The IMAX Hubble 3D movie is getting rave reviews, and some of that is due to the contributions of the NCSA Visualization team. The team from the NCSA created some massive 5616×4096 sequences for the movie.
“NCSA’s visualization team brought exceptional talent and expertise to this project,” said producer/director Toni Myers. “With software and skill and an artistic eye, they brought the science of the Hubble telescope to life.”
The team at NCSA—including Robert Patterson, Stuart Levy, Alex Betts, Matthew Hall, and AJ Christensen—worked for six months on their contributions to Hubble 3D, using their VirtualDirector software and a state-of-the-art 4k resolution digital 3D display to view the work in progress and interactively choreograph shots with Myers and STScI astrophysicist Frank Summers.
The press release claims they contributed ‘600-billion pixels’, a rather pointless metric to go by but one that definitely sounds good for PR. Some back of the napkin math:
- 5616 * 4096 = 23-Megapixels (Mp) per frame
- 23Mp * 24fps = 552Mp per second
- 600Billion / 552Million/s = 1086s, or 18 Minutes
18 Minutes sounds a bit long to me, but it’s probably spread over several sections of the 48-minute movie, and I’m sure some of it wound up on the cutting room floor.
Nonetheless, Contratulations NCSA!
via NCSA visualizations featured in Hubble 3D.
Update: The NCSA’s Bill Bell informs us that just over 10 minutes made the final cut.
