Conversion Hits Big Time: First Major Library Being Converted To 3D For $200M!

Some very exciting news in the 2D to 3D conversion business as a major first step has been undertaken toward legacy changeovers in three dimensions. I am not talking about a single project like ALICE IN WONDERLAND, but rather 500 films, TV shows and documentaries will be converted to 3D!

Grizzly Adams is a woodsman during the frontier era who flees into the mountains after he is wrongly accused of murder. While struggling to survive, Adams discovers an orphaned grizzly bear cub whom he takes in and calls Ben. The bear, despite his huge adult size, becomes Adams's closest companion. Adams proves to have an uncanny link to most of the indigenous wildlife of the region, who have no fear of him. In return, he resolves never to harm another animal whenever possible. In the television series, Adams had two human companions, an old trader named Mad Jack the Mountain Man and his mule named "Number Seven", and a native American named Nakoma. Together, they helped various visitors while protecting the wildlife.

Here is the press release (emphasis is mine):
San Diego-based multi-media 3D production studio PassmoreLab announced today that it has signed an agreement with legendary production company Grizzly Adams® Productions has to convert 500 of its feature films, television series, and documentaries to 3D.

According to Charles E. Sellier, CEO of Grizzly Adams Productions, when completed, the estimated seven-year, $200 million project “will create the largest 3D library in the entertainment industry.”

In addition to converting its existing 2D library to 3D, PassmoreLab will convert Grizzly Adams’ new productions to be completed — 18 new feature films and 78 television series episodes — over the seven-year term of the agreement.

Named after its long-running NBC Network TV series The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, Grizzly Adams Productions has been a leading producer of family friendly and faith-based independent movies, documentaries, television specials and series for the past three decades.
David Balsiger, vice-president at Grizzly Adams, notes, “To the best of our knowledge, we’re the first production company to initiate converting a major film library to 3D.”

San Diego-based PassmoreLab is a state of the art multi-media 3D production studio specializing in the conversion of 2D motion pictures into 3D entertainment experiences. The company’s proprietary technology for 2D to 3D video and film conversion is unmatched in the industry, in both turnaround times and conversion costs. Their existing library of 3D content is already considered to be the largest in the world, with hundreds of television shows, films, documentaries, videos and animation titles.

“At the end of the seven-year agreement with PassmoreLab, we project that we will have the largest 3D library available for retail, the most 3D TV programs available for licensing, and, we will have captured major shares of both the family and faith 3D markets,” explains Balsiger. Approximately 20 percent of the Grizzly Adams library is described as faith-based.

According to Greg Passmore, president of PassmoreLab, his company has arranged funding for the $200 million conversion project and has ramped up capacity to convert up to 100 Grizzly Adams titles per year.

Passmore observes, “Grizzly Adams has completely embraced 3D technology. There are other studios with large libraries, but they face many hurdles to convert even a few titles to 3D. For example, since the industry considers any resulting 3D title as a derivative product, there are contractual restrictions regarding director approvals, talent and music residuals, plus complex financing issues. All of this adds up to a disincentive to convert back list titles into 3D.”

“We own all of our films and television series outright,” explains Balsiger. “Our library is ideal for converting shows and filling the retail pipeline quickly while demand is high and supply is extremely low.”

Passmore adds, “Internationally, there’s every indication that 3D will be the standard from this point forward in movie theaters, on broadcast television, and across all video delivery systems. Our strategy is to be completely ready to take full advantage of that by having a large 3D-ready library available for licensing.”

If there ever was any doubt that 3D is the future of the home video market, those arguments were laid to rest recently when electronics giant, Panasonic, reported that its stock of 3D HDTVs selling at about $3,300 each had completely sold out within days of the products hitting retail outlets.

According to U.K.-based research firm Futuresource Consulting, the portion of U.S. households that will have a 3D television set in four years will rise to 45 percent from four percent this year.

