Allergan, the company who make Botox, needed a simulator to allow doctors to practise injecting botox for treating muscle spasm. Inition worked with InViVo Communications to develop a PC-based haptic simulator to allow doctors to feel an accurate representation of the sensations involved in piercing the skin and the layers of muscle underneath.
We built the system around Sensable's high-end Phantom Desktop device. This device can simulate sensations of touch very accurately through a pen-like device attached to an articulated arm. We designed and 3D printed out a custom attachment for the device using our in-house 3D printer that enabled the haptic device to be controlled by a hyperdermic needle, producing a realistic interface for doctors.
After real-life training to get a feel for the 'real thing', our team designed a virtual 3D human bust with realistic muscle structure to act as a 'Guinea Pig' for our the simulation. Bespoke simulation software designed by Inition allowed users the freedom to view the patient from any angle, peel away layers of virtual skin to reveal the muscle structure beneath and ultimately practice injecting into the muscles with accurate force-feedback sensations of the elasticity and piercing of the skin. Under tuition, doctors can be assessed as to the accuracy of their aim thanks to a point mark being left behind at the point of injection.
Our simulation was used at pharmaceutical exhibitions around the World with enthusiastic reception from the experts in the field.
3D Rugby wins MAA Best Award 2011
The O2 3D Rugby broadcast produced by Inition has won the Marketing Agencies Association award fo
Amphibious Wins “Best Feature” at 3D Stereo Media European 3D Film Festival
Inition’s Asia Pacific office has supplied stereoscopic consultancy and equipment for Brian Yuzn
Ford C-MAX Launch Outdoor Augmented Reality Campaign
Inition Adds SensAble FreeForm to 3D Solutions
In a new partnership deal with SensAble Technologies, leading 3D production and technology compa
Inition at the Heart of Digital Shoreditch Festival
Creative 3D technology and production company Inition is giving the public a rare opportunity to play with the latest cutting-edge 3D gadgets and technology in its demo basement.
3D Feature: Award Winning 3D in Extreme Environments for 'Amphibious'
For Brian Yuzna’s much anticipated horror film, Amphibious 3D, Komodo Films required a 3D specialist who could deliver high quality stereoscopic experience and expertise in tough humid conditions on a low budget.
Inition supplied stereoscopic consultancy and equipment for Amphibious 3D, a feature film that won the ‘Best Feature Film’ award at the 2010 3D Stereo Media European 3D Film Festival in a competition of 48 entries.
It has wrapped and is now in post production at Galaxy Studios, Belguim. The Netherlands/ Belgium/ Singaporean co-production will be the first 3D movie ever made in Southeast Asia.
Inition’s Asia Pacific office worked with Komodo Films providing consultancy on pre-production, storyboards, camera and monitoring equipment plus post-production. The shoot took place over 2 months in Jakarta where Inition’s Head of Production for Asia Pacific, Markus Stone, was the lead Stereographer and headed the 3D department. Filming was shot on REDS (WHAT TYPE?)
Markus commented: “This was a complex 3D shoot, and was produced in often challenging conditions including the Javanese jungle, on board a boat and in a studio that was a humid 36 degrees every day with the air conditioners turned on. It just goes to show that great 3D is possible on a budget.”
The film now enters the 3D post production phase, with the VFX slate being handled by Victor 3D Studios and Grid in Brussels, with DI handled by Galaxy Studios, all under the instruction of Post Supervisor Hans Van Helden. "For 3D the DI process is a little different", says van Helden; "Firstly you need the capacity to decode and display a dual image stream; in our case RED R3D files. Then there is a process of conforming to the 3D rushes from the 2D offline edit and tweaking the 3D to make sure you have perfect alignment. After that, we have the 'matchgrade' process."
Amphibious is due for release in June 2010.
3D Filming: Tony Hawk on Tour
Working with extreme sports production specialist Boomerang Productions, Inition supplied stereoscopic equipment, crew, consultancy and 3D post services for a half hour 3D programme following Tony Hawk on his European tour in Berlin and Brighton.
Due to a combination of low weight, compact size and high quality image output, Inition chose to shoot everything with Toshiba IK-HD1(1920x1080i) minicams to capture the essence and drama of the competitor's daring skate tricks.
Capturing the Action from all Angles
Inition’s crew established three camera positions during the Berlin shoot.
