LONDON — Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) and MPC (The Moving Picture Company) have invested heavily in The Foundry’s (www.thefoundry.co.uk) Ocula toolset. Ocula is the result of numerous collaborations with artists on high-end 3D stereo projects. The toolset is designed to boost productivity and help deliver a more rewarding stereoscopic viewing experience.

ILM invested in a number of Ocula seats after an evaluation period in which it used it to tackle common stereo problems. The studio found that Ocula dealt with plate disparity quickly and accurately, while remaining flexible to last-minute creative changes and stereo problems that can arise in the later stages of the composite.

MPC made a major Ocula purchase for its upcoming work on Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The studio will employ the toolset to resolve vertical alignment issues and to color match plates.

In related news, India’s Prana Studios is now renting a large number of Ocula seats in response to an increased demand for stereoscopic effects, and Australia’s Animal Logic also recently added Ocula to its stereo workflow.