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The future of Hollywood is 3-D, according to Dimitri Androutsos.

The Ryerson researcher and Electrical Engineering Program Director recently completed a three-year partnership with IMAX aimed at improving the laborious process of converting a movie to 3-D. Currently, converting 20 minutes of footage to 3-D requires three months of effort by a team of 30 digital artists, who must meticulously separate foreground from background images, frame by frame, and then create left- and right-eye images to create a sense of 3-D depth.

Dr. Androutsos’s software speeds up conversion times by using video processing algorithms that precisely extract foreground images from backgrounds. He estimates the process is 15 to 20 per cent more efficient. Ultimately, he hopes to be able to convert an entire movie to 3-D in a cost-efficient manner.

With the assistance of post-doctoral fellow Thomas El-Maraghi, PhD student Ray Phan and master’s student Richard Rzeszutek, Dr. Androutsos worked on segments of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Beowulf  to develop the software.

Dr. Androutsos believes there is Hollywood demand for 3-D movies. The IMAX 3-D version of Polar Express vastly outperformed the original release, proving that customers are willing to pay for the 3-D experience.

“People may not be willing to pay $12 to see a movie these days, but they’re willing to pay $15 to see it in 3-D,” says Dr. Androutsos. “Hollywood likes it too because you can’t pirate the 3-D experience.”

Because filming a movie in 3-D requires two cameras, it is 30 per cent more expensive to shoot. This has made it challenging to convince studios to support 3-D film production. This year, however, 20th Century Fox will release director James Cameron’s Avatar, the first full-length film shot entirely in 3-D.

“3-D technology has been around for 100 years but it’s only gotten good in the last five,” says Rzeszutek.

Eventually, 3-D will enter the home theatre realm. 3-D TVs already exist but there is a lack of content. Once 3-D content catches up, Dr. Androutsos predicts it will be a boon to the home entertainment market.

Dr. Androutsos’s research was funded by the Ontario Centres of Excellence and IMAX. He is in discussion with IMAX to continue further 3-D research. Currently, Dr. Androutsos is collaborating with Spatial View, a company developing glasses-free 3-D technology.

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