Star Wars Episode 1 : The Phantom Menace 3D Press Screening

Courtesy of Nuffnang G+, i am invited for the very special press screening. Be rejoice all Star Wars fans, the Star Wars Episode 1 : The Phantom Menace is back in 3D coming this 9th February!

The evil Trade Federation, led by Nute Gunray is planning to take over the peaceful world of Naboo. Jedi's Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are sent to confront the leaders. But not everything goes to plan. The two Jedis escape, and along with their new Gungan friend, Jar Jar Binks head to Naboo to warn Queen Amidala, but droids have already started to capture Naboo and the Queen is not safe there. Eventually they land on Tatooine, where they become friends with a young boy known as Anakin Skywalker. Qui- Gon is curious about the boy, and sees a bright future for him. The group must now find a way of getting to Coruscant and to finally solve this trade dispute, but there is someone else hiding in the shadows. Are the sith really extinct? Is the Queen who she really says she is? and what's so special about this young boy?

Beat me, i am not huge star wars fans but after watching this, definitely it pulled back my interest to catch up the others episode. I believe you know what this whole movie and episode about. Thus, i am not talking about the art, the story, the CG and etc. Let's talk about the 3D shall we?

• In between the production of Episode II (2002) and Episode III (2005), director George Lucas first began exploring the idea of presenting the entire Star Wars saga as 3D theatrical releases. Active 3D conversion work on Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace began in 2010. 

• Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace underwent a painstaking frame-by-frame conversion from a 2D film to a 3D experience thanks to the efforts of Prime Focus, a global visual entertainment services company, and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the preeminent visual effects company that has produced the visuals for all the Star Wars movies.

• Movies shot for 3D use specialized cameras that capture two simultaneous images -- one for each eye -- that are projected together during exhibition to create the illusion of depth. Movies created in 2D only have a single image per frame. For 3D conversion, a visual effects process creates what will be seen from the second viewpoint. Because of the two simultaneous images seen together, 3D is commonly called "stereo" in the movie industry.

• Much like film editing, 3D conversion is an artistic process filled with artistic choices. George Lucas wanted to present Episode I in a naturalistic stereo style, as if the movie had been shot in 3D. He did not want to include gimmicks, like objects breaking through the screen for the sake of a 3D effect, but rather wanted to add depth to the existing picture.

• Supervising the stereo conversion of Episode I is John Knoll, a visual effects supervisor at ILM who served as one of the visual effects supervisors on the original productions of Episodes I, II and III of the Star Wars Saga. Because of Knoll's extensive history with the films, he was able to accurately gauge whether the depth of shots was being presented accurately.

• Episode I was the last Star Wars movie captured on film. For its 1999 release, the entire movie was digitized for the inclusion of over 2,000 visual effects shots, and then re-output to film for color-timing and release. It was color-timed optically, with a photo-chemical process. For its 2012 theatrical exhibit, the artists have returned to the original film-out tapes for the stereo conversion and re-timed the movie digitally. The resulting picture sees an increase of two generations' worth of quality. In both 2D and 3D, this is the best Episode I has ever looked.

• Some of the biggest challenges in stereo conversion were shots with transparent elements -- like holograms, lightsabers, lasers, Watto's blurred wings, or the windshield on Anakin Skywalker's Podracer. Because Episode I was released over 12 years ago, the conversion artists could not go back to the individual separate elements that were composited to make up the original picture. Instead, they had to work with the finished picture.

• Though Episode I is filled with stunning, panoramic vistas, it is the close-up and medium shots that often create the greatest sense of depth. In 3D, this is because objects closer to the viewer are seen as more offset from each other between the right eye and left eye views; we see more around an object's edges up close. Distant objects have a minimal offset between the eyes and appear to be less dimensional.

• There were no content changes made to Episode I for the 3D release. George Lucas replaced the original Episode I Yoda puppet with the digital Yoda back in 2003. With the film to tape transfer, there was an 8% blowup, so you actually get 8% more image on screen.

Oh well i hope the above fact sheet wasn't too technical for your understanding. If you do, let me conclude it. The 3D was not like what you might expected. It just added a little bit depth. Like what the fact sheet stated, it might only 8% blowup. Which mean, you only can see 8% pop up in 3D. I can't guarantee would the experience watch in TGV Imax in Sunway Pyramid will give u difference of view, but definitely not worth the money for 3D.

 

 

 

 

 

But of course, you are always welcome to head to cinema and watch it if you are big fans of star wars or if you decided to give it a try if you never watch it before. Trust me, it won't fail to impress you ;)

More info :

Official Site: http://3D.StarWars.com
Trailer (YouTube): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0007l4MWbEI