Although box office blockbuster, Avatar, was shot in 3D, converting a 2D film to a 3D film appeals to leading filmmakers. For example, Tim Burton shot the recently released Disney remake of Alice in Wonderland with traditional 2D digital cameras and then converted the footage to 3D.

The masters are already available for the 3D Blu-Ray and VOD versions of The Fabric of Time, Grizzly Adams’ award winning television special about the Shroud of Turin, long believed to be the burial cloth of Christ. This is Grizzly Adams’ first 3D evergreen entry into the faith market which will crossover onto secular retail shelves for Easter sales.

Within the next six weeks, the highly acclaimed feature film, Friends for Life, will be released in 3D. This family friendly movie, complete with wolves and a bad grizzly bear, has received 30 awards for production excellence.

The first new 3D television series for the joint Grizzly Adams-PassmoreLab production pact will be a fifty-two episode series about George Washington, culminating with a feature length theatrical picture.

Among the new 3D feature film projects slated for production over the term of the alliance are two Grizzly Adams family-oriented feature films currently in pre-production: The Super Heroic Life of Edward Hinkleberry; and the newest franchise installment to the Grizzly Adams legend, Grizzly Adams Begins.

Grizzly Adams will oversee all worldwide television broadcast/DVD licensing for the 3D productions. PassmoreLab will take the lead role in theatrical distribution.

I am 100% behind this project!! I grew up watching GRIZZLY ADAMS and to see that whole series converted to 3D will be such a treat. And a new film too! I will be first in line for GRIZZLY ADAMS BEGINS. It is a very unique property they have there - completely family safe to view, a western feel, exciting drama to interest adults, survivalist elements, character development is outstanding and of course nature plays a huge role.
It will definitely be VERY hard to fill the shoes of Grizzly Adams (Dan Haggerty), Mad Jack (Denver Pyle) and Nakoma (Don Shanks) for the new movie - good luck with it guys.

Congratulations to all involved!!

Exclusive: PassmoreLab Completes Principal Photography on New 3D Surfing Film

Jim here. I often admire surfers as doing something that I have always wanted to do but have never tried. I think many of us are in the same boat! What if you could experience what it would be like to surf without getting wet? Enter 3D immersion. PassmoreLab is giving us the exclusive first look at what this project us all about...

Photo: Kyla Langen in Hawaii during production of PHYSICS OF SURFING.

From the release: PassmoreLab, the San Diego-based multi-media 3D production studio, has completed principal photography in the Hawaiian Islands on a new educational 3D surfing film called Physics of Surfing, available to science centers and museums this Spring.

The film, shot on RED cameras in high-definition 3D, and using PassmoreLabʼs proprietary 3D rigs and stereo synthesis conversion, follows two professional female surfers as they surf Hawaii’s North Shore and famous beaches along California’s coast, exploring surfing's influence on modern culture while experiencing Mother Nature’s majestic power in the creation of our ocean’s waves.

PassmoreLab’s passion for science-based adventure content, coupled with the studio’s willingness to travel to far-off destinations to tell nature’s astounding stories, is evident in Physics of Surfing, and is also revealed in the incredible cinematography of their two new forthcoming Digital 3D films – The Extreme Nature of Bats and MicroWorlds – due to be released this spring.

It is Greg Passmore’s penchant for challenging locations and rugged production that sets Physics of Surfing apart from other surfing films. As the newest addition to the rich history of surf cinema, Physics of Surfing showcases magnificent scenery and spectacular surfing action, while illustrating the principles of physics, as well as surfing’s spirit, history and culture.

Photo: Director Greg Passmore shooting 3D during production of Physics of Surfing in Hawaii.

“Locations have their own unique conditions, and we have become very comfortable shooting in demanding environments,” said Greg Passmore, president of PassmoreLab and director of the film. “To get the completely immersive 3D surfing experience that I was looking for in this film, we had to go where the waves were and then become really inventive to get the shots.”

