Jeffrey Katzenberg, the "K" in DreamWorks Animation SKG and its CEO, gave a demo of 3D HD to the IBC throngs in Amsterdam via a live big-screen appearance from his studios near Los Angeles, in a closed circuit feed that was also in stereo 3D HD.
The 3D feed was made possible by 3Ality Digital Systems, Arqiva satellite firm, RealD, and projector maker Christie for the first trans-Atlantic presentation of its kind ever undertaken successfully.
Katzenberg offered stereoscopic 3D HD clips from a couple of his animated motion pictures to be released next year (including the sequel to "Kung Fu Panda") to the IBC audience, which had to don special glasses to appreciate the three-dimensional aspects of the content.
According to Katzenberg, someday 3D HD will be commonplace for both the film and TV industries, according to IBC Daily. "I believe this is the future," he said, while admitting that producing 3D can be labor-intensive—requiring editing and other production touches quite apart from the more traditional 2D feature presentations.
And the new eye-popping technology, he added, could have another other huge benefit for the movie industry, at least in the short term: It might give movie theaters a leg up (again) on providing video (and perhaps audio) in a clearly superior presentation to what consumers could see at home—a difference that is less distinguishable these days between large HD screens in the home and 2D movies in theaters, many of which have shrunk in size, thanks to the growth of multiscreen theater complexes.
Katzenberg, despite his many talents, is not always immune to backing the wrong horse. Last year, DreamWorks Animation SKG was a vocal supporter of the doomed HD DVD format until it gave way to Blu-ray Disc.
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