Pixel Farm Announces PFDepth

Press release from Pixel Farm:

MARDEN, Kent -- The Pixel Farm [1], developer of innovative image processing systems for VFX, DI and restoration, announced PFDepth -- a new, fully integrated toolset for spatial scene reconstruction, depth creation and 2D to 3D conversion. The Pixel Farm will publicly debut PFDepth at NAB 2012 April 16th to 19th at the Las Vegas Convention Center, booth #SL13408.

Benefiting from the unique technological capabilities of PFTrack already being used by facilities globally, PFDepth is a radical evolution of the processes involved in representing the perceived geometric shape and depth of two-dimensional objects in 3D. Performing 2D to 3D conversion by assigning accurate depth cues relative to the camera’s position over time, dynamic adjustments to the perceived dimensionality of the scene are animated automatically, making PFDepth truly distinctive amongst stereoscopic post production tools.

"Through speaking to our users who do this type of work, we’ve learned a lot about the significant complications encountered when trying to build a workflow around various loosely-connected applications," says Daryl Shail, VFX Product Manager at The Pixel Farm Ltd. "When we set out to develop PFDepth, we approached it as a total solution to directly address the specific challenges of 2D to 3D conversion, with an emphasis on productivity, intuitiveness, and flexibility. As a result, you can literally drop PFDepth into any existing post production pipeline, and start cranking out shots from day one."

Like all 'PF' products, data is designed to be interoperable, making PFDepth a natural extension to PFTrack's Geometry Tracking, Image Modelling and Z-depth tools. Elaborate models, detailed aggregates and accurate topography are easily created, achieving a degree of realism in shots previously considered to be too time consuming using previous piecemeal processes.

PFDepth has further reaching market opportunities, such as restoration and remastering, due to its ease of use and unified working environment. New doors have opened to facilities who once considered 2D to 3D conversion to be a cost prohibitive service offering, and has created ‘sell-up’ opportunities for facilities looking to expand beyond traditional restoration and into the growing dimensionalisation market.

"At The Pixel Farm, we have gained a reputation as a company that can both innovate and deliver technologies, then package them into game changing, usable applications that constantly produce class leading results," Says Michael Lancaster, Managing Director at The Pixel Farm Ltd. "We feel confident that PFDepth is set to continue that trend."

Whether converting monoscopic footage to stereo, or reconstructing entire environments in 3D for VFX purposes, in PFDepth, even the most labor-intensive tasks become fast and painless. Entire sequences can be created in minutes, as opposed to hours or days marking a revolutionary advance in stereoscopic filmmaking.