Pro Surfers Julie Cox and Kyla Langen, the two featured surfers in the film, are both longtime surfing competitors and aficionados. Cox, a talented longboarder who has competed in contests around the globe, consistently places in the top 10 of international events held in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Langen has surfed professionally in over twenty countries and works with the Cousteau Foundation's CELP program as a youth instructor. Both women are also surf coaches.

Photo: A complicated underwater shot as a wave breaks over a surfer during the filming of Physics of Surfing.

Unlike other surfing documentaries, Physics of Surfing is an educational film that uncovers the physical science of ocean waves and the art of surfing. In this captivating presentation, the filmmakers explore how energy moves through water, building and combining its force, traveling thousands of miles over the course of weeks until the ocean floor underneath disrupts the wave’s formation and causes it to pitch up and collapse. The film also investigates the science behind various surfing styles and how surfers instinctively address such notions of gravity and buoyancy while using the energy of motion to ride waves.

Audiences will experience the exhilaration of surfing, while learning how surfers play with nature's purest form of energy and power. They will even see how the modern technology of surfboard design affects a board’s performance on the wave.

Photo: Helicopter hover shot of the Hawaiian pipeline during the filming of Physics of Surfing.

The musical legacy of surfing is also a rich and exciting element of surf culture and Physics of Surfing honors this with a truly inspired soundtrack. Produced by Dusty Watson, it includes tracks from instrumental surf-rock mainstays Slacktone and Southern California's legendary skate-punk band Agent Orange. Since the late 70s, Agent Orange has had an enormous influence on the skate-punk/surf-rock scene and Slacktone are widely regarded as the greatest exponents of the genre. Rounding out the musical lineup is punk supergroup Osaka Popstar - the standard bearers of old-school punk in the 21st century - featuring members of the Ramones, the Misfits, and Black Flag.

PassmoreLab’s Physics of Surfing (http://www.physicsofsurfing.com) is scheduled for release to Science Centers and Museums in April.

About PassmoreLab
PassmoreLab, the “World’s Largest 3D Content Provider”, is a San Diego-based multi-media production studio that specializes in 3D production. The studio custom-designs and builds its own RED camera 3D rigs for both conventional and rugged film productions, shooting everything from feature films, television and science documentaries, to underwater diving, extreme sports and cave exploration http://www.passmorelab.com/PL2minTRAILER.mov. State-of-the-art facilities include a full 3D production studio, video/film post-production, optical development lab, and a software development environment. Production includes 2D, 3D, high dynamic range time lapse, stereoscopic microscopy and cutting-edge simulation technologies for real time SFX. PassmoreLab has additional offices in Russia and the Philippines. For more information, visit www.passmorelab.com.

PassmoreLab is a sponsor of MarketSaw

Exclusive: EXTREME NATURE OF BATS Science Film Wraps Production!

Jim here. PassmoreLab sent us these exclusive photos and a great update upon their return from wrapping up photography in the Indian Ocean. This is serious work folks. I am impressed with the lengths at which these guys went to obtain the whole story in their latest 3D science film THE EXTREME NATURE OF BATS.

PHOTO: A vampire bat consumes the blood from a cow during production in the remote jungles of Mexico.

The film, which explores the truths, myths and dark legends that have stalked the world’s only flying mammal, closely examines three bat species; the free-tailed bat, the megabat, and the infamous vampire bat.

PassmoreLab’s production team traveled the world to film these bats in their natural habitats in order to tell their remarkable story.

Production began last year in October in a Texas bat cave, where the team filmed a resident population of 12 million Mexican free-tailed bats. From there, the crew traveled to Romania to tackle the myths surrounding bats and Bran Castle (better known as Dracula’s Castle), then backpacked through the jungles of Mexico to film the elusive vampire bat. Finally, after arriving in Africa, the team boarded a boat to a primitive island in the Indian Ocean to film the megabat.

