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.
The project was created to experiment with a new type of 3D film technology pioneered by Peter Anderson and producer Steve Schklair. After considering shooting American football games in 3D, Schklair's company 3ality Digital decided to create a concert film with U2. The band was hesitant to participate, but agreed to the project mainly as a technological experiment rather than a profit-making venture. Although set in Buenos Aires, U2 3D was shot at seven concerts across Latin America, and two in Australia. The film's complex setup involved shooting with up to 18 3D cameras simultaneously and capturing the footage digitally.
After a preview screening at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, U2 3D premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and had its limited theatrical release in late January 2008, followed by its wide release the following month. The film was distributed by National Geographic Entertainment and was only released in IMAX 3D and digital 3D theaters. It peaked at number 19 at the United States box office, and earned over $26 million worldwide, ranking as one of the highest-grossing concert films. It received widely positive reviews, with critics praising the 3D technology and innovation. U2 3D won several awards, and its reception convinced some of the creators that the project marked a paradigm shift in filmmaking.
Synopsis U2 3D depicts a U2 concert in Buenos Aires during the band's Vertigo Tour. In the beginning of the film, a voice is heard chanting "everyone" in a crowd-filled stadium, followed by fans running through the venue. U2 begin the concert with "Vertigo", followed by ten more songs in the main set. Images are shown throughout the concert on the stage's LED display. Political and social statements are made during some songs, including "Sunday Bloody Sunday", during which the word "coexista" is spelled out on-screen through various religious symbols, and "Miss Sarajevo", where an excerpt from the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights is read aloud by a narrator. The main set ends with "One", after which the group leave the stage. They return for an encore and perform "The Fly", during which a succession of words and phrases appear on the stage's LED display and are superimposed into the film. U2 end the show with "With or Without You" and leave the stage for the final time. As the closing credits begin, a live performance of "Yahweh" is heard as animations from the stage's LED display are shown. U2 reappear on stage in a mid-credits scene performing the end of the song.
Production Background
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. Noting how 3D films out-performed 2D films, they also wanted their next project to be in the IMAX 3D format. While looking for a new digital 3D technology medium, the Shapiros met producer Steve Schklair, founder of Cobalt Entertainment in 2000. Schklair had recently developed a digital 3D filming technique known as "active depth cut", which allowed for smooth cuts between shots that would normally not line up when filmed in 3D. This was done using motion control photography and real-time image processing to create a realistic 3D experience without subjecting the viewer to excessive motion sickness or eye strain. It was intended to be an inexpensive and effective way to shoot live events such as concerts or sports. With the help of John and David Modell, former owners of the Baltimore Ravens American football team, the digital 3D technology was tested at several National Football League (NFL) games in the 2003 season, including Super Bowl XXXVIII. Cobalt showed the footage to the NFL, hoping to create an NFL-based 3D IMAX film. While waiting for a response, the Shapiros proposed the idea of creating a 3D concert film for IMAX theaters. Although All Access had showcased several artists, the Shapiros now wanted to focus on a single act, and being U2 fans, suggested the band as a potential subject. Schklair felt U2 would be a good choice for the film due to their large concert setups and their constant movement while performing, both of which would provide good depth of field for 3D effects.
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. During that time, he befriended Catherine Owens, who served as the group's art director since their 1992 Zoo TV Tour.
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. Shapiro explained that the technology was not that developed and simply wanted to document the tour itself in 3D, but Owens was not interested in making a film of the band, fearing it would interfere with the tour, so she declined the offer. After Shapiro showed Owens the 3D footage of the NFL games, Owens expressed interest in directing the proposed film, despite having no previous experience. According to bassist Adam Clayton, U2 were not interested in making another concert film, but Owens "pushed it down [their] throats". Once the band viewed the test shots, frontman Bono expressed interest in the project and convinced his bandmates to commit. Since U2 had already experimented with video technology in the past, they were interested in the project as a technological experiment rather than a means to make profit, and as a means to share the live experience with fans who could not afford concert tickets.
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 were dissatisfied with their 1988 rockumentary feature film, Rattle and Hum, which mixed backstage footage and interviews with concert performances. The filmmakers decided that U2 3D would only have concert footage. The producers originally wanted to shoot in Los Angeles where all the filming equipment was located, but Owens and the band decided they needed a more enthusiastic audience. U2 ultimately chose to film in five cities in Latin America from February to March 2006, believing their absence from the region for eight years would foster an energetic atmosphere. The only one of the eight Latin American shows that was not shot was the first in Monterrey, Mexico. The project enabled U2 to share the outdoor stadium concerts with audiences in the US, where the band only performed at indoor arenas on the Vertigo Tour.
Filming
U2 3D 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. The project's large scale prompted 3ality Digital to work with director James Cameron—their chief competitor at the time. 3ality used their own 3flex TS1 camera rigs for filming, in addition to five Fusion 3D rigs, designed by Cameron and camera operator Vincent Pace. A total of 18 Sony CineAlta HDC-F950 cameras were used for filming, with two cameras on each rig. The cameras were fitted with Zeiss digital zoom lenses, making U2 3D the first 3D film shot using a zoom lens. One of the Fusion 3D camera rigs was used as a Spydercam and became the first 3D aerial camera. The cameras on each rig were spaced eye-distance apart to create a 3D effect in post-production. Using a beam splitter mounted to the camera rig, one camera shot through a 50/50 mirror, while the other shot the image reflected from that mirror. Each rig weighed an average of . All of the concert footage was shot with twin-camera rigs, except for the two Melbourne shoots, where a single CineAlta camera with a Steadicam was also used to capture close-ups. The cameras captured high-definition video onto HDCAM SR recording decks, which enabled the crew to capture an entire concert.
Five crew members were required to work on each rig simultaneously to ensure that the focus on both cameras were synchronized. After one camera was destroyed when a concert security guard tossed buckets of water onto the audience, the crew waterproofed the remaining cameras. Due to Owens' limited directing experience prior to production, some of the filming in South America was directed by Mark Pellington, who previously worked with U2 on the "One" music video. Pellington was not involved in post-production, leaving Owens responsible for the remaining aspects of the project, including creative direction and editing.
+Filmed concertsDateLocationVenue1 February 15, 2006 Mexico City, Mexico Estadio Azteca2 February 16, 20063 February 20, 2006 São Paulo, Brazil Estádio do Morumbi4 February 21, 20065 February 26, 2006 Santiago, Chile Estadio Nacional de Chile6 March 1, 2006 Buenos Aires, Argentina River Plate Stadium7 March 2, 20068 November 18, 2006 Melbourne, Australia Telstra Dome9 November 19, 2006
The concerts were filmed in a style which Owens described as "very unorthodox"; no storyboards or shooting scripts were used to ensure footage of U2's performances was improvised. Instead of being directed, U2 performed each of their concerts as usual, with the filming crew capturing footage in real time for the full -hour concerts. The shoots were planned such that the band's performance and the audience's view was uninterrupted. To avoid capturing other camera rigs in the footage, the crew would either film from the back of the stage, or alternate each night between shooting left-to-right and right-to-left. Several shows were edited together to create one performance; therefore, U2 were required to wear the same clothes every night to maintain continuity. Additional spotlights were focused on the audience during filming, and the lighting was dimmed on the stage's LED display. 110 microphones were used to record the concert audio, which included microphones placed on the main stage and around the two B-stages to record the band, and microphones placed throughout the venue to record the audience.