Another dimension for director

By Madeleine Marr12/15/2010

Even though it's a bigger challenge for a director, Jon Chu loves working in 3D. For Step Up 3D, out on DVD Tuesday12/21, the California native took to the streets of New York City to bring the world of grav- ity-defying, urban-dance squads to life -- almost liter- ally. It definitely wasn't easy. "We had to make decisions about how to enhance dimen- sion or to keep dimension more subtle to tell that story," said Chu, who made his directorial debut with Step Up 2: The Streets.

"The technical part was tricky, too. There are two cam- eras for every shot. One to depict your right eye and one for your left eye." But now it's the only medium Chu, 32, wants to work in. Next to hit the big screen is his documentary on Justin Bieber, Never Say Never. It was a blast to shoot. "I just love that 3D can com- municate different ideas -- it's a different paint, like oil and watercolor," Chu says. ‘‘It's not for all movies, but for movies like these it can do wonders."

In Never Say Never, audiences can get up close and personal with the teen singing sensation. ‘‘It really got my juices flowing -- being on stage in Madison Square Garden sur- rounded by 20,000 people," Chu says. "We got to experi- ment and create new rules."