Blood of Ohma 3D SBS Blu-ray (2011) [Region Free] [BD-R]

[HyperRealist]

Blood of Ohma 3D Blu-ray



http://www.gmdfilms.com/bloodofohma/

[Zivouhr]

Glasses included, I'm guessing this is cyan/red classic 3D?

Or is it modern 3D for 3D Tvs? How good is the 3D?

[AmrlKJaneway]

I dont know anything about it but the cover does say; 3D will only work with 3DTVs
So I assume it includes some passive glasses. Unless its a very costly BD with some active pairs...

Side note: My apostrophe key (also quotation marks) is buggered.

Edit: Looking at it again, its very cheap. Im putting my money on a couple pairs of passive glasses. If this catches on, it could become one more plus for passive TV owners.

[bigbadwolfe911]

It looks like the DVD has the Anaglyphic red/cyan 3D while the Bluray says it only works with 3DTV and does not say anything about including glasses, so it must be Real 3D. Anybody order?

[AmrlKJaneway]

Originally Posted by brernurse

It looks like the DVD has the Anaglyphic red/cyan 3D while the Bluray says it only works with 3DTV and does not say anything about including glasses, so it must be Real 3D. Anybody order?

Oh yeah...
Everytime I read that thing I learn something new...

[Zivouhr]

Thanks. I overlooked the obvious on that poster.

Smaller companies releasing stereo 3D movies, regardless of the quality, could will eventually lead to a bigger 3D library, which might inspire bigger companies who are on the fence, to wonder what the fuss is about and try to cut in on the smaller guys' 3D sales.

EDIT: From the site's blog, they said, "3D is meant to be a fun gimmick, and it's the 'pop out' shots that makes it so much fun. So, there's 'Pop Shots' all over the movie. This scene has a couple of them actually. Here's a simple one, so I don't spoil all the fun when you finally watch the film."

Not sure about the movie, but the 3D shot they showed has nice depth.

Hello all, this is Paul Gorman, I'm the director of "Blood of Ohma".

Just to answer a couple of the questions:

1. The 2 Disc DVD Version includes the 2D Version of "Blood of Ohma" on the first disc, and the 2nd Disc includes an Anaglyphic Version. It's Green/Magenta and the DVD includes 2 Pairs of Paper Glasses (Green/Magenta).

2. The 3D Blu-Ray is in fact for 3DTV's. It's formated in Side-By-Side (Half). It's presented at 1080/60i and encoded at 16 mb/s which is the data rate I shot it at.

The film itself is a low budget Horror / Thriller about a pair of Big Foot hunters who actually hunt one down and kill it, and how that event effects them afterwards.

I shot it on a custom built camera rig that essentially mounted 2 Sony HD camera's side by side. Some shots were done on the Sony Bloggie 3D. I edited the film in Sony Vegas 11.

I'm happy to answer any questions about the film, and I certainly appreciate the feedback offered here on this forum.

- Paul Gorman
Director
GMD Films

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by GMDFilms

Hello all, this is Paul Gorman, I'm the director of "Blood of Ohma".
//
I shot it on a custom built camera rig that essentially mounted 2 Sony HD camera's side by side. Some shots were done on the Sony Bloggie 3D. I edited the film in Sony Vegas 11.

I'm happy to answer any questions about the film, and I certainly appreciate the feedback offered here on this forum.

- Paul Gorman
Director
GMD Films

I have some questions: It's rare to be able to ask a filmmaker directly, thanks for answering as best as you can: Feel free to answer briefly if you like.

1. Will this be available on amazon.com, bestbuy.com, etc? I ask as amazon gives free shipping for orders 25$ and over if shipped from them.

2. I'm not a major fan of Big Foot movies, but I did enjoy the movie Snow Beast with Yvette Mimeux (spelling) from the 80's. The one where they go skiing and the snow beast lurks in the forests above. Compared to that film, where they rarely showed the snow beast, do we get to see the Big Foot in Ohma film near the end of the film, throughout or not at all?

