importance of collaboration to their respective 3D research in film and psychology.

Right: Launch goers watch a聽2D to 3D conversion demo at the 3D FLIC launch

鈥淏ecause the perception of S3D is personal, opinions are strongly held,鈥� Wilcox said. 鈥淧eople assume that how they see is how everyone sees. This is simply false, and testing is the only way to determine the average human鈥檚 perception of 3D. Our goal is not only to study the issues with rigour, but also to disseminate our research results widely. 3D FLIC鈥檚 mandate is to make our results public, and in doing so highlight the central role that the Ontario film industry is playing in advancing S3D.鈥�

Several 3D FLIC industry partners were on site to give previews and demonstrations of their work. The showcase included the 3D Camera Company鈥檚 new Hawkeye S3D camera with a live 3D footage feed; a demo of 2D to 3D conversion by Communications Research Centre Canada in association with Cinespace Film Studios and Creative Post Inc.; a demo reel from Starz Animation Toronto; and a presentation of Side Effects Software Inc.鈥檚 procedural 3D animation software Houdini, which was used for special effects in blockbusters like and .

Left: From left, Stan Shapson, vice-president, research & innovation at 91亚色; David Choat, vice-president of聽human resources at the Ontario Centres of Excellence; Laura Albanese, parliamentary assistant to the minister of聽culture and MPP for 91亚色 South-Weston; Karen Thorne-Stone, president and CEO of the聽Ontario Media Development Corporation; and Jim Mirkopoulos, vice-president of operations at聽Cinespace Film Studios

Visual arts Professor Nell Tenhaaf, associate dean of research in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Fine Arts and 3D FLIC鈥檚 principal investigator, welcomed representatives from government and granting agencies, including Laura Albanese, parliamentary assistant to the minister of culture and MPP for 91亚色 South-Weston; Karen Thorne-Stone, president and CEO of the Ontario Media Development Corporation; and David Choat, vice-president of human resources for the Ontario Centres of Excellence. Over 100 industry delegates were on hand to learn about 3D FLIC鈥檚 unique convergence of academia, industry, art and science. Attendees included longtime S3D industry leaders such as IMAX and RealD, stereographers and filmmakers.

The 3D FLIC research team includes:

• 91亚色鈥檚 in the Faculty of Fine Arts and the interdisciplinary Centre for Vision Research
• Canadian Film Centre Media Lab
• Ontario Centres of Excellence
• Computer Animation Studios of Ontario
• Cinespace Film Studios
• 3D Camera Company
• Creative post Inc.
• Starz Animation Toronto
• PS Production Services Ltd.
• Side Effects Software Inc.
• Saw VII Productions Canada Inc.

For more information, visit the Web site.

By Amy Stewart, publicist, Faculty of Fine Arts.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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The Hollywood Reporter April 23:

After losing traditional Hollywood film and TV shoots to rival U.S. states like Louisiana and New Mexico, the Ontario provincial government is looking to lift its local production sector by luring 3D flicks and 2D-to-3D conversion work up north.

In the wake of "Avatar," the Ontario Media Development Corp. on Friday unveiled a two-year $1.4 million 3D Film Innovation Consortium (3D FLIC) to expand Toronto's 3D film expertise.

OMDC president and CEO Karen Thorne-Stone said her agency, which markets the province as a film location in Hollywood, is looking to build out Ontario's 3D infrastructure to entice Los Angeles producers with next-level 3D projects to complete.

Jim Mirkopoulos, vp operations at Cinespace Studios, a major Toronto facility, said he is talking to major studios about shooting their movies in the city, and then remaining here to convert 2D content to 3D at partner Creative Post's 3D stereoscopic post facility.
. . .

Nell Tenhaaf, associate dean of research at 91亚色, and the 3D FLIC project leader, said little research has been done into how audiences react to misaligned objects in 3D projection, or the illusion of depth, all of which may produce occasional nausea.

"We want to understand how the brain interacts with 3D film so we can make the experience as good as it can possibly get," she said.

Tenhaff added the practical solutions discovered by Ontario academics will be put into locally produced postproduction technologies and 3D film production processes to better attract Hollywood and other foreign producers to the province.

The project was also covered in the Hindustan Times April 25:

Forget , it was just the tip of an ice cube. The technology that James Cameron鈥檚 film is credited to have breathed life into has been around in some way or the other since the 1890s, when a 3-D moviemaking process was first patented in Britain. Over the next century came technologies that failed on the cost-benefit scale. What Avatar did was to show the marketing possibilities of 3-D 鈥� marking the second coming of the old magic. Much of these must have been in the works for years. What has brought about their releases now?

