Danimation, the best in the world for stereoscopic 3D

I am the BEST at 3D Stereoscopic production.

I understand stereoscopic 3D in a unique way: I emphasize story telling and human factors. I am confident that my innovations will improve work flows and save money. My approach will give your production an extra edge, streamline your production and improve your quality. As a consultant and stereoscopic supervisor I have been involved in managing and overseeing all stages of stereoscopic production, live-action, CG Animation, Stop Motion or combinations of all the above.

After seeing "Corkscrew Hill" and "Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular," Lenny Lipton said these films “show a complete mastery of the medium. I have never seen anything better.” -Lenny Lipton, CTO RealD Cinema

I have found that my strong sense of depth perception and my creative background give me the experience to create solutions for the difficult issues of stereoscopic 3D. From a 20 year passion for stereo photography and 13 + years of working and researching all things stereoscopic I have accomplished the following:

Daniel Smith

Daniel L Smith Stereographer / Supervisor / Teacher 716-435-0735

Innovative uses of the 3D fourth wall and script analysis for the best use of 3Ds' emotional impact.
Stereoscopic human factors. Understanding the psychology of 3D space and the way our brain interprets the space and sees depth perception. The influence of inter-axial and inter ocular distances on the perception of size and mass.
Use of Parallax, color, size, and shape to create dynamic 3D imagery
Creation of screen planes, floating windows, stereo camera rigs, minimizing ghosting issues, and maximizing depth.
Deep understanding of when to use converging cameras versus parallel and how to mix the two.
3D depth chart analysis. Ability to determine down to the pixel level the amount of perceived depth given the exact seat in the audience, and how to translate that to a VFX artist's monitor.
Theater space and screen size knowledge for projection setup, geometric distortions, and shot influence for the amount of parallax and placement of effects in the visual image.
Needs and requirements for different stereo outputs, IMAX, RealD, Dolby 3D, BluRay 3D and Dual Projection Etc.

“Daniel helped us produce some extremely complex stereoscopic animated projects for digital projection and large format film delivery, and the results of his efforts were excellent.” -Jeff Kleiser, Synthespian Studios

“Dan’s technical expertise and creative talent helped to push our Spy Kids III effects over the top.” -Vicki Weimer, Producer CafeFX

3D Filmography

Stereoscopic Supervision / Consultation / Production

“Untitled Ride Film"- Fall 2010 - CG Animated. Dual Digital HD Projection.
“StarWars: The Solo Adventures"- June 2010 - CG Animated. RealD Theatrical Projection - Director / Co-Writer / Stereo Supervisor - Public debut at Celebration V, Orlando Florida
“Molecules to the Max"- 2009 - CG Animated. Dual 15 perf 70mm IMAX. 45 min TRT. (2D to 3D conversion consultant)
“Dimension Technologies"- 2008 - CG Animated. 9 View Auto stereoscopic Display. :30 TRT. Rochester, NY
“Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular 2008"- 2008 - CG Animated. Dual 70mm projection. 4 min TRT. Radio City Music Hall, NY (Consultation on 2008 update of film)
“Spy Kids 3D: Game Over"- 2003 - Live action green screen. Single strip anaglyph projection. 81 min RT. CafeFX
“Solar Coaster"- 2003 - CG Animated.Dual HD projection. 5 min TRT. PowderKeg Inc.
“African Safari"- 2003 - CG Animated. Dual SD projection. 6 min TRT. Flight Avionics
“Sea Hawk"- 2002 - CG Animated. Dual SD projection. 6 min TRT. Flight Avionics
“Tinker Doodle Christmas"- 2002 - CG Animated. Dual HD projection. 10 min TRT. Santa's Village, Jefferson NH
“Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular"- 2001 - CG Animated. Dual 70mm projection. 4 min TRT. Radio City Music Hall, NY
“Corkscrew Hill"- 2000 - CG Animated. 4K Digital projection. 10 min TRT. Busch Gardens Williamsburg
“I Lost my M in Vegas"-1998 - CG Animated with Live action and stop motion. Over Under Condon System 35 mm. 8 min TRT M&M's world Las Vegas, NV

"Daniel Smith was the one who fully understood my spreadsheets and formulas that predicted how the stereoscopic effects would look from each area in the theater seating area. He grasped at once how these quantitative methods could be used to make the stereoscopic experience comfortable yet exciting, by knowing precisely how to avoid causing visual discomfort and eyestrain. I look forward to working with Dan again on a future project!." -John Merritt, The Merritt Group

“You’re all’s Staff Battle sequence is the movie stand-out. Thanks for all your hard work.” -Robert Rodriguez on Spy Kids 3D

CafeFX crew on SpyKids 3D. Daniel Smith Stereoscopic Supervisor seen back row center holding up "3" Digits

3D Equipment Experience

The Foundry's Nuke and Ocula, beta testing and development
Mocha beta development
NewTek's Lightwave 3D beta development
Eyeon's Digital Fusion beta development
Zalman Trimon, iZ3d, Samsung, ViewSonic and nVida 3D Vision
Barco Digital Projectors
Electroscopic HD projection servers
RealD, Dolby 3D, ExpanD, and IMAX 3D
Design and operation of camera 3D rigs.
Design, implementation of 3D playback solutions, DLP, CRT, Dual Projection.
Doremi playback servers and CineAsset DCP encoding software

