twofour54 intaj has established the Middle East and North Africa’s first Stereoscopic 3D lab in Abu Dhabi – the only facility of its kind in the region to offer dedicated facilities, equipment and expert support for 3D work.
‘The 3D lab is an exciting addition to twofour54 intaj’s existing facilities,’ says Deputy CEO/COO, Wayne Borg. ‘The introduction of this facility will help support the opportunities that Stereoscopic 3D is opening up to content producers across a wide range of media and entertainment platforms.
‘It is clear that 3D has had a massive impact on the entertainment industry recently – four of the top grossing US films in 2010 were filmed in 3D; however, there are significant other media business opportunities that our new 3D lab can support, such as advertising, computer-generated imagery (CGI), animation, corporate videos, events and even industrial and medical applications. Launching this type of facility is another example of how twofour54 actively responds to market demands from across the region for facilities and expertise that meet international standards.’
The lab has been designed to become a hub for all stereoscopic 3D activities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region; providing end-to-end production solutions in stereoscopic 3D – from cameras, rigs, specialist Avid edit suites, Baselight colour grading – through to finished productions and a specialised Research & Development Centre.
In addition to the facilities and services, the lab will provide a range of training solutions in conjunction with media training academy twofour54 tadreeb. The programmes on offer have been designed to comprehensively train both students and production professionals in the latest 3D techniques using the very latest in high-tech equipment and will be delivered by twofour54 tadreeb’s instructors.
‘In developing our 3D lab, we selected a core set of hardware and software that are considered to be the industry standard tools for Stereoscopic 3D production,’ says Hasan Sayed Hasan, Head of twofour54 intaj. ‘We also ensured that the facilities brought in provide flexibility to the 3D content producer; for example, the Element Technica Quasar rig was used exclusively for the 3D telecasts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and can be utilised with a wide range of cameras and in different configurations. The editing and finishing tools from Avid, Filmlight, and the 3D Plug-ins offer also a wide range of tools for various types of productions.’
