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Hollywood producer James Cameron and business partner Vince Pace have already overcome many of the most challenging aspects of 3D entertainment in movies.
Now may be the time to go after some of the “low-hanging fruit” — using 3D technology in episodic dramatic television shows like soap operas.
“We’re constantly raising the bar to improve the entertainment experience,” Cameron said at a session on Monday’s opening day of the National Association of Broadcasters gathering at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
“Using 3D produces a sense of physical presence,” he said. “It’s like, man, you’re right there. You feel like you’re involved.”
A 3D soap opera, he said, would be like putting the viewer in the room with the characters.
The co-founders of the Cameron Pace Group — acknowledged by most in the industry as the leaders in producing 3D entertainment — have brought the experience to the big screen with 3D versions of “Avatar” and the re-release of “Titanic.”
Earlier this year, they received a cinematography Oscar for their work on the film “Hugo.”
They’ve also partnered with ESPN and CBS to produce 3D sports broadcasts, winning an Emmy for the 3D coverage of last year’s U.S. Open tennis tournament and using the technology for the Winter X-Games and the Masters golf tournament earlier this month.
Monday’s NAB presentation included clips from the sports broadcasts and an introductory reel showing the capability of the technology. Hundreds attending the session donned 3D glasses to get the full effect of the presentation.
It was one year ago at NAB that Cameron and Pace told an audience that they were going to concentrate their efforts on expanding 3D, despite comments from skeptics about how it would be a passing fad and wouldn’t make any money.
Cameron and Pace have gone beyond film and television production. They have also introduced and patented cameras and equipment they are showing at their company’s NAB booth.
They developed the technology to capture 3D and standard 2D images simultaneously with one camera and multiple data feeds. Someone within the industry dubbed it “5D” technology, and the term has stuck.
In their work with sports-production broadcasters, they said, the key was setting up cameras with ideal sight lines and angles used with standard broadcasts, which is why the all-in-one 5D worked so well.
For the Winter X-Games broadcast, 35 cameras were used, and the results were stunning.
“The industry success story is going to be in broadcast,” Pace said. “ESPN threw their best people at it. The way I see it, we’re simply telling the story of the competition in sports. And in the Masters broadcast, we had a great opportunity with Bubba Watson hitting out of those trees. If you want to show a hook shot, there’s only one way to do it, and that’s in 3D.”
In addition to considering scripted dramatic productions, Cameron is producing a film showcasing Cirque du Soleil performances in Las Vegas that will be released by Paramount on Dec. 18.
One of Cameron’s new products is a 20-pound, 5D handheld camera that he has started to use. He also experimented with a thumb-sized camera in a titanium housing during his historic submarine dive to the Mariana Trench.
Working with National Geographic on a research documentary, Cameron became the first person to complete a solo dive to the Challenger Deep, seven miles beneath the surface, about 200 miles south of Guam in the South Pacific.