MUMBAI: Reliance MediaWorks has partnered with Los Angeles-based In-Three to establish a facility in India that will convert 2D films and videos into 3D.
The facility, which will commence work from February next year, will address the growing demand by Hollywood studios and other global content creators for converting both new films shot in 2D as well as older titles to be released in cinemas and on home platforms in stereoscopic 3D.
The partnership is expected to be able to cater to 15-25 feature films projects per year. Work on the first joint title will commence beginning of 2010, with several projects planned for a start in the first half of 2010.
“We are excited and bullish on the 3D entertainment market. This partnership is a joint effort that combines the best of technology and artistic talent from Hollywood with the most advanced skills and large scale image processing capabilities in India,” says Reliance MediaWorks CEO Anil Arjun. “Reliance MediaWorks already does image enhancement and restoration for the leading Hollywood studios and the expansion of services into 2D-to-3D conversion was a natural next step for the company.”
The partnership will combine In-Three’s software tools for ‘dimensionalisation‘ with Reliance MediaWorks infrastructure. In-Three is a company that specialises in 2D to stereo 3D conversion.
Says In-Three CEO Neil Feldman, “In order to meet the full slate of films that In-Three has lined up for 2010 and beyond, we sought out the best possible international partner. One that could provide the level of quality our studio clients expect, which made Reliance MediaWorks the natural choice for us.”
The number of 3D cinema screens worldwide is expected to rise from 2,500 in 2008 to over 7,000 this year and 15,000 by 2013, fuelling demand for 3D films.
The In-Three-Reliance MediaWorks stereoscopic 3D alliance will also benefit from the proprietary image processing tools - that are key to image processing - developed by Reliance MediaWork’s Burbank-based subsidiary Lowry Digital, Hollywood’s film restoration and image processing expert.
