Stereo3D Toolbox Blog

Version history

Tue, 1 Sep 2009 06:26:15 -0400

• v0.1 First build with Side by Side & interlaced format, x/y/z convergence & image control
• v0.2 Added by-pass buttons for convergence & image control subroutines. Added anaglyph formats & over/under format.
• v0.3 Added “autoscaling” feature
• v0.4 Added checkerboard output for Mistubishi DLP & Samsung A450 Series 120Hz Plasma
• v0.5 Added “force 1080” resolution option and a left Eye well
• v0.6 Added demuxing of side-by-side & over/under stacked
• v0.7 Added Master Reframe controls
• v0.7.1 Fixed bug with scaling of checkerboard resolutions of 1360x768. Also added option for 2nd image well in filter (generator not necessary now.)
• v0.7.2 Added demuxing of interlaced 1080i stereo clip and 1280x720 checkerboard (experimental)
• v0.7.3 Added 2D element source input, modified controlled red/cyan algorithm, inverted x convergence input so that sliding to the left sends objects away from the viewer.
• v0.7.4 Added individual horizon rotation for left and right eyes.
• v0.7.5 Added Global Output Mode (experimental - still need to build front side of interface)
• v0.7.6 Fixed Master Reframe boundary issue with side by side & over/under modes
• v0.7.7 Modified the control of Green Magenta Anaglyph mode and properly scaled 1024x768 checkerboard mode
• v0.8 Reworked Global output mode to write and read to a preference file. You can now set all your occurrences of the filter to Global Output Mode and use just one of them to set the mode.
• v0.9 Added dynamic interlacer/deinterlacer that is resolution independent and much much faster than using the mattes from before. Interlaced demuxing now works perfectly but chroma ghosting will still be evident with 4:2:0, 4:1:1 and possibly 4:2:2 chroma subsampled sources since the chroma resolution is so much lower. Removed “force 1080” and “force NTSC.”
• v0.9.1 Added dynamic checkerboarder that is resolution independent and much faster than the separate mattes we had for the different resolutions. Removed support for checkerboard displays that use non-square pixels (Samsung Plasma displays.) We would like to include support for these discontinued displays but need to find one to test.
• v1.0 Cleaned up and removed all beta test elements. Added final release logo graphic. All anaglyph modes now render the left channel as a “replace” instead of “add” to avoid colour contamination in composites. It is recommended that multiple element composites be output in side by side, over/under or interlace and then nested for final anaglyph mastering.
• v1.0.1 Fixed Bug with checkerboard output mode causing right eye to disappear with certain convergence values. Over/Under output is now Right Eye on Top, which is more common with displays such as Hyundai’s S465. Added the options to split fields before squeezing into over/under output and the option to output side by side in “cross-view.”
• v1.0.2 Added option for side by side to deselect 2:1 squeeze for use with Loreo 3D Lens In a Cap sources. Also added presets for some popular formats.
• v1.0.3 (released September 1, 2009) Fixed mislabeled Interlace mode in Global Output list. Also fixed a conflict with unsqueezed side by side input and the swap option that caused images to disappear when both were activated. This required moving the swap function downstream to affect the outputs instead of inputs. The net result is the same but “Swap” has been relabeled “Swap L/R Outputs” to reflect the change.

Two New Tutorials, some basic stereo 3D shooting tips, and yt3d tags

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:01:41 -0400

If you take a peek in the tutorials section of the website you will find a new 2-part tutorial on how to create 3D Stereoscopic cameras in After Effects CS4 and then feed them into Stereo3D Toolbox.

The press release went out yesterday and we’ve been receiving quite a few basic questions about stereoscopic production in general. Many questions are from filmmakers who have a couple video cameras that are the same model and they would like to experiment. I’ve also made a new “Getting Started” tutorial video in response to many of these questions but I also have a few general tips for beginners.

#1: Utilize your IR remote to set up both cameras’ settings to be exactly the same. WB, exposure, frame rate, HD mode, bit rate, etc should all be exactly the same. Using the remote will save you time and make it easy.

#2: Mount your two cameras as close together as possible (it is OK if one is upside-down in the case of a digital SLR) but do not try to converge on your subject with the cameras. Keep the cameras parallel and converge in post production.

#3: Use wide angles and frame your subjects a bit wider than you like. Your frame will be cropped slightly if you adjust convergence with Stereo3D Toolbox. Don’t try to zoom in and shoot telephoto, because it is trickier than you may think (almost impossible with most parallel side by side rigs.)

#4: TURN OFF YOUR OPTICAL IMAGE STABILIZER! This one is very important. Most other mismatches can be fixed with Stereo3D Toolbox, but not two OIS systems dancing to their own tune!

#5: Measure the distance between the centers of your two lenses. This is known as your interaxial distance. Multiply that by 60 and the result will be your minimum subject distance to the camera focal plane. If you only intent to upload to YouTube then you can use a smaller factor like 30.
There are many calculations to be made in stereoscopic photography but this is the most basic rule.

#6: Make sure your tripod is as level as can be.

#7: Use you IR remote to trigger the record buttons on and off for both cameras simultaneously. This may not be frame accurate but at least your ingested clips will all start within a few frames of each other. Professional systems are genlocked together for perfect sync. Higher frame rates can help with synchronization of consumer/prosumer cameras.

#8: Have your subject clap their hands once when you start rolling (or use a clapper slate) so that you have something accurate to synchronize to.

#9: Don’t do any swish panning, tilting or other fast movement. Since you can’t guarantee sync between the cameras unless you have genlock panning.

#10: Clearly label your media as LEFT and RIGHT when you remove it from the cameras.

#11: Don’t let any object you intend to come out of the screen (stereo window) touch the edge of the frame.

Have Fun... and please export your Stereo3D experiments in side by side crossview format and upload them to Youtube using the yt3d:enable=true tag. yt3d:aspect=16:9 will stretch 16x9 squeezed material to the proper aspect ratio. If you didn’t export an upload as crossview you can add the tag yt3d:swap=true to swap the left and right eyes into crossview, which will then be interpreted properly.
Please also add the tags “stereo3d toolbox” so they all are grouped together.

Cheers,
Tim Dashwood

Frequently Asked Questions

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:04:26 -0400

Yes. Stereo3D Tools is compatible with Final Cut Studio 2 & 3. (FCP7 & Motion 4) However it has not been adequately tested under OS X Snow Leopard.

Overview of the Plugin Filter (beta v0.7)

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:38:43 -0400

Please watch the screencast above to give you an idea of how the controls work in Stereo3D Toolbox plugin for Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion & Adobe After Effects.

The bullet points:

• Input demuxer (side by side, over/under & interlace) and output muxer (side by side, over/under, interlace, checkerboard, anaglyph red/cyan, blue/amber, green/magenta)
• Convergence controls for x,y,z axis and individual left eye/right eye zoom adjustment
• Autoscale function automatically compensates for convergence settings
• Master Reframing function for scaling and x/y reframing
• Individual image controls for balancing left and right eyes to each other
• Flip & Flop controls for both eyes
• Swap function to swap left with right
• Support for Super-white or clamped white
• Presets can be saved to hard drive for future use