Mumbai: K Sera Sera, a Mumbai-based producer and distributor of films has come up with a technology that can convert 2D movies into 3D, in real time. The big draw: the company claims it can do this conversion in a period of 24 hours.
Although the resulting film isn't exactly 3D as per global benchmarks, the technology tries hard to give it a very similar look.
The company hopes to utilise the technology — called Greenfield — to improve the fortunes of film-makers and multiplexes, as more and more screens gear up to screen 3D films.
Besides animation flicks, special-effects bonanzas from
Hollywood such as Avatar, Clash of the Titans and Alice in Wonderland, have a mandatory 3D version releasing in India.
By charging consumers a 30-40% higher price for the 3D version, K Sera Sera hopes it will spin off a new revenue stream for multiplexes and film distributors. It also plans to give a new lease of life to Bollywood classics and release their 3D versions.
The technology launches in India at a time when there's a global debate about good and bad 3D, the latter being a topic of much discussion after this summer's special-effects caper Clash of the Titans tanked.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation was quoted saying, "We've seen the highest end of 3D in Avatar and you have now witnessed the lowest end of it (in Clash of the Titans). You cannot do anything that is of a lower grade and a lower quality 3D than what has just been done on the Titans. If we, as an industry, choose this 2D to 3D post-production conversion, it's the end."
However, K Sera Sera argues that since the numbers of 3D screens are limited, neither have film producers in India marked out the necessary budgets, nor are they willing to spend on the infrastructure required to shoot a film in 3D, a process that requires multiple cameras and sophisticated execution.
Sanjay Gupta, CEO, K Sera Sera said, "Currently in India, 2D to 3D conversion for a full-length feature film may take 4-6 months and cost over Rs20-30 crores, depending on the complexity of the execution. We plan to do it at 5-10% of that cost."
Currently, Reliance MediaWorks and California-based In-Three are partners in the conversion of 2D films into 3D.
http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_sholay-mughal-e-azam-ddlj-may-get-3d-makeover_1416091
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