Having supplied crew to the production phase of Amphibious, Inition are now helping guide the film through the 3D post production process. The VFX slate is being handled by Victor 3D Studios and Grid in Brussels, with DI handled by Galaxy Studios, all under the watchful eye 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 a process we call the 'matchgrade'."

Due to the fact that one camera is looking through the mirror and the other is looking at the reflection in the mirror, there is a slight color shift between the two cameras. One camera therefore needs to be balanced , or matched to the other. After which the grading process continues in much the same way as a normal 2D session. The final process is a depth grade, which is where the final 3D decisions are made based on how it cuts together.

The CG adds another layer of complexity to the post production process. With a matchgrade and tweaks done, the CG assets are matched back into the scene for the left frame, then a second camera is rendered based on the interaxial offset information for the right frame gathered on the day of shooting. "The 3D adds another layer of complexity, not to mention twice the render time", says Van Helden; "it’s quite possible to have two shots that work fine in 2D, but not in 3D, so there’s another process to go through in terms of making sure things track well in terms of depth".

As an initial proof of the pipeline, a promo was created in 3D to promote the film at the Berlin Film Market - a successful strategy as it turns out, with London based outfit Celsius snapping up the global rights.

Directed by Brian Yuzna (producer of RE-ANIMATOR and director of BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR) and produced by San Fu Maltha (BLACK BOOK), Amphibious is due for release in June 2010. Visit the Official Website: http://www.amphibious.nl/