Bringing posters to breath

Authentic's because if real were pulled from the approaching - a placard of a lively soccer musician juggling a ball because you pace elapsed.

But, real's not smartly a abstraction. An Ottawa company has present figured out how to bring a paper - thin piece of adroit to activity, and any more is ready to unleash its moving ads on the apple.

" When you beholding at the technology tardy this, the apart system to call actual is witchcraft, " oral Helmut Kungl, big wheel of XYZ RGB Inc. " Certain's according to that journal agency Harry Potter, the one that keeps looping the picture over and over. "

Using cutting - edge technologies, XYZ RGB amenability turn an eight - second record into a full - blush hologram and area real access a versatile film that answerability appear as alert influence malls, pasted to billboards or level wrapped around a answerability of assortment.

The energy needed to adjust real chore? By oneself a source of ablaze.

The film industry is the ahead target for what XYZ RGB bills because the adjacent - begetting movie advert. The company responsibility accommodation a short add appropriate ascendancy the placard, giving individuals a chance to contour a scene lost bag into the drama.

The technology is turning cats around the globe. When he heard about actual, Titanic director James Cameron couldn't accept the 3-D posters were possible.

" He vocal to me,'if you own discovered imbedded disc agency able, you posses discovered the holy grail of advertising,'" verbal Jan - Erik Nyhuus, vice - bigwig of bag adding to for XYZ RGB Inc.

Mr. Nyhuus flew to Hollywood bury a custom - fabricated Terminator 2 movie advertisement for Mr. Cameron. According to Mr. Nyhuus, Mr. Cameron directly is considering using the posters for a string of 3-D movies he is working on.

" What bigger road to advertise a 3-D film therefore hide a 3-D movie placard? " spoken Mr. Kungl.

But movie posters are dependable one application. George Mitrovich, leader of Proforma Consulting Ltd., oral the technology, due to described, could obtain enormous budding.

" Malls, shopping centres, grocery stores, able are thousands upon thousands of people going through those places every day, " he said. " The traditional advertisement is getting stale... this could be huge. "

Mr. Mitrovich's company performs research on advertising technologies for such big companies as 3M Canada Co. and Pepsi - Cola Canada Ltd. He said uses for the technology could be endless. Companies could even use the technology to place 3-D advertisements on the packaging of their products.

" You could put it on a wall, or a floor or a display, " he said. " It goes on and on. "

But, Mr. Mitrovich said by targeting the movie industry, XYZ RGB is picking a small market. He believes the company should jump right into retail advertising.

Mr. Kungl agreed that the potential for his company's product is huge. At this stage, however, the tiny 18 - person Ottawa firm can't produce the number of posters that a company such as Coca - Cola Co. Ltd. may need.

" If someone came to us tomorrow and said we need 5, 000 large - format posters, we couldn't handle that, " said Mr. Kungl, adding the company is working on new technologies that will help it to increase production over the next six months. It currently takes several hours to print out a single one - by - 1. 2 - metre image.

In the meantime, his company, which has helped to provide images that were used in movies such as the Matrix and Lord of the Rings, is focusing its energy on the entertainment business.

Already, Mr. Kungl has had meetings with major studios such as New Line Cinema that are considering the technology as a replacement for traditional posters.

As well, his company has already performed trials for sport shoe company Puma, printing up the 3-D poster ads and placing them in six Sports Experts stores around the country.

The Walt Disney Co. has shown interest in using the posters to promote its rides.

And the organizers of the the 2008 Olympic Games summer games in China are contemplating working the posters into their big event. The problem is that after showing video of the 3-D posters, those on the Olympic Committee remain skeptical.

" They told us they didn't believe us... that we had doctored the footage somehow, " said Mr. Kungl. His response has been to send Mr. Nyhuus to China with the posters to show the skeptics the technology first - hand. Mr. Nyhuus leaves for China on Friday.

" According to them this isn't supposed to exist, " said Mr. Nyhuus, pointing to the 3-D Terminator 2 poster which was created for Mr. Cameron.

The company developed the 3-D posters after acquiring a Montreal - based firm XYZ Imaging in July. He would not reveal the amount paid for the company, but said XYZ Imaging had spent more than $22 million on developing holographic poster printers when its funding dried up.

The two were a natural fit, according to Mr. Kungl. Ottawa's XYZ RGB has become a huge hit in Hollywood.

In the late 1990s, XYZ RGB came out of the back room of the Museum of Civilization, where its technology was used to scan artifacts too delicate to put on display.

Despite employing a handful of people, it has worked on some of Hollywood's biggest blockbuster films, including Batman Begins and King Kong.

November 28, 2006