OK, we have a cool tutorial in the works and some fascinating behind the scenes action based on our recent short movie but after that I want to explore Stereo 3D production. I've been collaborating with an amazing team of stereo experts and got a chance to talk to some pros handling the stereo workflow on the upcoming film Tron and it's been a fascinating journey. In 3D!!

It seems a fair amount of people understand the basics of Stereo 3D and how it works but once you get into the science, it is easy to over-simplify and destroy the illusion. Now I don't know if Stereo 3D is here to stay, but hollywood is going to be busy with it for many years ahead and I want to share everything that I've been learning over the last few months through behind-the-scenes interviews, tests and tutorials.

The concept of Stereo 3D is simple, 2 cameras capture a scene at about eye-distance apart. Now the challenge of Stereo 3D is delivering the image from the left-side camera back to the viewers left-eye and the right-eye image to the right one.

In the past, stereo 3D suffered from a poor delivery method known as anaglyph, which is the 2-colored glasses that aren't the most comfortable to wear and coupled with extreme inter-occular distances, pop-corn bags were quickly refilled. With new and upcoming technology, stereo 3D is more comfortable and immersive just like a snuggie.

Although the concept is simple, there is a brave new world dedicated to getting the best quality and most comfortable image using the proper camera rigs, setting a balanced interocular distance (2-cam distance), and keeping continuity of your convergence plane (like the Point-of-interest). But we'll get into that stuff later :)

Good Stereo 3D is not about having everything popping out of the screen but instead think of it like a window into a world... like the villains from Superman 2.

Request: Although anaglyph is a rough method it is cheap, so please pick up a pair of Red/Cyan glasses if you would like to see the tests and demos we do in the weeks ahead.

What are your questions about Stereo 3D?

All Video Copilot products now support After Effects CS5 and free updates are available for Optical Flares and Twitch.

Important Information About CS5 and 64-bit:

• Each Plug-in comes in 2 versions: one for After Effects CS5 (64-bit) and one for previous versions of After Effects such as AE 7, CS3 & CS4 (32-bit).
• Please install the plug-in based on your version After Effects only. The 64-bit version is for After Effects CS5 only and NOT based on your Operating System.
• So if you have AE CS4 installed on the 64-bit version of Windows 7, you still only need to install the 32-bit version of the plug-in because AE CS4 is still a 32-bit application.
• Customers can reuse their current licenses with this update. Simply copy your license file from the previous directory into the new installation folder. If you have a new computer or need to request a new license please contact our support team.

PLUG-IN UPDATES:

Download Optical Flares 1.2.128 Update*
This update is for all customers, not just CS5. It includes several new features.
*We fixed a couple of bugs as well from 2 days ago.

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The Optical Flares 1.2 update is now available and includes several new features for all Optical Flares customers:

• Added 64-bit support for AE CS5
• New "Unified Interface" with automatic scaling
• Rearrange window panels
• Full-Screen Mode
• 16:9 Guides now visible
• Show BG warning
• No more slide-out panel (Yay!)

Watch Video Demonstration of New Interface

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Good news Thursday May 20th is my 4-year anniversary to my sweet wife so in celebration we're giving away a free shotgun shell clip. No, we didn't have a "shotgun-wedding" but we do shoot some of the extra toaster overs.

This high-resolution clip comes pre-keyed in 2-versions for fast or slow-motion; it also loops seamlessly. For help looping in AE Click Here.

I added the words "Elite Series" so that people would not question my shotgun shooting abilities.

Watch Sample Video (this version does not have alpha)

Download Free Clip (17 MBs)

Compositing Tips: Place animation over your footage and animate the rotation over time to give the shell more variation as it spins out. You might also try moving the pivot point closer to the metal so it rotates off-balance for realism.

NEED MORE ACTION FOOTAGE?

If you like this clip be sure to check out our Action Stock Footage collection that features muzzle flashes, explosions and more spinning shells for .45 and .223 caliber brass.

More on Action Essentials 2

One thing that we did for our recent short was integrated footage shot with the Canon 7D and the Red camera. The Red footage was processed 'flat' so the image was not crushed until the final color treatment was established. The 7D footage however was setup at the default settings so there was already more contrast and a nice tone. There are some interesting tips for setting up your 7D with a flat look for those interested to get more color range out of the compressed footage.

Once you find the treatment you like the goal is to apply it to all of your shots so they look even and balanced but when your source material is not the same, the color treatments can be very different. Pay close attention to the color of the shadows and hilights with effects like Levels, Curves and Tint to control over-saturation.

I've included the HD plates for people that want to experiment or practice your own color timing.

Watch Color Comparison

Watch Complete Short

Then stay tuned for a tutorial based on the FX from the short as well as some fun behind the scenes entertainment.