Hosted by Tom Cavanagh, comedian/costar of 3D Yogi Bear, the 2nd annual International 3D Society 3D Creative Arts Awards were held at Hollywood’s Grauman’s Chinese Theater. To up the ante from last year, this event was taped for post production and eventual broadcast as a two-hour special on 3net, a joint venture between Sony Corporation, Discovery Communications, and IMAX Corporation that is billed as a 24/7 3D network. Discovery just announced that 3net will go live on February 13 at 8:00 PM ET on DirecTV, the first carrier for the 3D TV network.

3ality Digital produced the show, capturing and recording the evening’s event for later editing. Producer Ted Kenney noted that this year’s show, directed by Paul Miller, was significantly bigger than last year’s. “My goal is to show off the technology,” he said. “It’s a way to thank the 3D community.” Kenney added a stage in front of the red carpet, as well as a stage inside the theater, placed center-center. One of the more interesting details was that the show was produced from an ordinary 2D truck equipped mostly with Sony gear. “People think you need a 3D truck, but you don’t,” said Kenney. “You can integrate the 3ality gear into a 2D truck.”

3ality producer Ted Kenney

Cameras were two Sony HDC-1500s on 3ality rigs and a Sony HDC-P1 on a Steadicam and gib. Inside the theater, two Sony 1500s on pedestals were complemented by two back-of-the-house HDC-1500s. The handheld HDC-P1 from the red carpet moved to the inside of the theater during the event. Most of the equipment and much of the labor to produce the show was donated for the event.

The 43-foot 2D truck, where switching was handled by technical director Gene Crowe, was integrated with a neighboring truck where the live 3D magic happened. 3ality stereographer Nick Brown oversaw a group of four convergence experts, each one handling the convergence for a single camera. The output of the feed was parallel recorded to both SRW-5800 tape and an Abekas hard disc recorder. “Calling the shots live, you have to make certain sacrifices,” said Brown, who has been stereographer for close to 50 live multi-camera shows worldwide. “In general, we call the show more conservatively to compensate for unexpected things happening.” The convergence experts work on the luma-difference view which, says Brown, allows them to be extremely accurate. “With glasses, the eyes are forgiving,” he noted. “They watch without glasses so they can set for 1 percent deviation. You can control it much better without glasses.”

The big winners of the evening were The Walt Disney Studio, which garnered five “Lumiere Awards” and the “People’s Choice Award for Favorite 3D Movie – Animation.” Lenny Lipton, a pioneer in 3D and Executive Board Member of the 3D Society, was feted with the Century Award for Lifetime Achievement by producer Jon Landau. The awards were selected in a vote by the Society’s 400 members.

Inside the Sony 2D truck

The winners are:

LIVE ACTION 3D FEATURE OF THE YEAR: TRON Legacy – The Walt Disney Studios

ANIMATED 3D FEATURE OF THE YEAR: How to Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation (DWA)

SHORT 3D MOTION PICTURE/NARRATIVE: Day & Night – Pixar

BEST 3D DOCUMENTARY: Hubble 3D – IMAX

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT OF 2D TO 3D CONVERTED FEATURE: Alice in Wonderland – The Walt Disney Studio and Sony Imageworks

3D LIVE EVENT: Black Eyed Peas 3D: Live – AEG Live

BEST 3D SCENE OF THE YEAR: Tangled – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

BEST 3D STEREOGRAPHY – LIVE ACTION: Tron: Legacy – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

BEST 3D STEREOGRAPHY – ANIMATED: How to Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation (DWA)

2010 “PEOPLE’S CHOICE  AWARD: FAVORITE 3D LIVE ACTION MOVIE:  The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – 20th Century Fox

2011 PEOPLE’S CHOICE  AWARD: FAVORITE 3D ANIMATED MOVIE: Toy Story 3 – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Century Award: Lifetime Achievement Lenny Lipton

Harold Lloyd Award: James Cameron, Lightstorm Entertainment

3D Video Game:  Call of Duty: Black Ops – Activision/Blizzard

3D Excellence in TV Footage: Beijing Olympics – Panasonic Corporation

3D Television Award: Entertainment/Music: Dance, Dance, Dance – BSkyB

3D Talent Award Jay Baruchel, as “Hiccup” – How to Train Your Dragon