3. About the 3D: Would you say that still shot on your site is a good example of what to expect with the rest of the film's 3D quality in stereo 3D? The 3D shot was in anaglyph, I think someone sitting on a couch.
Based on that, what is currently your favorite major motion picture in stereo 3D that you are inspired by?

4. I saw Night of the Living Dead 3D, and it was anaglyph. The still frames looked great, but the movie's actual 3D seemed flatter. I saw its potential, but the anaglyph ultimately ended up looking flat for some reason. How does your anaglyph version compare to the stereo 3D version?

5. When you edited this in Sony Vegas 11, I read you interacted with Sony directly about the process and had to overcome some software limitations. Do you also have your own blu ray burning process, or did you have to send it out to a company for printing being an independent company? I read it's very expensive being so early in the new stereo 3D market.

Answer any that you have time for. Thanks!

[gekke henkie]

Originally Posted by GMDFilms

Hello all, this is Paul Gorman, I'm the director of "Blood of Ohma".
[...]
I'm happy to answer any questions about the film, and I certainly appreciate the feedback offered here on this forum.

- Paul Gorman
Director
GMD Films

W E L C O M E !!!

(and happy holidays)

[GMDFilms]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

I have some questions: It's rare to be able to ask a filmmaker directly, thanks for answering as best as you can: Feel free to answer briefly if you like.

1. Will this be available on amazon.com, bestbuy.com, etc? I ask as amazon gives free shipping for orders 25$ and over if shipped from them.

For right now, "Blood of Ohma" is only available at Amazon on DVD in 2D. We're an independent studio, and self distribute our films, so we don't have the 'reach' of big Hollywood studios. We use Amazon's "Instant Video" and On Demand service, but they (Amazon) only accept single disc DVD's, and do not have the capability of offering BluRay 'on demand'.

Establishing wider distribution is something we work on every day, so for right now, the 3D BluRay is only available at our site. This will hopefully change in the near future.

2. I'm not a major fan of Big Foot movies, but I did enjoy the movie Snow Beast with Yvette Mimeux (spelling) from the 80's. The one where they go skiing and the snow beast lurks in the forests above. Compared to that film, where they rarely showed the snow beast, do we get to see the Big Foot in Ohma film near the end of the film, throughout or not at all?

I'll be honest, I haven't seen "Snow Beast". 'Ohma' is a re-invisioning of what we've always been told about Big Foot. It attempts to offer an alternate explaination for the legend, who he is and why he's so elusive. It was written by Adam Moore, who is the novelist that wrote "Seven Arrows", which was a re-invisioning of the 'Robin Hood' legend. So for that reason, I didn't use any existing Big Foot movies and books for inspiration. Instead, I got in touch with several Big Foot Society groups and spoke with a lot of Big Foot Hunters and people who have had sightings of him.

That being said, you do see Big Foot thru out the movie, but the film itself is about the hunters, not the monster. I tried to make the tension in the story stem from what you don't know, rather than leaving nothing to the imagination.

3. About the 3D: Would you say that still shot on your site is a good example of what to expect with the rest of the film's 3D quality in stereo 3D? The 3D shot was in anaglyph, I think someone sitting on a couch.
Based on that, what is currently your favorite major motion picture in stereo 3D that you are inspired by?

The shot on my blog is a good representation of what you can expect from the Anaglyphic DVD version. If the shot was for Red / Cyan glasses, then it'll be close. I did A LOT of experimenting with the 3D Output. The first third of the film I edited and proof'd in Red / Cyan. Until we hit the 'night' scenes.

From a photography standpoint, blending the two images into 3D loses 3 f stops of light. Essentially making your image several steps darker. So, in order to make sure the shots were exposed properly, I shot the 'night' scenes during the day and digitally created 'night' in post. This technique is called 'Day for Night' and it's not an ideal situation, but I didn't have the budget to risk 2 days of re-shoots if it was all too dark.

The 'Day for Night' color filters are heavy in blues and purples and it created a lot of ghosting with Red / Cyan glasses. So, at that point, I switched to Green / Magenta Anaglyph and had better control over the look for the 'night' scenes.

