U2 3D came to life through the passion and production savvy of 3ality Digital, one of the world’s leading live-action, full service production companies specializing in advanced 3-D technology. The project leveraged the collective skills of executive producers Sandy Climan (3ality CEO and entertainment industry veteran) and Michael Peyser (“Ruthless People,” “SLC Punk”), executive producer David Modell and producer John Modell (former owners of the NFL world-champion Baltimore Ravens), producers Jon and Peter Shapiro (“Curious George,” IMAX‘s “All Access,” Wetlands rock club) and 3-D and digital image producer Steve Schklair (technology pioneer and CEO of 3ality Digital Systems).

The inspiration to shoot the biggest band in the world in concert using a revolutionary cinematic medium came after Schklair conceived a radically different approach to shooting in 3-D.  By utilizing in-camera motion control and real-time image processing, and by eliminating the headache-causing imperfections that plagued 3-D movies made with analog film cameras over the past century, the 3ality digital process is able to capture an event as dynamic as a U2 stadium performance.  Schklair knew that the Shapiro brothers, after shooting a multi-act 2-D concert film, were looking for a more flexible, portable and cost-effective way to shoot live events such as concerts and sports for the big screen; they felt that 3-D would completely enhance the audience’s immersion into and connection with what they were experiencing on screen as if it were a virtual reality.  Together with the like-minded Modell brothers, a well-known family of pioneers in football and media, they developed the 3ality Digital 3-D camera system and put it through its paces at a few NFL games including Super Bowl XXXVIII.  It was footage from those tests that convinced these innovators to pitch U2, their favorite live band, to front the first-ever concert film in digital 3-D.  Peter Shapiro connected with Catherine Owens and convinced her to see this futuristic 3-D medium; she immediately saw the potential and lobbied the band to take a chance on the new technology, which was very intriguing to them conceptually.

After shooting a single-camera test during an early “Vertigo” tour concert at the Anaheim Pond, 3ality ultimately received the thumbs-up from U2 to travel and shoot on the road with the band in South America, with Owens as director.  “Bono felt that if we were going to do this right, we had to do it in South America, since the band’s presence after an eight-year hiatus from the continent was certain to draw vibrant and enthusiastic crowds” explained Peter Shapiro.

With what became the largest collection of 3-D camera technology ever used on a single project, the 3ality Digital production crew joined up with U2’s globe-trotting caravan for a month and shot the huge outdoor stadium shows (not seen in North America) at cities in four countries including Mexico City, Mexico; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; and Buenos Aires, Argentina.  All told, over 100 hours of digital 3-D footage was shot, documenting a set list that includes such seminal U2 songs as “Pride (In the Name of Love),” “New Year’s Day,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “Miss Sarajevo,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “With or Without You,” “Bullet the Blue Sky,” “The Fly” and “One,” as well as more recent tracks such as “Beautiful Day,” “Love and Peace or Else,” “Vertigo,” “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” and “Yahweh.”

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