SourceEcreative Presents 3D Panel in Las Vegas

3D Commercials on the Horizon, Mixing Potential with Pitfall

By Anthony Vagnoni

If you think the industry fascination with all things 3D is overblown, think again.  Certainly that wasn’t the case at this year’s NAB Show in Las Vegas, where 3D broadcasting was at the center of much of the discussion.  Capitalizing on this interest, SourceEcreative partnered with its parent company, DG Fastchannel, the leading distributor of digital advertising content in North America, to host a luncheon panel exploring the ins and outs of producing 3D TV commercials.  The presentation, titled “3D Commercials—Conveying a 3D Message in a 2D World—was filled to capacity.

On hand at the event, held at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas on April 13, were over 150 delegates from the network, TV station, ad agency and client sides of the business.  They were treated to a technology update on the rollout of DG Fastchannel's new HD delivery platform, delivered by Brendan Sullivan, Sr. VP, Engineering & IT, and then to a panel discussion that included Vincent Geraghty, VP, Content Architect for Leo Burnett USA; Ed Ulbrich, President of the Commercials Division and EVP at Digital Domain; and Charles Myers, VP, Distribution and Technology for Discovery Communications, parent of such popular cable networks as Animal Planet, TLC and the Discovery Channel.

All three panelists brought experience in 3D television and production to the panel. Geraghty was the executive producer on a new two-spot Samsung campaign that was shot entirely on the PACE camera system—the same that was used for the production of “Avatar”—and that was shot by the DP for the film, Mauro Fiore. Ulbrich heads up the commercials side of Digital Domain, which not only handled visual effects and 3D work on the Samsung campaign but is also producing the upcoming “Tron Legacy” motion picture in 3D for the Walt Disney Company.  And Myers is the head of distribution technology for Discovery, which will be launching a 3D cable channel in 2011 in partnership with Sony and IMAX. 

Each showed off a piece of 3D content to start off the panel—Myers screened a three-minute show reel of original 3D content that was used at this month’s series of media agency upfront meetings in New York, Geraghty screened the two Samsung commercials (“Wonder-full” and “Monsters,” both of which were produced by Rabbit and directed by the team known as TWiN) and Ulbrich brought along a gem, a three-plus minute ‘preview’ of “Tron Legacy” that was getting only its second live 3D screening since first being shown at Comic Con in August of 2008.

After screening these segments, Myers, Geraghty and Ulbrich discussed a variety of issues facing the production of 3D advertising that can support various channels of 3D programming, whether it be on broadcast or cable TV, Blue-Ray DVD, point of purchase and in store use, theme parks, cinema, gaming consoles, e-readers and PDAs.

In interviews conducted in advance of the event, a number of key points concerning the advent of 3D advertising came out.  First off, as Ulbrich noted, the driving force right now behind creating original 3D TV commercial content appears to be the consumer electronics segment—specifically, companies like Samsung, Sony and LG, which are actively marketing 3D televisions to consumers.  They’re currently driving the only original production of 3D commercials in the industry.  A growing number of commercials shot in 2D are in the process of being post-converted to 3D for use in a variety of places, primarily in cinemas. 

Ulbrich is passionate about his belief that post-converting content that was shot in 2D for 3D presentation is a decidedly mixed bag, and that the results can either be perfectly acceptable or way off base.  “The only way to find out is to try it,” he warns.

Shooting in 2D and then post-converting to 3D, says Ed, means that the filmmakers can “lose control of the 4th dimension,” by which he means they can no longer manipulate when and to what extent they want to create the illusion of depth.

There are relatively few production companies that have actual, hands-on experience producing 3D content for advertisers or agencies, Ulbrich adds, despite a growing cadre of what he described as “self-proclaimed experts” in 3D production.  Similarly, there are few agencies that have done it.

Regarding production workflow, the lack of standard protocols is also an issue for producers.  Ed Ulbrich notes that there’s no set way for doing this, no widely accepted roadmap—and you should be prepared to not trust anyone who says they have it figured out, as no one really does yet.

On the distribution end, the lack of an industry standard 3D system is a significant issue facing broadcasters, says Discovery’s Myers.  He believes that what 3D will need to be fully integrated in the consumer mainstream is for a system that requires no thought on the part of the consumer as to which format is required to get something to play.  He uses the analogy of the home TV remote control, tagged with little dabs of nail polish to remind users which button to push for various formats of 3D content.

Myers pointed out that 3D technology is moving on a superfast development track, which is resulting in significant confusion and uncertainty among stakeholders such as advertisers, producers and consumer electronics manufacturers. Myers noted that the industry is “trying to cram what took years with the transition from standard def to high def into just a few months.’

In the final analysis, all of the panelists stressed that 3D is not a gimmick, but rather a storytelling device designed to heighten viewer involvement and engagement and give filmmakers more control over the viewer experience. 

Geraghty, for example, said during the panel discussion that Samsung was fully committed to taking advantage of the 3D impact that its products would have on consumers, and he believes that shooting TV commercial content in 3D would make sense for advertisers under the circumstances.  For those big brands that want their message to have considerable impact, he noted, it’s a smart way to proceed despite the additional cost and time involved in producing it.

Myers says that, at its heart, great TV is something that takes the viewer to a place where he or she cannot go. For broadcasters, mastering the 3D experience is “the holy grail—it lets viewers feel like they’re really there.” What made “Avatar” such a hit, he adds, “was that it was a totally immersive experience—the 3D element kept you engrossed, made you feel like you were right there.  You got lost in the storytelling.”

Published April 16, 2010