It's no secret that 3DTV in the living room likely will dominate the buzz at the NAB Show (exhibits open April 12-15). Three sessions focusing on advances in S3D technology already in-play at the theater level and breaking box office records are on tap at the Content Theater at its new location, Room N109 of the LVCC.
One session involves a current Disney blockbuster still in theaters. Another involves an upcoming 3D channel sports channel from Disney-owned ESPN, and the third delves into a film that hasn't been released yet.
A behind-the-scenes examination of the advancements in 3D technology used in Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" motion picture (on track to become one of the biggest revenue-producing films in history) is at 4 p.m. on Monday, April 12. "'Alice in Wonderland': Turning Fantasy into Motion Picture Reality" will include a panel directly involved with the film's technological advances in live action-computer-animated production, including Art Repola, Disney Studios' executive vice president of visual effects and production.
Also at the "Alice" session will be Oscar winner Ken Ralston of Sony Pictures ("Alice's" visual effects supervisor), and Corey Turner, the movie's stereographer. One of the film's visual effects producers, Tom Peitzman, will be on hand to discuss the movie's several technical challenges and success solutions.
At 3 p.m., preceding the "Alice" session, 3D sports coverage kicks off with "ESPN: Scoring a Field Goal in S3D Sports. ESPN plans to launch its own 3D HD sports channel in May. The session panel includes Phil Orlins, coordinating producer of ESPN X Games; cinematographer Vince Pace; Bob Toms, vice president of interactive TV at ESPN; and Anthony Bailey, ESPN's vice president of emerging technologies.
"A lot of the business around NAB happens after the show," ESPN's Bailey said in an April 1 article in TV Technology. Along with being a 3D panelist, Bailey will be keeping an eye out for new technology on the exhibit floor. "What we find at NAB is always that 'diamond in the rough company' that we don't normally deal with — the little guy — where you'll find something interesting and that will get the conversations going," Bailey said.
A third 3D session on Monday, April 12, is a case study of the new film "How to Train Your Dragon" featuring several of the movie's hands-on creators (opening in theaters this Friday, March 26). It will be held in the Content Theater at 5 p.m.
[For more on 3D at NAB beyond the Content Theater, see sister publication Broadcasting & Cable's March 22 issue.]