Of course the 3D BluRay version looks considerably better. It's 1080/60i instead of 480p on DVD, and the color and depth on a 3DTV doesn't compare to Anaglyph in any way. As a film maker, I wish I could ONLY show "Blood of Ohma" in this format.

4. I saw Night of the Living Dead 3D, and it was anaglyph. The still frames looked great, but the movie's actual 3D seemed flatter. I saw its potential, but the anaglyph ultimately ended up looking flat for some reason. How does your anaglyph version compare to the stereo 3D version?

For "Blood of Ohma", both the DVD Anaglyphic version and the 3D BluRay are output from my editing system, and I'm working with my camera files. So the difference is that the DVD Anaglyhpic version is 720 x 480 and well, Anaglyhpic. The 3D BluRay is 1080/60i and Side By Side, so on your 3DTV, the difference in quality isn't really comparable.

I think in the 'Hollywood' system, the files, or film gets formated and re-formated, and passed around a lot, so there's a good chance the person who put the image on a web site was not working with the same files the DVD encoding house was.

5. When you edited this in Sony Vegas 11, I read you interacted with Sony directly about the process and had to overcome some software limitations. Do you also have your own blu ray burning process, or did you have to send it out to a company for printing being an independent company? I read it's very expensive being so early in the new stereo 3D market.

That is correct about Sony. I bought their Sony Bloggie 3D for a few shots I just couldn't fit my camera rig into. The camera was so new at the time, Sony Vegas didn't have a codec for it, so I couldn't edit the footage. So, Sony wrote a codec for me and updated my software to better handle my 3D work flow.

For the BluRay, I used Sony's DVD Architect software. The BluRays we are selling are BD-R. Which is the 'DVD-R' version of BluRay. The manufacturing costs of replicating BluRay at the factory are prohibitavly expensive for a studio our size.

Feedback from the 3D BluRay has been excellent so far. The only real limitation we have with it, is the 3D file doesn't send an auto sensing code to the TV, which would tell your 3DTV which 3D format. You have to switch your 3DTV to Side-By-Side format on your own. Otherwise, the BluRay functions like any other.

Answer any that you have time for. Thanks!

Thanks for asking. I really appreciate the feedback and the interest in my film.

[wvl]

I'm gonna sit on the fence to wait and see what others think about this movie. If it has a good review, then I'll jump, but if most think its not worthy, then I'll probably standdown on this one.

[bigbadwolfe911]

Originally Posted by GMDFilms

Hello all, this is Paul Gorman, I'm the director of "Blood of Ohma"...

- Paul Gorman
Director
GMD Films

Welcome to the forum and thanks for all the information. I had not heard of this film prior to the first post, but I think it looks great and am going o place an order for it as soon as I get home from visiting family for the holidays. I am excited to see a smaller independent support the new 3D format. I hope it sales well and others follow your lead.
Thanks,
TJ Wolfe

[Nommag]

This movie probably can't compete with higher budget films based on acting and special effects alone so it would have to have stunning story line and well done 3d to prompt me to find and purchase this film. Will wait for reviews.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by GMDFilms

For the BluRay, I used Sony's DVD Architect software. The BluRays we are selling are BD-R. Which is the 'DVD-R' version of BluRay. The manufacturing costs of replicating BluRay at the factory are prohibitavly expensive for a studio our size.

Feedback from the 3D BluRay has been excellent so far. The only real limitation we have with it, is the 3D file doesn't send an auto sensing code to the TV, which would tell your 3DTV which 3D format. You have to switch your 3DTV to Side-By-Side format on your own. Otherwise, the BluRay functions like any other.



Thanks for asking. I really appreciate the feedback and the interest in my film.

I appreciate the fast response and detailed answers.
My main interest is in how you were able to work with the 3D cameras, how much depth you were able to pull off, how it was handled and how the side by side 3D will appear with your movie.

Blu Ray-R sounds like a good solution. I asked, knowing how much the full processing costs with full 3D conversion software and encoding, which I read was in the 40,000$ range from last time I checked. They actually seem to want to keep smaller filmmakers out for now, but I'm glad to see you were able to find a way around it.