The spread of digital projection and better camera technology helped. But there鈥檚 surely more to the momentum. A few weeks ago, the Delhi-born Ali Kazimi, a professor at the Centre for Film & Theatre in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Fine Arts, started on a $1.4-million interdisciplinary project to research 3-D cinema. 鈥淎 project this size cannot be started overnight...but the funding fell in place after the success of Avatar.鈥� Now everyone is playing for the 3-D effect, said Kazimi.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin

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In the movie industry, Avatar has proven to major film studios and producers that the technology has the ability to generate significant profit, said Ali Kazimi, a professor at 91亚色鈥檚 film studies program.

鈥淥ne of the things Avatar has done has opened the floodgates for 3-D production to be taken seriously. Given that (filmmaking) is an industry and it is driven by the bottom line, producers and studios have seen the economic potential of 3-D and that鈥檚 been a huge impetus for the excitement and surge right across the industry today, from manufacturers to theatrical distributors,鈥� Kazimi said.

. . .

Kazimi said the attraction of 3-D is the 鈥渋mmersive鈥� experience that the audience receives.

鈥淚 draw an analogy to sound, where if you listen to music on a mono speaker and then on a good set of stereo speakers and then surround (sound), as you go up that chain, the experience becomes more all-enveloping and immersive. Stereoscopic 3-D cinema is attempting to do the same thing through the visual experience,鈥� Kazimi said.

Kazimi, who is also a filmmaker, said mainstream filmmakers are already embracing the new technology.

But, he noted, storytelling remains the key to great films and 3-D is just another tool for filmmakers.

鈥淪torytelling still remains the fundamental key of the experience. I think people will get very tired of having a dimensional experience very quickly. We experience cinema as a collective storytelling experience and that remains regardless of whether it鈥檚 black and white, colour or 3-D; it鈥檚 storytelling that we all connect to.鈥�

The complete article is available of .

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aired March 8. and runs 52 minutes.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

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91亚色's 3D FLIC project, which will bring filmmakers, vision scientists and psychologists together to expand the , attracted coverage in the on February 23:

91亚色 says it has secured more than $1.4 million to fund the 3-D Film Innovation Consortium, a two-year partnership to expand the capacity for 3-D film production in the GTA and Ontario.

鈥淭he recent success of films like Avatar has changed the perception of 3-D film with the public and the major studios,鈥� says Nell Tenhaaf, visual arts professor and associate dean of research in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Fine Arts.

Teams of filmmakers at 91亚色, as well as psychologists and vision researchers, will work with the film industry and the Canadian Film Centre to develop 3-D techniques.

The story only appeared in the newspaper's print edition.

The announcement also appeared in , a magazine for business/economic development/entrepreneurs.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

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Filmmakers, vision scientists and psychologists at 91亚色 have secured over $1.4 million to fund the 3D Film Innovation Consortium (3D FLIC), a two-year academic-industry partnership that will expand capacity for 3-D film production in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Ontario.

"The recent success of films like Avatar has changed the perception of 3-D film with the public and the major studios," says Nell Tenhaaf (right), professor and associate dean聽of聽research in聽the Faculty of Fine Arts and the project lead. "As more live-action films, dramas and documentaries get developed in 3-D over the next few years, the GTA must aggressively build its capacity for 3-D film production. 3D FLIC envisions the GTA as a hub for the best quality and most original stereoscopic film production."

3D FLIC brings a uniquely interdisciplinary team to tackle the challenges involved in improving 3-D entertainment technology. Teams of filmmakers at 91亚色, led by Professor Ali Kazimi (right) in the Department of Film, Faculty of Fine Arts, will work with an array of film industry partners and the Canadian Film Centre to develop 3-D scenes and films. Vision researchers and psychologists in 91亚色's internationally-recognized Centre for Vision Research, led by Professors Rob Allison聽 in the Faculty of Science聽& Engineering's Department of Computer Science & Engineering and Laurie Wilcox in the Faculty of Health's Department of Psychology, will then use this material to conduct tests exploring how humans perceive and process the images, which the filmmaking teams will use to refine their films.

This interdisciplinary cycle of research promises to develop practical solutions that will create better post-production technologies and processes for 3-D film production, which will benefit the film industry as a whole.

Left: Rob Allison

Researchers plan to address the question of how best to control viewers' attention when viewing 3D imagery and the role this technique could play in the 3D-film narrative.

