Industry’s Top Stereo VFX Vendor Lends 3D Expertise and Creative Problem-Solving to Key Sequences in Scorsese’s Newest Film

Legend3D, the leading innovator in 2D-to-3D conversion technology, today announced its role as the primary conversion vendor on the highly-anticipated 3D holiday release of Hugo—a live-action fantasy film based on the popular children’s novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Hugo is renowned director Martin Scorsese’s first stereoscopic 3D film, and opened on Nov. 23, 2011, in select RealD 3D and IMAX 3D theaters throughout the U.S.

While Hugo was shot using 3D camera rigs, Legend3D was tasked with restoring, colorizing and converting to 3D an assortment of vintage 2D material across three key sequences in the film. This included classic cinema from the early 1900s, such as Georges Melies’ A Trip to the Moon and The Merry Frolics of Satan, as well as new footage of Ben Kingsley in his role as Melies. To accomplish this, the Legend3D team first prepared the source material in 2D, using restorative techniques to stabilize and accentuate the image quality while still retaining the vintage “look.” This material was then converted to 3D to match the overall depth of Scorsese’s native photography.

Rob Legato, visual effects supervisor on Hugo, commented: “Having had previous experience with Legend3D’s fine work on The Aviator, we had complete confidence in their ability to handle our historic Georges Melies footage. Their 2D-to-3D conversion not only exceeded our very high expectations, but their fast turnaround and innate creative attention to detail produced take-one finals every time. Legend3D was a total pleasure to work with on every level.”

Jared Sandrew, VFX supervisor at Legend3D, commented: “Applying VFX and conversion work to some of the first ‘visual effects’ scenes in the history of cinema … this was intrinsically fun. The footage is inherently playful, which made it really come to life when introducing another dimension.” Matt Akey, VFX producer at Legend3D, added: “Rob (Legato) and Marty communicated a clear vision for our three sequences, and then trusted us to come up with stereo solutions and VFX treatments that helped augment key moments of the story, including the film’s finale. Our pipeline is built to handle complex 2D and 3D hybrid content at the most competitive price point, so this made for a great partnership.”

Hugo is the astonishing adventure of a wily and resourceful boy whose quest to unlock a secret left to him by his father will transform Hugo and all those around him, and reveal a safe and loving place he can call home. The film was produced by Graham King, Tim Headington, Martin Scorsese and Johnny Depp, with Screenplay by John Logan (The Aviator, Rango) and stars Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfield (as Hugo Cabret), Chloe Grace Moretz, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer, with Jude Law.

www.legend3D.com