From your knowledge, do all modern 3DTV's have the ability to display in side by side? I know my Vizio Theater 3D can, though they need a faster way to apply the setting, like a quick one press button rather than going through several options to reach it. Side by side works on games like Avatar 3D for the PS3, and side by side pictures and movies of course.

Thanks again and best success with your films in 3D. It's nice to see more 3D being offered from more sources.

[GMDFilms]

My main interest is in how you were able to work with the 3D cameras, how much depth you were able to pull off, how it was handled and how the side by side 3D will appear with your movie.

My entire camera rig was hand built, and based on two Sony HD Handycam's set side by side. Here's a side-by-side (pardon the pun) shot of my design sketch and the actual rig.



The actual positioning of the camera's was figured out after exhaustive testing and copious amounts of note taking. The camera position would change in both the width apart, and the angle of the camera's based on the type of shot I was taking. But you can see, it's very much 'Do It Yourself' and at a fraction of the cost of a 'Professional' 3D rig like they use in Hollywood. Including Camera's, my rig cost around $1200.

As far as handling the depth and the 'Pop Out' effects, that was all planned in advance and a lot of it is handled in post production. As I've mentioned on my blog and the site, "Blood of Ohma" was shot specifically for 3D. Rather than the 3D being an after thought or a gimmick, as a lot of Hollywood productions seem to be.

Basically, with every shot I attempted to have 3 - 4 'layers' of depth. Something always in the foreground, the subject we're focusing on in the middle ground, and then stuff in the background. Obviously some locations were more suited for this than others. Many of the 'Pop Out' effects were planned and story boarded out in advance, but I would also look for opportunities on location too. How it would play out in 3D space was a constant concern in shooting.

"Blood of Ohma" is by no means a 'Hollywood' Level production, but when we've screened it in 3D at film festivals, we get A LOT of comments about how deep the 3D is, and how much it 'pops'. I think most folks don't expect a movie at this budget to achieve good 3D effects, and I'm very proud that we seemed to have done it.

They actually seem to want to keep smaller filmmakers out for now, but I'm glad to see you were able to find a way around it.

Well, the 'Hollywood' studio's certainly don't want us Indie guys messing with their game plan and they would really rather us not have the technology. Fortunately, the manufacturers do not feel that way. We would have NEVER been able to make this movie on this budget (Under $10k USD) without the help of Sony who was in touch with me from pre-production all the way up to mastering the final BluRay 3D.

The tools are available to indie film makers at a very reasonable budget. Sony Vegas is around $500 and you have your choice of camera's. I used a pair of Sony HDR-CX100 camera's. They shoot 1080/60i and cost around $400 each.

From your knowledge, do all modern 3DTV's have the ability to display in side by side? I know my Vizio Theater 3D can, though they need a faster way to apply the setting, like a quick one press button rather than going through several options to reach it.

I haven't met a 3DTV yet that doesn't have the option for 'Side-by-Side'. I have a Samsung PN51D550 at home and it has a '3D' Button on the remote that toggles between 'Top/Bottom' and 'Side-by-Side' and '2D to 3D'. It's very easy.

I have the option of out putting the film in any 3D Format available right now. I chose 'Side-by-Side' for the BluRay because it's the preferred format of most Cable TV Programmers - which is an important market for us. If it would be required in 'Top/Bottom' or 'Polarized' I can provide it.

Thanks again and best success with your films in 3D. It's nice to see more 3D being offered from more sources.

You're welcome, and thanks again for your interest in this film. I'm actually beginning pre-production on my next 3D project, which will be a TV series about pool hustlers called "Virgin Pockets". My goal is to take what I learned on "Ohma" and take it a few steps further.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by GMDFilms

//
"Blood of Ohma" is by no means a 'Hollywood' Level production, but when we've screened it in 3D at film festivals, we get A LOT of comments about how deep the 3D is, and how much it 'pops'. I think most folks don't expect a movie at this budget to achieve good 3D effects, and I'm very proud that we seemed to have done it.
//

You're welcome, and thanks again for your interest in this film. I'm actually beginning pre-production on my next 3D project, which will be a TV series about pool hustlers called "Virgin Pockets". My goal is to take what I learned on "Ohma" and take it a few steps further.

