SDI, a global provider of captioning and dubbing services, has announced that Sony Creative Software has adopted and integrated its XML (Extensible Markup Language) specifications into its Z-Depth 3D caption editing application. Z Depth creates the information needed for proper placement of captions or menus in the 3D space of a 3D presentation.
With over 61% of US cinemagoers having now experienced 3D movies and predictions of 25 million 3D TV sets globally by 2013, the 3D format offers significant growth opportunities. Industry-wide 3D standards are required in each element of the supply chain to ensure a unified and cost effective approach. SDI was invited by Sony Creative Software to aid in the development of software applications and provide recommendations for supported file formats. After researching the range of data being produced, SDI determined a robust plan needed to be created which allows for the caption placement work that has been done in the initial market segment to be repurposed for other uses.
Caption placement in 3D is integral to the enjoyment of a movie by viewers. In short, 3D movie technology mimics the way a person’s eyes see the world, yet on a flat cinema screen; when a person looks at an object in real life, each eye sees a slightly different view and the brain fuses these together into a single 3D image. This is also how 3D cameras work: two lenses on the 3D camera roughly match the distance between our eyes and so each lens 'sees' and records a slightly different view. The end result is two separate recordings for every 3D movie (one with the left eye view and another with the right eye view). These two recordings are projected simultaneously and 3D glasses fuse the two images together, creating the 3D effect on screen. Due to the way 3D movies are structured, the placement of captions to provide a comfortable reading format is a complicated process.
Universal standards for 3D and captions on digital cinema are still being finalised before moving from interim modes to Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE) mode, but developments like Sony Creative and SDI’s will assist the industry in moving these along for the benefit of all movie fans.
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