Merry's 3D live action short to debut at Darklight Film Festival

BEST KNOWN as YouTube viral phenomenon “Groovy Dancing Girl”, Sophie Merry is the writer, director and star of Ireland’s first 3D live action short film, to be debuted at the Darklight Film Festival later this month.

Shot in stereoscopic 3D, Clockheaduses two cameras acting as a left and right eye and calibrated precisely on a specially designed rig. It was produced using cutting-edge post-production technology from the technical Academy Award-winning Sigmedia research group based at Trinity College Dublin.

Prof Anil Kokaram of Sigmedia approached Ms Merry, now a director with Jumper Productions, to work on the short film on the back of her internet fame.

Ms Merry’s YouTube clips have been seen over eight million views of her videos and her background in animation was an important addition to the creative process.

While 3D is normally associated with Hollywood blockbusters and action films Ms Merry says that it was purposely "used in a lo-fi way to look a little experimental" and with a nod to the quirky visual style of Michel Gondry, the director behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Ms Merry’s background with the Dublin-based Jam Media animation studio led to the incorporation of 2D animated elements within the film: “There is a scene where the 3D dancing has 2D animation to make it look like a puppet theatre.”

“We wanted to mix advanced technology with the arts but also make it more accessible”, she says, adding that there will be a stereoscopic 3D workshop before the screening. “We want to show exactly how we shot the film and demystify 3D. The cost of the equipment used means that it is not yet very accessible for young filmmakers on a budget. We were lucky to be able to use this technology but I do think that within a few years 3D filming could be within reach for many.”

Going with the Darklight ethos the 3D workshop is open to filmmakers and amateurs alike in the hope that a close up look at what Ms Merry says is essentially based on mimicking the combined views of the left and right eye, will open it up to those put off by the advanced technology involved in the process. With funding from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Clockhead is a showcase of the unique post-production software developed by Sigmedia and is part of the group’s larger SFI-funded research programme.

Earlier this year another video technology company founded by Prof Kokaram, Green Parrot Pictures, was acquired by Google’s YouTube division.

The video editing tools available on YouTube were recently upgraded and include the ability to remove “shake” from clips, which uses Green Parrot’s technology.

Prior to the Google purchase Green Parrot's technology had been used in a number of major Hollywood productions including Lord of the Rings, Spider-Manand King Kong.