Steele delivers graphic refresh for 3net
December 6, 2011

Steele delivers graphic refresh for 3net

CULVER CITY, CA — Steele Studios recently completed and delivered a massive on-air stereo 3D graphics refresh for 3net, the 24/7 3D television network that is a joint venture between Sony, Discovery and IMAX. The package is comprised of over 60 elements, including a main logo open, interstitials and promos. 

In early November 3net viewers began seeing the vibrant new S3D graphics. This work by Steele Studios extends the company’s collaboration with 3net, which began months prior with the network’s launch in February of this year. That early work included building elements and graphics for the launch, modifying existing graphic elements for S3D broadcast, editing and creating many promos, sizzle reels, flying titles, interstitials, wipes and transitions which aired during 3net’s first few months.

Steele also handled S3D work for live action elements, correcting convergence, LE/RE color balancing, linearity and geometry, depth budgeting and scripting. Because of the multitude of different sources of content featured on 3net, Steele was required to re-converge and, in some cases, recreate the S3D for a standard TV size.

Steele used its Quantel Pablo 4K with Stereo 3D capabilities on the re-fresh, and the studio’s Jerry Steele served as stereographer.

“For these new graphics, we wanted to create really dynamic shapes that exaggerate depth, but at the same time, we were limited to a minimal S3D depth and inter-axial distance,” he explains. “The way we could do this was to use really wide-angle lenses and shoot objects which we’d move only a few nanometers at a time. We had crazy big lenses, giving us massive distortions, which allowed us to exaggerate depth and to ‘stage’ this 3D space appropriately. All the elements in the composite were ultimately shot with different sized lenses and then placed carefully within our limited space. We used a combination of solid and amorphous objects, so that we could ‘bend’ the rules as needed to fit all our pieces in the composites. We relied heavily on the undeterminable shapes that were placed between solid objects to separate them. We ultimately had to exaggerate the physical nature of these constructs, because all of the other visual information around them wouldn’t normally give the viewer the correct sense of depth and mass.”

In addition to using the Pablo 4K for compositing, online, color correction, finishing and mastering, Steele Studios also employed Cinema 4D for CGI, along with After Effects and Photoshop.

Steele Studios credits include EP Jo Steele, designer/art director Chris Williamson, Cinema 4D artist Kurt Miller, and producer Mark Edwards.