"Vergence is a basic mechanism of binocular vision," says Wilcox. "Normally, simultaneously moving both eyes maintains single vision: we cross our eyes to look at near objects (convergence) and move them apart to look at far objects (divergence). This process doesn't happen when viewing conventional 2-D film because both eyes see exactly the same image. But in 3-D film, the illusion of depth allows a viewer to look into the scene and converge their eyes on objects at different depths.

Left: Laurie Wilcox

"We want to know if we can control a viewer's attention by changing how the 3-D images are aligned. Are there techniques that will reduce the discomfort that viewing 3-D images prompts in some individuals? How should 3-D images be constructed to scale differently for display on screens ranging from an IMAX to a television set to a hand-held device?" says Wilcox. "These are some of the questions 3D FLIC will explore."

Collaboration between industry and academia is crucial to the project's success. "Ontario has film crews, technicians and camera operators with decades of experience, and we need to support and hasten their transition to 3-D film to remain competitive," says Jim Mirkopoulos, vice-president of operations at Cinespace Studios. Cinespace is a longstanding supporter of the Faculty of Fine Arts and one of 3D FLIC's partner organizations; their standing White House sets in Kleinburg, Ont., will be used as a 3-D research studio.

The 3D FLIC team includes:

• (CFC)
• (3DCC)
• Production Canada, Inc.

鈥淭his initiative brings 91亚色鈥檚 outstanding researchers in digital media, 3D film, and vision science together in a most innovative way,鈥� says Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation. 鈥淏uilding on this unique internal capacity, CONCERT, the 91亚色-led Consortium on New Media, Creative and Entertainment Research & Development, has helped to establish our reputation among the GTA鈥檚 digital media industry and allowed for successful and sustainable research partnerships between our researchers and local companies. 3D FLIC is one of several exciting media projects we鈥檙e launching this year. Of course, research informs our teaching programs; our 3D FLIC members are already discussing new innovations in our curriculum to benefit our students 鈥� stay tuned for more to come.鈥�

3D FLIC has a unique funding arrangement with (OMDC) and Ontario Centres of Excellence. OMDC has contributed over $436,000 to help recognize 3D film as a new production paradigm through the project鈥檚 innovative partnerships; OCE has allocated over $287,000 to support the project鈥檚 scientific and technology development aspects of stereoscopy research. Seven industry partners will provide over $450,000 through in-kind support, with additional institutional support from 91亚色.

OMDC鈥檚 portion of this funding is part of a $2.9 million investment made on Feb. 10, 2010 through its Entertainment and Creative Cluster Partnerships Fund to leverage an additional $7.1 million from 94 partners to support a total of 17 projects.

Designed to help Ontario鈥檚 entertainment and creative industries invest in smart ways to grow their competitive advantage in the global marketplace, the partnership fund supports projects involving book and magazine publishing, music, film, television, interactive digital media, and commercial theatre. This industrial cluster experienced growth in 2009 and produces $15 billion in revenue and over 200,000 jobs, contributing $12.7 billion to the province鈥檚 GDP. In the last four years, the partnerships fund has provided $9.7 million to support 60 projects involving 379 partners and leveraging a total of $23 million in industry matching funds.

鈥淭he entertainment and creative cluster is one of the fastest-growing sectors in Ontario鈥檚 economy,鈥� said Michael Chan, minister of tourism and culture. 鈥淥ur government is proud of the investments we have made in the culture sector, which are driving economic growth and contributing to a great quality of life for Ontarians.鈥�

For a , visit the OMDC鈥檚 Web site.

(OMDC) is an agency of the that facilitates economic development opportunities for Ontario鈥檚 cultural media industries including book publishing, film and television, interactive digital media, magazine publishing, and music industries.

(OCE) Inc. drives the commercialization of cutting-edge research across key market sectors to build the economy of tomorrow and secure Ontario鈥檚 global competitiveness. In doing this, OCE fosters the training and development of the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs and is a key partner with Ontario's industry, universities, colleges, research hospitals, investors and governments. OCE鈥檚 Centres work in communications and information technology, earth and environmental technologies, energy, materials and manufacturing and photonics. OCE is funded by the government of Ontario and is a key partner in delivering Ontario鈥檚 Innovation Agenda. OCE through its Centre for Commercialization of Research (CCR), an initiative supported by the federal government, also acts as a catalyst which allows innovative businesses to grow and achieve sustainable, commercial success and global competitiveness.

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer; photos courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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