Stereo D goes big with Quantel Pablo Rio In the past three years, Stereo D has taken the 2D-3D conversion industry by storm. In the last six months alone, 13 big-budget movies have been converted at the facility, with the company now holding an 85% market share in 2D-3D conversions. Quantel systems make up the backbone of its post-production workflow, with the company recently purchasing three Pablo Rio color correction and finishing systems in order to complete the 3D conversion and post-production of sci-fi action movie, Pacific Rim', directed by acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro.Explosive growth
Stereo D was formed in 2009 by President, William Sherak to bring directors', cinematographers' and major motion picture studios' vision of 3D storytelling to the big screen. The studio was acquired in 2011 by Deluxe Entertainment Services Inc. and continues to provide end to end 3D production services on feature films, television productions and commercials.
Stereo D opened its doors with only 30 employees in 2009, but after a phenomenal demand for 3D conversions in the past four years, Stereo D has experienced explosive growth, now employs over 1000 people, split between its 70,000 square foot headquarters in Burbank, California; a newly opened studio in London; and its facility in Pune, India. Stereo D works with some of the biggest studios in the industry, including Twentieth Century Fox, Marvel Studios, Paramount and Universal.
Over the past three years we have worked on 23 conversions - 27 by the end of 2013, says Sherak, We've been thrilled to be working with some of the world's biggest directors, such as James Cameron, J.J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg, and Guillermo Del Toro.
3D movies have changed consumer movie-going habits significantly. In 2012, 48% of cinema goers watched at least one film in 3D, with 'The Avengers' earning an astonishing $623.4 million at the US/Canadian box office.
Sherak adds, With releases such as Titanic 3D' and Jurassic Park 3D', the audience is only there to see the conversion; chances are they have already seen the film it's all about the 3D.
All-in-one system
Stereo D first purchased Quantel systems in 2010, choosing an iQ online finishing and DI system for post on Gulliver's Travels' and The Green Hornet'. It later added multiple Pablo 4K systems to its workflow.
Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer Aaron Parry says, Quantel were the only company able to provide us with systems that could play 2K and 3D reliably and in-sync; we were able to do things that our competition couldn't. No one could do conforming, editorial, color correction and deliverables all in one box.
Stereo D now has a total of twelve Quantel color correction and finishing systems; three Pablo Rios, three Pablo 4Ks, four Pablo PAs and one iQ, as well as SynthIA, Quantel's new software package that provides professional high quality S3D interaxial adjustment for post. The Pablos, Pablo PAs and iQ run together on a giant Quantel GenePool, allowing the systems to share the same media at the same time across all the different suites.
We're always looking into how we can move forward together with Quantel's R&D team. We can and do call Quantel's R&D Director, Simon Rogers, at any time to make suggestions; they are willing to listen and respond to their customer requirements, says Parry.
Choosing Pablo Rio
Stereo D was one of the first adopters of Quantel's brand new high-end color and finishing system, Pablo Rio, critically testing the system's beta version to ensure it matched the requirements of Quantel customers. Stereo D has had a Pablo Rio in-house since July 2012, adding two more early in 2013.
Head of Post Production at Stereo D, Milton Adamou says, We have an advantage over our competition it's Pablo Rio. It allows us to be much more interactive with our customers. We can make important creative choices with the director in house; it's just so quick and enables us to be more flexible for our clients' needs. For Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter', we did 175 shots on Pablo Rio in three weeks, it's really phenomenal. We have used others in the past, but where they took 20 minutes, Pablo Rio works only takes seconds our clients are shocked by the speed.
In only three years we're able to keep re-inventing our creative collaboration and delivery system with Quantel. Pablo Rio is realtime. Nothing else matters now realtime is the only way forward. Pablo Rio gives us a solid backbone system and a phenomenal toolset, letting us loose creatively. Pablo Rio is efficient for the client and innate for the client.
We're pioneers of the Quantel workflow; none of what we do at Stereo D would be possible without our Quantel infrastructure. At the moment we have three movies going through our workflow, putting between 100 and 500 shots in the GenePool a day; this is an extraordinary amount and really pushes our Quantel systems to their limits.
We work in a fast-paced environment here at Stereo D. Our aim is to get shots in front of the filmmakers as fast and efficiently as possible. We have world-class directors in our theatres every week, sitting in front of the Pablos to make changes and see their final results. Previously, we would have to stop and lock the editing about two weeks before the film release. Now with the speed and agility of our Quantel systems, we are able to continue working right until the end losing our safety net completely! If the director is in the room and he wants to experiment, we can make changes there and then they're not going to wait!
Go big or go home
Recently, Stereo D worked on Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures' Pacific Rim', one of 2013's biggest action movies. Pac
