U2 3D (2008)

Interesting facts

• Filmed in: Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Mexico, and Chile

U2 3D is a 2008 American-produced concert film featuring rock band U2 performing during the Vertigo Tour in 2006. Directed by Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington, the film contains performances of 14 songs, including tracks from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), the album that the tour supported. The concert footage includes political and social statements made during the shows. It is the band's second feature film, following their 1988 rockumentary Rattle and Hum. Among several cinematic firsts, U2 3D was the first live-action digital 3D film.

Production

In 2001, producers Jon and Peter Shapiro created a 2D IMAX concert film titled All Access, which featured live performances of several musicians. Due to the difficulty of using conventional IMAX film stock that had to be replaced every three minutes of shooting, the Shapiros wanted to use digital technology for their next project, which could easily be upscaled to the IMAX format without loss of quality.

The Modells' collaboration with U2 for the film was facilitated by their involvement with the band in researching LED display technology in 1997 for use at Ravens Stadium at Camden Yards. At the time, the only giant LED display in existence was being used by U2 on their PopMart Tour. To learn about the technology, John Modell toured with U2 on-and-off for a period of six months.

Unable to contact U2 manager Paul McGuinness, Peter Shapiro instead proposed the idea to Owens. The latter was researching art content for the upcoming Vertigo Tour and thought the concept could be used to show 3D video as part of U2's concerts.

Pre-production for U2 3D officially started in early 2004, and the production was handled by 3ality Digital, a company formed from Schklair's Colbalt Entertainment and his partnership with the Modells and the Shapiros. Midway through the year, Bono agreed to let the 3ality Digital crew record test footage, which was accomplished using a single 3D camera at one of U2's Vertigo Tour concerts in Anaheim, California in March 2005.

U2 3D's production featured the first 3D multiple-camera setup and was shot using every digital 3D camera and recording deck in existence. The crew had two days to set up the filming equipment before each concert, which required running fiber-optic cables and hooking up an electrical generator to supply power at each venue. The filming equipment consisted of nine custom-built 3D rigs.

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