Inventions

SyncCode™ is a special visual way of marking two strips of film for frame accurate synchronization for 3D stereoscopic projection. With it, you can quickly see how many frames out of sync a film is or if it is drifting phase. SyncCode™ Has been used on several films where dual projection synchronization must be prefect. Its also useful for testing Single and dual projection film and digital setups.
Geo3Distort™ - I have created several proprietary methods to map out compound vertical, horizontal key stoning, and barrel distortion caused by offset projection and inconsistencies of dual projection lens. These methods pre distort each eye differently so that when projected the image will be in proper alignment on the projection screen.
PookaVision™ - I have invented several special alignment grids that are used for projection alignment and depth analysis of a venue. I have crafted special versions of these for different film formats, HD, and IMAX presentation.
DepthGrade™ - I have created a "gizmo" for Nuke compositing software that facilitates the ease of placement of 3D layers in positive and negative parallax. This "gizmo" also is used for advance 3D viewing options for multiple 3D displays.

Skills
Deep understanding of post production. Strong understanding and use of stereoscopic human factors Creative ways to use 3D as a story telling device. Creative direction, organized, detail oriented. Free and cross-viewing 3D ability. Live action 2nd unit director. Digital cinematographer. Timelapse and optical flow techniques. On Set supervision and collaborator

Awards

11/20/02 “First place, best new product” awarded at IAAPA ( International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) 2002 for an eight minute 3D stereoscopic HD film, “A Tinker-Doodle Christmas” created for Santa’s Village in Jefferson New Hampshire.

6/23/99 Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technologies Graduate of the year for 1999. Was chosen from a field of over 1000 eligible recipients representing 700 different colleges and trade schools as the most outstanding accomplished graduate for the year of 1999.

Many other productions that Daniel has been an integral part of have been either nominated or won Telly, Mobius, Emmy, and Academy Awards. Link

Stitched photo of Daniel Smith, Stereoscopic Supervisor seen at Radio City Music Hall with his stereo alignment and depth grid projected on the screen.

Publications and Speaking Engagements

2010

4/09 "Stereoscopic Webinar" Special stereoscopic seminar:
3/25 Zalman chooses Danimation for 3D content on website and CD distribution Link
3/22 "Your Eyes SHould not BLEED!" Special stereoscopic seminar: The Dave School, Orlando FL. Link
3/13 Interview with Stereoscopic expert Daniel Smith: International Lightwave Users Group Link

2009

11/12 Villia Maria College, Buffalo NY. Guest lecture on the state of stereoscopic 3D and VFX. Link
10/07 FX Mogul Radio Show 11: Link
8/09 Webinar "Stereoscopic 3-D and where LightWave 3D Fits in" Link

2008

9/08 National Public Radio "Morning Edition." Was Interviewed for a piece that aired on NPR’s morning Edition about the new wave of stereoscopic film production. Link
9/08 3rd Dimension Newsletter, "Veritas et Visus." Published article on stereoscopic evaluations of "Fly me to the Moon." Link
8/08 Alfred State College SUNY. Stereoscopic consultant and Advisory Board participant.
5/08 Alfred State College SUNY. Guest lecturer and panelist for Digital Media & Animation Pre-Production Presentations.
3/08 Fxguide.com I was interviewed and included for a feature article on "Art of Digital Stereoscopic Film" Link

2003

10/03 Guest lecturer at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Advanced Media Arts Class.

1999

1/99 NewTechniqes Magazine. Published an extensive article about the methods of 3D stereoscopic animation production. Link 12mb

1994

1/94 Video Toaster Magazine. Published two images that were created using Lightwave 3D and featured in the gallery.

1993

6/93 Video Toaster Magazine. Created several images that with Lightwave 3D and featured in the gallery.

Education
Nuke training workshop at Digital Domain, 2004 Directing a Feature Film workshop, AFI Washington D.C. 1994 Acting and Improv workshop, Community Theater Reston, VA1993 Associates Degree in Specialized Technology, Art Institute of Pittsburgh 1992
Teaching
2010 to present DAVE School International, Orlando Florida. Block 4 Instructor FXphd Professor April 2010 term "Nuke 2D to 3D Stereoscopic Conversions" Link VFX Supervisors Bootcamp, Los Angeles CA. Link June 25-27, 2010 FXphd Professor Oct 2009 term "Nuke and Stereoscopic" Link FXphd Professor Oct 2009 term "Introduction to Stereoscopic" Link "Stereoscopic 3D for VFX", DVD based training, Kurv Studios 2009 Digital Fusion Training, IBC Digital 2005 Nuke Training for Lighters, ReelFX creative Studios 2004 Digital Media Center, Portland Oregon, Lightwave 3D character animation course, 1997 Animators Anonymous, an animation workshop at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, 1991

Contact

Daniel L Smith

Phone: (+1) 716-435-0735

Email : daniel@danimation.com

Company: www.danimation.com

Danimation, Orlando, FL

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