“I took the crew over 42,000 miles to get these bats,” says Passmore. “We were on location in some amazing and amazingly remote places. For instance, the Indian Ocean island was wild, with giant spiders, huge bats, and very difficult terrain. It looked like we had landed in a Jules Verne novel.”

Bats fulfill multiple roles in different parts of the world. For instance, in North America they keep ecosystems in check, yet are symbols of fright; in the Indian Ocean they are a part of the food supply; and in Mexico bats treat animals and humans as a part of their food supply.

Through interpreters and local guides, Passmore began to hear about the legends of his subject matter. “The locals in one remote village in Mexico told us that they can hear the vampire bats making a screaming noise during the nightly cattle hunts.”

To try to capture that on film, the crew had to ditch the jeeps and go in by foot, backpacking for hours to an area where they could film these swarms of vampire bats in the moonlight drinking blood from cattle.
PHOTO: A megabat, clearly awake during the day while roosting in a tree, watches the crew closely.

“It was very still, very quiet, and then all at once…yes, there were screaming noises,” says Passmore. “It was eerie.”

“The Extreme Nature of Bats” is a new, educational 3D science film that chronicles the lives of these unique and interesting animals. Passmore’s objective was to find bat populations in locations where few crews have ever gone before, giving viewers a highly memorable, realistic journey and exposing them to a world they have never seen before.
“I wanted to go deep inside active bat caves and film from the inside out,” says Passmore. “I needed to understand the risks and rewards associated with large bat populations before I could put it onscreen.”

One sequence shows the megabats in the trees and sky, surrounded by the most incredible natural beauty on the edge of an ancient burial ground. And in the middle of all that activity, the local people are catching them in giant nets.

“Apparently, they go well with rice,” continues Passmore. “That just reinforced to me the need to better understand these creatures across cultural contexts,” continues Passmore. “A disease plaguing bats, White Nose Syndrome, is killing off entire bat colonies, and we are unsure why. Hopefully the film can help underscore the importance of these creatures and why we need to protect them.”

PHOTO: The PassmoreLab production crew backpacks across a remote island in the Indian Ocean.

The film now goes into post-production to be ready for rollout to museums and theatres. “We traveled far and wide to tell this story,” says Steve Glum, PassmoreLab’s head of Branding & Distribution. “It’s been an incredible expedition and we think audiences worldwide will be thrilled to experience this journey with us.”

PassmoreLab’s “The Extreme Nature of Bats” is scheduled for release to Science Centers and Museums in March, and will be translated into German and Spanish.

About PassmoreLab
PassmoreLab, the “World’s Largest 3D Content Provider”, is a San Diego-based multi-media production studio that specializes in 3D production. The studio custom-designs and builds its own RED camera 3D rigs for both conventional and rugged film productions, shooting everything from feature films, television and science documentaries, to underwater diving, extreme sports and cave exploration http://www.passmorelab.com/PL2minTRAILER.mov. State-of-the-art facilities include a full 3D production studio, video/film post-production, optical development lab, and a software development environment. Production includes 2D, 3D, high dynamic range time lapse, stereoscopic microscopy and cutting-edge simulation technologies for real time SFX. PassmoreLab has additional offices in Russia and the Philippines. For more information, visit www.passmorelab.com.

Be sure to check out this fearless 3D science film. It looks spectacular! And we will learn something important at the same time.

PassmoreLab is a sponsor of MarketSaw.

EXCLUSIVE: Fellow 3D Producer Echoes Cameron's Use of 3D to Tap Brain Activity for AVATAR

Jim here. I have some interesting insight into the science behind how Cameron's use of 3D could affect us for AVATAR and as readers of MarketSaw we get to see it first. PassmoreLab confirms that AVATAR could take our brains 'Where we haven't been before’...

