3D News and Events

7th China International 3D World Forum (C3D World Forum)

Coming up soon is the 7th China International 3D World Forum (C3D World Forum), scheduled for April 8-10, 2011 in Shenzhen, China.

The forum has three main areas of interest:

• C3D World FORUM:  a 2-day conference that explores China’s 3D governmental policies, 3D display development, content creation, post-production and more
• 3D Forum 2011: a workshop of on 3D theme park interactive displays
• Exhibition: a trade show of 3D technologies and products. Last year’s show had over 1500 exhibitors.

Attendance at last year’s C3D was over 40,000. Expect this year to be even bigger than last time.

The site for the forum is http://www.c3dworld.org/english.html

Frankenweenie remake to be 3D

Frankenweenie title frame

Tim Burton’s early animated short film Frankenweenie, which he made for Disney in 1984, is up for a feature-length remake in 3D. The film will feature the voice acting of Winona Ryder, Martin Landau, Catherine O’Hara and Martin Short. It will be stop-motion animation and filmed in 2D, then converted into 3D (as far as we know at this early stage). The film is due to be released in March 2012.

Frankenweenie poster (original)

Frankenweenie is about a young boy named Victor and his dog Sparky, which Victor makes the star of his home-made monster movies. When Sparky is hit by a car, Victor proceeds to bring him back to life as a Frankenstein-like monster, who then terrorizes the town.

Frankenweenie drawing

Hansel & Gretel 3D Movie

This sounds exciting! A new 3D version of the classic fairy-tale Hansel & Gretel (The Grimm Brothers’ story about a woodcutter who lives in a house in the forest with his two daughetrs Hansel & Gretel and their evil stepmother. The children run away from home and find a magic cottage made out of candy and inhabited by a wicked witch) gets the big screen 3D treatment…coming soon! The film will include creatures from Teutonic (Germanic) mythology!

This is getting my imagination running! 

Another really interesting fact about this film is that is has the involvement of the lead animated character designer from Avatar, Joseph C. Pepe!

The film is being produced by Michael Bay’s The Institute, and producers Scott Gardenhour and Kira Madallo Sesay for Kalliope Films. Principle photography for the live action sequences is scheduled to start in the Spring of 2011.

So, this film is a ways off yet, but I’m looking forward to it!

More details will be posted here as they become available.

-David

iBuyPower Battalion 101 W860CU 3D gaming laptop released

iBuyPower has released a 3D gaming laptop called the Battalion 101 W860CU

iBuyPower throws their hat into the ring of 3D laptops with the release of the Battalion 101 W860CU. On board is an Intel Core i5-520M processor, 4GB of RAM, 320GB hard drive, Blu-ray drive, 15.6-inch HD LCD display, Nvidia GeForce GTX 285M graphics card, fingerprint reader, Bluetooth 2.1 and active-shutter 3D glasses.

It’s going for $1,749 for the stock model and there are many options you can add to the base configuration.

Comes with a free deluxe carrying case and lifetime technical support.

You can buy this laptop online and configure it to your heart’s content at http://www.ibuypower.com

DIRECTV adds new 3D channels

DIRECTV is now offering new 3D content through their service, with 3 new 3D channels, bringing their selection up to 4 channels of 3D content! This looks to be a major step forward for 3D TV and is sure to drive the sales of new 3D TVs and subscriptions to the DIRECTV service.

The new channels will include:

• DIRECTV Cinema™ content – new movies, documentaries and original programming.

• DIRECTV on DEMAND – a large selection of 3D content on demand.

• n3D™ powered by Panasonic - The launch of this channel will have shows such as “African Adventure: Safari in the Okavango”, “Guitar Center Sessions with Peter Gabriel”, and “Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia.”

• ESPN 3D – 85 live sporting events are scheduled for the first year of this channel.

So, an exciting line up of shows and perhaps one more reason to get a 3D TV. But, you’ll also need an HD or HD DVR receiver and HD Access.

http://www.directv.com

Nintendo 3DS – Kid Icarus Uprising Trailer from the E3 Expo

Here is the trailer for the new Kid Icarus Uprising game at the 3E Expo, for the just released Nintendo 3DS.

Nintendo 3DS released today

Nintendo quashed rumours and speculations by releasing the 3D version of the DS – the 3DS, at the 2010 E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo, in California, today.

The 3DS is able to display 3D images without glasses! A first of it’s kind, it’s sure to be a best-seller. That won’t be hard, as it’s predecessor, the standard DS has sold over 128 million units.

It has two screens. The top one is a 3.5-inch 3D display with a resolution of 800 x 240 pixels, while the bottom one is a touch screen that is not 3D and has a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels.

Features of the 3DS:

• Can switch between 2D and 3D, also control the level of 3D
• Wi-Fi system-to-system communication
• Two cameras on the back to take 3D pictures
• A front-mounted camera to track user movements
• A gyroscope
• Motion sensors
• Can play 3D movies

Game makers who are developing for the platform include: Activision, Disney, Dreamworks, Ubisoft, Hudson Soft, Warner Bros., Atlus, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Electronic Arts, Konami, and Sega.

The first game for the 3DS will be a new 3D version of Kid Icarus. Other games to come shortly include Star Fox 64, Bomberman, The Sims 3 and Ridge Racer. Probably a new Donkey Kong 3D, too (we can hope)!

No word on where, or when you can buy it, nor how much it will cost. Nintendo is being tight-lipped for now, but that won’t last long.

Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010

The Electronic Entertainment Expo is now on in Los Angeles. It runs from June 15-17 and is billed as “The annual video game conference and show at the Los Angeles Convention center.” – from their site www.e3expo.com It is an industry-only event, not open to the general public. There is sure to be some interesting news on 3D games to come from the show and it will be posted here.

King Kong 360 3-D Attraction – coming soon!

Universal Studios, California is in the works with a new attraction in a 3D, 360 degree format. It’s a new take on King Kong and is tentatively titled “King Kong 360 3-D,” and is helmed by Lord of the Rings directer Peter Jackson. It will be a ride with train/tram cars that will be surrounded by 180-foot-long, 40-foot-tall 3D screens!

The attraction is due to be open next month, in July 2010.

Here is a trailer: