Twenty years after it was first released in the West, the 3D version of Jurassic Park broke records in China.
3D wizard behind Thor and Jurassic Park talks up Thailand's potential to tap into the lucrative movie market
Stereo D head of stereography and VFX Graham Clark has worked on many 3D blockbusters.
Though not every movie needs to be in 3D, the technology has made a strong impact in the field of visual culture of late. Recently in Bangkok, a highly regarded stereographer _ that's what the person who makes films look 3D is called, technically _ suggested Thai animators and visual effect experts grasp the opportunity of the untapped market.
Graham Clark, who has worked on 3D blockbusters like Thor and Jurassic Park, was speaking in Bangkok recently at a seminar and workshop held by the Thai Animation & Computer Graphics Association (Tacga).
Clark pointed out there's a lot of room for growth in the Thai 3D market, given the solid commercial and graphic design foundation here. Clark, head of stereography and visual effects at Stereo D and a teacher at Savannah College of Art and Design, said Thai students and young animators have strong potential and it's important to look for opportunities.
"Like in the US, we take advantage [of the growth] in China, Korea and Russia," Clark said. "Those three countries are very important 3D markets and we look to see how successful [we are] in film and 3D, while Thailand is nearby, so it's a very good opportunity to work on visual effects and 3D stereoscopy."
He emphasised the importance of China in particular, where there are a lot of restrictions on movies and the government has a strict quota of foreign films that can be shown. But 3D movies fall into a special category, and foreign companies are reaping the benefits. The biggest box office hits in China lately have been Jurassic Park 3D and Titanic 3D, both making a lot of money.
Thailand has a shot at that market too _ though not on the same massive scale _ if animators keep working at it.
In China, the number of 3D screens last year surpassed North America, and it is expected that revenue from those screens will overtake the US and Canada combined next year.
In China alone, the revenue has exceeded the cost of converting the film to 3D. The international market is becoming very important in Hollywood _ and studios are no longer depending exclusively on revenue from US audiences. So films are being made with other markets in mind, especially in 3D. There's good news for Thais as the movie market globalises, Clark said. Most cinemas are improving, which means more people will get better experiences and TV manufacturers are finally making better passive glasses.
Most of the movies Clark has worked on are big blockbusters. These include Jackass 3D, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, Titanic 3D, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter and Jurassic Park 3D.
A stereographer is the one who creates the two images requires to give the impression of depth and dimension. This double vision can be achieved in a few ways, either on set with two cameras, in animation, in motion graphics with layers, or in post-production by converting 2D material into 3D by making two images from the one original frame.
The first 3D movie Clark worked on at Marvel was Thor, and at the same time he also worked on Jackass 3D at Paramount.
How much a 3D conversion costs depends on the movie's budget and how many visual effects it has.
"Everybody thinks stereo is double storage and double work, but it's not," Clark said. "It's four times or eight times more work because for every visual effect you do, it's not just done in both eyes, the left and right eyes, but you have to match them and that's a lot of work, you have to match them in live action. So generally, it's much more expensive to put visual effects in live action than it is to have visual effects to work on. And also most visual effects are done with 2D, they are not in 3D space, and therefore you cannot put it in stereo without converting."
The 3D market is maturing now. Certain movies really make sense to be in 3D, like action movies, but other genres such as dance movies and concerts also look great with the extra dimension.
Thor is a complete conversion and marked a turning point for 3D in the movie industry.
However, Clark said at this point he does not think that all movies need to be 3D.
"One day when 3D presentation is improved and we don't need glasses, it's possible that every movie and every TV show will come in 3D. I don't know if that will happen in the next decade or next two decades. But it's natural, it's the way we see things and why wouldn't you want to see it that way," he added.
Tacga president Nitipat Somsaman said the animation market in Thailand was about 5 billion baht, including an export value of 700 million baht. Last year, the value grew by 5% and two animation movies, Echo Planet and Yak, were released, although neither was successful in terms of revenue.
Thai advertising has been in the world's top five, but it's harder in the movie market due to limited budgets. Echo Planet was Thailand's first 3D animated film, although it was a flop. Next month, the big action film Tom Yum Goong is coming out in 3D.
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