The previous Harry Potter movie was moved from December 2008 to July 2009. This time, instead of losing their December slot, thus pushing back a July 2011 Part II slot of the last Harry Potter movie, Warner Bros have decided not to wait to de-flatten the movie, but rather to release the movie in 2D on schedule. (So, close one eye to get some 3D feeling.)
Those who remember Warner Bros’ Clash of the Titans will say that this is a good move. One could also say that Clash was an outlier, that the technology they chose was not ready for prime time, that post groups are now better geared up to make stereoscopic 3 dimensional conversions…
See:
‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I’ Loses 3D Release « FirstShowing.net
Or perhaps this is just a great way for the studio to release a 2D version of both movies, get the 3D right, then re-release to a great new box office.
More amazing is this clip from RED showing their new HDRx™ software in action. You can read the entire thread, but the shot is taken in a dark dark barn, with wide open doors and bright desert light outside, and in the distance is a building with a person sitting on the stoop. It would be difficult to make this work as HDR for a still. But the shot in the clip also shows a moving person going from light to dark, and an amazing amount of detail in the dark. The colors aren’t graded, but the technology allows that each stream of dark and light could be worked on separately. A true game changer: