Reliance partners In-Three for world's largest 2D-to-3D conversion operation

More than five years ago I was at ShoWest 2004 in Las Vegas when a contact told me about a secret demo that was taking place, away from the cinema trade show itself, in a hotel room in Flamingo. "These guys have converted regular films to 3D," I was told breathlessly. I managed to secure an invite and was escorted into a mid-size hotel room with an oversized 2K projector taking up most of the space, as well as a few chairs and a screen.

I had been covering the digital cinema the industry long enough to have developed a healthy skepticism toward tall new claims, but what I saw that night blew me away: 3D clips of films such as "2001: A Space Odyssey", "12 Angry Men", "Casablanca", the original "Star Wars" and many more classics. And they all - worked. The 3D did not look fake, gimmicky or tacky in a 'colorization' sort of way. It looked as if the director had intended the film to be stereoscopic in the first place and I found myself wanting to watch the films again, this time in 3D. That was my first introduction to In-Three. I could not write about it in my E-Cinema Alert newsletter, but I knew that the company was onto something great.

Fast forward three and a half years and I'm having dinner at an Indonesian restaurant in Amsterdam during IBC 2007 with my friend and mentor Richard Wolfe, where he also invited and introduced me to Neil Feldman, the CEO of In-Three. The digital cinema deployment was spluttering, the 3D deployments were just starting and "Avatar" was in the early pre-production stages.

Neil told me more about In-Three, the Dimensionalization(R) process and projects they had worked on and were in the pipeline. I also realized that Neil stood out as one of the sharpest and most visionary business men - in an industry that is not exactly short of that type - while also having a tremendous amount of warmth and generosity of spirit. A rare combination. While In-Three had not yet come out with its first full-length feature film, it made me appreciate that Neil and In-Three were in this for the long haul, something that was confirmed when I subsequently got to visit his facility in Westlake Village, around the time that we acquired Lowry Digital, and saw some of the latest footage and examples of their work.

It is thus with tremendous excitement that I can finally share the news that Reliance MediaWorks is partnering In-Three to create the world's largest 2D-to-3D conversion facility, right here in Mumabi, able to cater to 15-25 projects per year, once it is fully up and running. Making this possible was a true team effort on both our side and In-Three's side. You can read more about it in this article from Wall Street Journal:

Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA Group is partnering with a Los Angeles company to produce 3-D movies out of a new 1,000-person facility in Mumbai that will be the largest of its kind in the world.

Reliance and In-Three Inc. will convert 15 to 25 feature films per year from regular two-dimensional format to 3-D, the companies say. Reliance's planned $40 million facility, which is scheduled to open in January, will house the 3-D operations along with other film services it already provides, such as post-production, visual effects and restoration of classics.

But even more depth is provided (as so often) by Carolyn Giardina in The Hollywood Reporter:

"We feel next year is going to a big year for 3D for theaters and the home," said Neil Feldman, CEO of In-Three, which recently worked on Disney's 3D "G-Force." "We anticipate such a large volume of work that we need capacity, and that is where Reliance comes in. We are setting this up in advance."

Slated to launch in February, the operation intends to hire hundreds of employees -- possibly as many as 600 -- during its first year. They will be trained and equipped to handle 15-25 feature film projects a year. Further out, the companies expect the staff to number in the thousands.

The companies said that work on the first joint title will commence early next year, with several more projects planned for a start in the year's first half. Titles were not disclosed.

The number of 3D cinema screens worldwide recently topped 6,000, and the transition continues to move forward albeit at a slower pace than many had hoped. It is expected that the first projects from the facility will include new features and legacy titles as well as theatrical commercials.

There has also been coverage in the Economic Times and Reuters, with more set to follow no doubt. And if you have not seen it already, make sure to watch Disney/Bruckheimer's "G-Force" to appreciate the power of 2D-to-3D conversion and why In-Three stands head and shoulders above all other companies in this field. Watch this space for future fruits of our joint labour.