A Fig Rig gave the cameraman incredible flexibility to capture fast motion shots. A Polecam lightweight jib was positioned at the top of a ramp side which captured stunning sweeping overhead shots including those classic 3D shots when the skater appears to be jumping out the screen. The third stereoscopic rig was mounted on a regular tripod which was used to capture ground level footage and close ups.
Real Time Stereoscopic Monitoring
To monitor the action, each rig was connected to a StereoBrain Processor. Battery powered and highly lightweight, the StereoBrain processor can process a left and right signal and output a variety of 3D modes which can be viewed on a 2D or 3D monitor. During the Tony Hawk shoot, Inition’s crew used StereoBrain processors to output an anaglyph feed to 7” HD-SDI monitors. Media was recorded to Nanoflash solid state recorders.
Using the three camera set up, Inition was able to deliver motion rich, immersive 3D footage for Boomerang Productions. Boomerang Productions delivered a 2D edit to Inition where it was geometrically corrected and mastered into 3D for 3D Blu-ray authoring,
3D Shoot: Rollercoaster 3D to Promote New Gameshow
Red Bee Media hired Inition to shoot a 3D advert promoting a new theme park based gameshow - 'Scream If You Know The Answer' for UKTV.
The brief was to replicate the adrenaline inducing feeling of riding the white knuckle rides at Thorpe Park and after a tough recce day trying all the coasters at the park, the team chose Colussus, the UK's only quadruple-corkscrew coaster.
At the front of the ride the Inition team installed two SI-2K Mini Digital Cinema Cameras in a parallel arrangement on a rugged mounting system designed by Extreme Facilities. To adhere to health and safety requirements, Extreme Facilities modified a crash dummy which housed and contained all the recording equipment.
The footage was finished in-house using our 2K Iridas SpeedGrade system which is suitable for large and small screen 3D projects, ideal as this 3D advert was shown in cinemas and on 3D TV sets in over 1,200 Sky 3D pubs.
Distant Thunder: Exploring Africa in 3D
World-renowned filmmakers Deeble & Stone partnered with Inition to co-produce a 3D wildlife pilot in Africa called Distant Thunder 3D.
The shoot took place in Kenya and was produced in association with equipment manufacturer P+S TECHNIK. During the production process the team identified and perfected the 3D rigs necessary to shoot wildlife in the field of Africa. Being an environment of widely varying scales, Inition used equally a large variety of interaxial lens distances to capture the extremities of the landscape, from extreme close ups of chameleons eating lunch to the final dramatic time-lapse sequence of the Kenyan night sky where two still cameras were positioned 30 metres apart.
Over the space of a month Inition used a variety of 3D rigs - both commercial models and custom built. These included mirror rigs, 3D time-lapse set ups, side-by-side configurations and gyro stabilized, using SI-2K Minicams and shooting uncompressed RAW, recording to solid state drives so full creativity could be achieved in the post production process.
Every evening, the team reviewed the daily rushes on a large 3D screen to develop what was working and what was not. Over a two week period and in challenging stormy condiitons, we obtained enough spectacular footage to edit together a stunning 10 minute pilot.
The promo premiered at the Dimension 3 S3D expo in Paris in 2010 and was later shown to audiences at the Berlin Film Festival 2010(?) and the Cannes Film Festival where it received a highly postive response.
Future of 3D: #1 - Scan, Print, Explode!
Our first 'Future of 3D' project!
We decided to have some 3D fun with Shannon's head to celebrate our 10th Birthday and the launch of our 'Future of 3D' series.
We really enjoyed this side project as it combined a wide range of our skills and 3D technologies. But mainly because it involved blowing stuff up!
If you're interested in finding out more, make sure you watch the video above.
Some of the kit we used: ZPrinter 450, Mephisto EX Scanner, Phantom/Quasar 3D Stereoscopic Filming Rig
We'd like to point out that no Shannon's were harmed in this project, although strangely enough. he had a slight headache afterwards. Check out our Future of 3D blog at fo3d.posterous.com for our latest experiments.
About our 'Future of 3D' series
The 'Future of 3D' series is about exploring the boundaries of future 3D technology through non-commercial creative projects. Supporting this type of work is core to Inition's core values of developing new uses of 3D technology, supporting creativity and nurturing the passion of it's staff and collaborators. If you have an idea for a 'Future of 3D' project, we'd love to hear from you.