From Passmorelab (emphasis is mine):

James Cameron’s epic new 3D movie Avatar, expected in theaters this winter, has a mountain of press expectations to climb. The movie is widely rumored to be so forward-thinking that it may change the way we experience movies altogether – and Greg Passmore, president of PassmoreLab in San Diego thinks he knows why.

Responding to a recent NY Times article about Avatar, where behavioral neurologists commented that Mr. Cameron’s work could tap brain systems that are undisturbed by conventional 2D movies, Greg Passmore, a 3D film producer himself, smiles.
“It’s never been done before on this scale,” says Passmore. “And the effect could be mind-blowing.”

Passmore and his team designed a powerful volume renderer for use in seismic exploration and then adapted it for neurology. He became interested in volumetric rendering while working at a neurology clinic in the 1970s while struggling with the crude EEG devices of the time. Over the years, his visualization tools have been used for brain mapping, which reveals what portions of our brains are consuming resources while processing occurs. Over thirty years in the industry and the examination of thousands of case studies have given Passmore a unique perspective.

“The tools are here now. By comparison, good 3D filmmaking, by design, should provide more memorable movies. And I believe this is exactly what James Cameron is trying to pioneer with Avatar,” explains Passmore. “Stereoptic film provides a greater sensation of physical presence and thus stimulates autonomic arousal of risk, provoking emotion and thus memory tagging the event.”

PassmoreLab has a medical division that has long been involved in volumetric imaging using Functional Positron Emission Tomography.

“Datasets supplied by our customers have allow us to see, in vivo, the spatial processing of the human brain,” says Passmore. “Although part of our spatial cognition is derived from time-based vestibular sensations, it appears that much of our environmental awareness comes from constructing large scale models of our world. The additional input of stereopsis can provide for more efficient building of these models, especially in spaces close to the viewer, by revealing partial occlusions invisible to monocular vision. These differential occlusions presumably help internal model construction.”

A lack of stereopsis can have real world impact, such as the 1996 Delta Flight 554 crash at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, which was caused by inadequate depth awareness due to reduced stereopsis.

“The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the captain of that flight, due to his use of monovision contact lenses, was unable to overcome his misperception of the airplane's position relative to the runway during the visual portion of the approach,” continues Passmore. “Hence, the aircraft descended below the visual glidepath and collided with terrain on approach.”

Tests conducted at PassmoreLab in driving simulators support this contention.

“With the experience being less passive, the body responds with greater anxiety and the memory becomes more permanent in nature,” says Passmore. “Our emotions are heightened by perceived risk, and our memory becomes tagged by the event. These laws can, in all likelihood, be applied to filmmaking -- drawing the audience into the action -- and creating the environmental awareness. I can’t wait to see what he has done with Avatar.”

About PassmoreLab
Passmorelab, the “World’s Largest 3D Content Provider”, is a San Diego-based multi-media production studio that specializes in 3D production and 2D to 3D content conversion. The studio custom-designs and builds its own RED camera 3D rigs for both conventional and rugged film productions, shooting everything from feature films, television and science documentaries, to underwater diving, extreme sports and cave exploration. State-of-the-art facilities include a full 3D production studio, video/film post-production, optical development lab, and a software development environment. Production includes 2D, 3D, high dynamic range time lapse, stereoscopic microscopy and cutting-edge simulation technologies for real time SFX. Passmorelab’s proprietary technology for 2D to 3D video and film conversion is unmatched in the industry, in both turnaround times and conversion costs. PassmoreLab has additional offices in Russia and the Philippines. For more information, visit www.passmorelab.com.

I am intrigued with the science behind how stereoscopic 3D affects the human brain. In fact I would love to see a documentary on it. In 3D of course. AVATAR will be the first 3D movie out there that will truly test these effects. Passmorelab certainly has the background to comment on it and patrons of Comicon will get an early taste! But what I am waiting for - and I am sure most of you are - is the full experience from the moment 20th Century Fox's logo appears in 3D to the last fade out. How will AVATAR affect you? We will all find out in 5 months!