White Plains, N.Y. - The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) announced that Oscar, Emmy, and BAFTA award winner Rob Legato will speak at DCS 2011 at NAB. Legato, a highly regarded visual effects supervisor, director, and director of photography and an expert in virtual and 3D production, will discuss his work on the highly anticipated 3D project from director Martin Scorsese, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, scheduled for release Thanksgiving 2011.
Legato will speak on Saturday, 9 April 2011, at 1:30 p.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center in the South Hall Rooms S222/223. Spanning cinema, broadcast, and broadband, DCS 2011 is co‐produced by SMPTE and NAB and draws leading motion
‐imaging technologists, researchers, scientists, practitioners, manufacturers, and strategic thinkers to the annual event. This year’s gathering is themed “Advances in Image and Sound: 3D, 4K, and Beyond.” Register today at www.smpte.org/events/DCS2011.
Legato will address how the intentional use of 3D for its artistic merits can enhance the depth and breadth of character, locale, and story and, as a result, give audiences a more sophisticated appetite for feature films shot in 3D. He will also discuss the digital pre‐visualization used to streamline and accelerate the 3D production of
Hugo Cabret.
“Hugo Cabret is one of the first primarily dramatic feature films to be entirely photographed in Digital Stereo. Not relying on typical Action, Adventure or Visual effects normally reserved for this technology, this drama totally embraces 3D solely for its artistic merits and unique ability to enhance the depth and breadth of character, locale, and story,” says Legato. “Martin Scorsese produced, designed, and directed every setup of this film specifically in 3D to explore and enhance the creative storytelling opportunities of this new art form.”
“We are now to the point that 3D is becoming part of the art form, not a production afterthought,” explains SMPTE president Pete Ludé. “We’re thrilled to have Rob Legato–a creative visionary who has already has an amazing body of work to his credit– discuss the technologies that are enabling this shift to take place.”
Over the years, Legato has worked with Martin Scorsese in varying roles, including second unit director/cameraman and visual effects supervisor on The Aviator and
Shutter Island and second unit director/cameraman on
The Departed.
Legato also served as second‐unit director/cameraman and visual effects supervisor for Robert DeNiro’s
The Good Shepherd and as second unit director for
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. He was also visual effects supervisor for
Apollo 13,
Cast Away,
Titanic, and
What Lies Beneath, and senior effects director for
Bad Boys II.
In addition to his production credits, Legato created and conceived the virtual cinematography pipeline and created the prototype of the virtual camera rig for Avatar.