Thanks for all the feedback, much appreciated that you took the time to respond. I'm going to give this a go. Will report later. Glad to see your next project is also in 3D and it wasn't a one time deal.

[Nommag]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

Thanks for all the feedback, much appreciated that you took the time to respond. I'm going to give this a go. Will report later. Glad to see your next project is also in 3D and it wasn't a one time deal.

I look forward to your review, if it is any good I will look into purchasing one.

Id I do decide to purchase it can it be shipped to NZ (including costs) and is it region free?

[GMDFilms]

Originally Posted by Nommag

I look forward to your review, if it is any good I will look into purchasing one.

Id I do decide to purchase it can it be shipped to NZ (including costs) and is it region free?

All disc versions of "Blood of Ohma" (DVD/BluRay/BluRay3D) are region free.

And yes, we will ship it anywhere in the World.

[Zivouhr]

Review of Blood of Ohma 3D Blu Ray

The fact that this was 3D, is what mostly motivated me to buy this film, as it was presented in side by side 3D, and covered the horror genre. The film is presented in a documentary/home video style. The story kept my interest, and the picture quality is good for the most part. These are all opinions, but here's my review, and a number of suggestions for next time, KEEPING IN MIND this is an Independent Film produced on a small budget no doubt:
Overall, the 3D is impressive, but needs fine tuning during certain (but not all) shots for the best results. Some shots, for example; the shot framed with the coffee table and couch, need zero adjustments and look great in 3D.

Having some in-depth experience myself with 3D software, consider the following:

3D Review: Blood of Ohma 3D is presented in the SIDE BY SIDE format, so two images blend into one when you set your 3DTV to Side by Side 3D and put on your glasses if required by your 3DTV. First, the 3D is powerful. Sometimes too powerful and other times just right, but definitely not conservative to the point you wonder if it's a 3D film or 2D. Everything either has great depth or pops out of the screen quite a distance, 2 to 3 foot pop out on my 32" screen. It definitely has some great 3D, but the execution could use adjustments in the following ways:
Keep in mind, this was likely the Filmmaker's first attempt with 3D and like any professional, a learning process is needed:

1. CONVERGENCE: Convergence is when you take the two images and crop them together till the foreground object (in most cases) is joined together as closely as possible, but not blended enough to go flat. By doing this, the background is pushed even farther into the screen, but MOST importantly, the sides of the screen are cropped so the objects on the sides are closer together to avoid seeing part of someone's head in one eye, and the other half completely off screen.
In this case, the entire part of the head would be mostly unseen, to avoid focus confusion. This is needed on a large number of shots throughout the film for proper viewing without eye strain. If a 3D program is good, convergence is the most basic slider parameter to adjust, and in most cases, absolutely necessary to apply to some degree for most 3D shots when there are objects in the fore, mid and background hitting the edges of the frame. Because many shots were left unconverged, the 3D is best viewed far back from the screen.

2. InterAxial Distance of Cameras: There are times when if you get too close to an object, and you don't adjust the distance the two cameras are positioned next to each other, you'll end up with a foreground 3D object that requires a severe adjustment of the eyes to focus on it, much like when you stick your finger 1" in front of your face and try to focus on it. Strong eye muscles required, and the solution is to reduce the distance the cameras are next to each other to reduce the 3D effect so it can be viewed more comfortably. There are several scenes in the film where this was overlooked and can cause quite a bit of eye strain, for example, when a branch with leaves enters the frame too close for the interaxial distance. Convergence in a 3D program would help reduce this, allowing the foreground leaves to be closer together, cropping the frame automatically.

3. Cameras in Sync: With a rig, both cameras must be fastened tightly, so there is zero unwanted movement in one, but not the other. In the film, you'll notice sometimes the one camera is moving slightly while the other camera remains solid. This doesn't cause much of a problem, but is noticeable during any ghosting.

4. Ghosting: Not an issue here. Ghosting is mostly when you have strong contrasts, a perfect example being Tron Legacy, where you have bright hard lines contrasting against black, dark backgrounds or vice versa. With today's current technology, either eye is unable to completely block out ALL light, so you end up seeing a slight double image of the other eye, in the black area of the screen.

