Flying Monsters in 3D... the dinosaurs are resurrected

On Sight has used Sgo Mistika in its post-production to create visually impressive 3D stereoscopy in 'Flying Monsters in 3D with David Attenborough', produced by Atlantic Productions for Sky 3D and, for the first time, for 3D IMAX. Shooting at a resolution that was at the level of 3D television and for 3D IMAX was a challenge for the RED One 4K.

Sgo's Mistika 3D stereoscopy toolset has been used in the post-production of the impressive documentary Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough, working with 3D, 2D stereo formats and the first 3D IMAX from London-based On Sight. Produced by Anthony Geffen at Atlantic Productions and directed by Matt Dyas, this documentary gives a magnificent vision of the prehistoric world, resurrected through 3D television and enormous IMAX screens. Atlantics Productios COO Ruth Sessions and Sky 3D Editing Supervisor Celia Taylor have been in charge of the entire stereoscopic process.

On Sight, UK specialists in HD and 3D stereoscopy and renowned for their use of innovative technology, chose Mistika for this high profile project, which involved many different formats. David Attenborough had a clear idea of the story he wanted to tell, but shooting it at a resolution that was on par with 3D television and 3D IMAX was a challenge.

Filming took place in many different locations with Tim Craggs as DoP, using the RED One camera at 4K. The challenge was to bring the extinct pterosaurs to life in CGI while the story was told in 3D stereo. The filming location and CGI had to be very well integrated, particularly in one of the final sequences in which Mr. David Attenborough flies over a 50-foot-wing pterosaur.

Thanks to Mistika's innovative 3D technology and the fact that many teams have cooperated, the objectives were achieved with very remarkable results. Mistika's ability to handle RED RAW data optimized time and prevented any degradation of shooting image quality and meant that RAW files could be processed directly without the need for any conversion process, a custom that many other systems require.

Collaborative environment

Collaboration is key in stereoscopy, so On Sight worked with Atlantic Productions and Vision3 on filming and workflow planning. On Sight provided production equipment as well as 3D stereo technical services for the post-production process that also included the planning of the workflow between offline and Mistika's online 3D stereo suites.

Angus Cameron, founding partner and post-production stereographer at Vision3, comments: “Flying Monsters This is, of course, a flagship program for Sky and had to be produced to the highest possible quality standards. The Vision 3 team welcomed the opportunity to once again work closely with On Sight and in particular Andy Shelley and Mistika operator Andy Lee. The set of tools that Mistika provides, including advanced 3D stereo options, makes it the most powerful and interactive solution on the market, even when it comes to tackling a project as innovative as “Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough.” Angus Cameron, for his part, added that "it is vital that 3D stereoscopy projects can be carried out in the most efficient way possible in post production, to encourage producers to adopt this medium. Mistika is a key tool in making this a reality. Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough “It has been a groundbreaking project for both television and the big screen that involved a lot of stimulating challenges, challenges that we faced with great enthusiasm.”

The interaction between CGI and Live Action became the main challenges, as well as the high resolution and large file format size of a project of this scale. The tight deadlines faced by On Sight were met thanks to Mistika's exceptional speed, allowing the work to be delivered with the best possible quality and on time.

The implications of producing CGI for IMAX 3D centered on the need to significantly polish and enlarge the finer details of the film to cater for the relentless image augmentation that the IMAX 3D medium possesses. The Atlantic Productions team worked for months with scientists to build creatures faithful to the original fossils from which they were based, so that the final result was believable and realistic.

Due to the enormous scale of the project, On Sight networked with two Mistika systems, systems that shared online work in real time, a clear advantage for optimizing efficiency. This Mistika setup allowed visual effects artists and 3D stereo artists, Andy Lee and Miguel Caamaño at On Sight, to work on specific tasks simultaneously while maintaining efficiency. While one worked on depth adjustment on a Mistika, the other operator simultaneously performed a stereo correction, which substantially sped up the process.

Visual effects

A large amount of visual effects were also required for the program. On Sight was able to receive the material using Mistika and simply throw it comfortably into the documentary. The 3D stereo finishing work, which Mistika powerfully and naturally managed through the On Sight workflow, including stereo quality control, conforming, color adjustments, 3D stereo depth and color correction, stereo arrangements and compositing.

Andy Shelley, Development Director at On Sight said: "The Mistika platform provides incredible flexibility, efficiency and 3D stereo workflows, which allowed us to make adjustments in real time, which was great for the client because they could see results immediately in the finishing suite. The incredible power of Mistika in 3D stereo has opened up vast possibilities for filmmakers in creating exciting content both now and in the future."
One of the UK's biggest 3D stereo pioneers, On Sight is known for its specialization in 3D stereo production and stereo post production services. Living as we do in the moment of stereoscopy, On Sight has become the reference to ask for advice, products and solutions in this highly requested format. Sgo Mistika will help On Sight address the growing and increasingly complex demands that 3D stereo productions entail.