Taking that into account, for the filmmaker's next 3D film, these issues can be avoided. Either way, there are plenty of powerful 3D shots here, some with such great depth that you're almost there. Much credit to the camera man in that regard, but would've been much easier to watch during certain shots where the above suggestions would work at making the 3D more pleasant and easier to watch. (If the filmmaker put this film back into the 3D software, adjustments can still be made I imagine, but moving on...)

---
Movie Review:
Having made home movies as a kid, I can appreciate all kinds of film styles from amateur home videos to professional movie making. In this case, the film has been presented in a documentary/home video style. Two Sony camera formats were used, one which looks fairly clear and sharp, with very little grain, and the Sony "Bloggle" (spelling) which is a preset 3D camera you can buy now, but at the cost of a more grainy/pixelated image and a slightly smudged look at times as a result of the pixelation. This is not a big deal considering the budget.
This film has decent editing overall, but here's some tips for any filmmaker starting out: When I refer to "home video style", I'm suggesting that there are scenes where stronger editing is needed, cutting on certain marks to enhance the tension and drama (like when Phil Farmer puts his hand on his pocket shirt, cut at that moment instead of zooming in on the sink with the pills and towel, of which don't give the viewer a necessary, crucial moment to progress the scene. If it's not necessary, cut it, as I have learned) On that note, much like when Lucas filmed Star Wars and he hated his first cut, he had an editor go in and edit the sandpeople scene and bar scene to really amp up the tension/action. It made a huge difference Lucas suggested. Faster cuts without lingering too long are the key. Detachment is needed if the filmmaker is doing the editing. "Does the audience really need to see this or should I cut it despite the fact I like the shot?"

The movie was interesting and comical for the style it's presented in, and has a very unique plot regarding how the Big Foot came about and how the Blood of the Big Foot has some strong scientific implications. Combine the interesting storyline with the lead scientist, who has a natural style of acting and did a nice job, and I was able to watch the film through to completion, entertained.
Keep in mind, as the filmmaker states, there are scenes made for a mature audience, so viewer discretion is advised. We do get to see Big Foot, but what makes this film watchable is the comical tone throughout depending on your sense of humor. I laughed pretty good during a number of scenes, though the second half tapers down with the comedy moments it seemed. A funny moment is when the Tourist in the shop yells to his wife if she need anything from the shop. Having just bought his son a loud drum to beat, she delivers a very funny line. (Laughing as I type). There are a number of these comical sprinkled moments throughout. Most intentional I imagine.
The story ended conclusively, and gives the viewer some food for thought. The pacing was mostly good, even clocking in at almost 2 hours (1:47), though some scenes could've been cut to speed up the tension.
The film also has some interesting making of 3D footage and trailers. Nice packaging and Blu Ray presentation.

MUSIC: (I'm no expert, but consider the following to improve the film)
-When the soundtrack is playing, the movie feels more professional. When it's not playing, it feels more like a home video, as the background sounds take over, where in a professional film, you'd never hear some of these ambient sound effects, since they create the sound FX from scratch in most cases, each sound having a purpose, and trivial sounds not being expressed onscreen (such as the sound of a tent crinkling loudly). I would strongly suggest wall to wall ambient music/soundscapes to really enhance the film. The ending credits Metal song sounds pretty cool by the way.

Ending Notes: The story kept me interested along with the actors and visuals. A fun watch given its human flaws and home video style. The 3D has great depth and pop, but with necessary fine tuning, could be exceptional. Having said that, it's nice to see shoestring budget films like Blood of Ohma being produced in 3D.

In the end, the filmmakers and actors look like they had a fun time making this film, and that energy helps the film. If you love it, keep making films.

[GMDFilms]

Wow Zivouhr, thanks so much for the very honest and thorough review of "Blood of Ohma".

Your notes and suggestions for better 3D are very much appreciated and I'll certainly utilize them (the best I can) the next time around.

I'm glad you enjoyed the film (for the most part) and again, I appreciate the time you took to publish such a helpful review.

- Paul Gorman