The Worth of the Accessories.

In this blog I've brought up some accessories for cameras, monitors, glasses and other technologies which allow for 3D to be views better, or more often, or in a different way. This week I saw a new "viewer" called TOYin3D, a viewer which enables any smart phone to play 3d content by showing side by side video which it then pulls into a singular, stereoscopic image. The technology is cool in that it is another way for the masses to view 3d content and enables on the go 3D viewing, but is it viable? Among all of the new technologies and accessories out there for this purpose which I've stumbled across, I've noticed that they all seem to share this common problem. Who would use such a thing? Does it have a real place in the marketplace? 

I've read so many articles over the past few months about 3D television (and essentially post box office 3D films), being a dying art. That until the technology is easier or more widespread, it'll never be in the fore front. Last Sunday, six Oscar's were awarded to 3D movies (with categories including Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects), more so than ever before. The art form is at arguably its greatest place to date and I have to think that all of these articles are further from the truth. And then I see TOYin3D. Maybe the disconnection is in the accessories. Recently, 3D viewing accessories and toys has been popping up all over the place. They seem to be often marketed under the notion that 3D offers a better or cooler version of the entertainment, but in a way I often interpret as gimmicky or juvenile. I've still YET to see Life of Pi, but everyone I talk to who has seen it speaks so highly of the film, in ways far from juvenile and gimmicky. Obviously it is unfair to compare two completely different mediums, but since both live within stereoscopy, the question is: Do small 3D gimmicks hurt the big picture?

http://www.toyin3d.com/

3D Truck Stop Ads!

Hey All!

Apologies on the late post, I've had a crazy week already and it's only Tuesday! This week I wanted to share an article I found on a new 3D ad campaign and a bit of technology I which I don't fully understand but I'm hoping Chris can clarify tomorrow.

I'm studying digital marketing and new media techniques as a part of my graduate program and recently have noticed 3D being utilized more and more into advertisements and marketing campaigns. The key to advertising is engagement and 3D media is so engaging that advertisers have been searching for better ways to integrate 3D technology in to ads for years. The problem is 3D's Achilles heel, the glasses. It's just not realistic to think that one day everyone will carry around a pair of glasses for the purpose of looking at billboards. Recently however, developments allowing for glasses free, 3D viewing, have seemed to change the game. I've brought up some of this technology in previous blog posts and while exciting, it's still years away from widespread development. This week, I stumbled upon an article which discusses Warner Bros. involvement with Travel Plaza TV network in marketing their upcoming 3D movies with 3D trailers. The network (which broadcasts in travel stops such as Flying J and Pilot, nationwide) has developed a way to show the trailers in 3D, glasses free! They designed a way to include an extra layer within the screen which they describe as essentially putting the glasses on the TV. The article uses a picture diagram to demonstrate this effect, but I'm still quite unsure exactly how it works. Either way, the development is exciting and the ads will be launching in the beginning of March. So, the next time you're on a roadie and make a stop, be on the look out for some 3D advertisements!

The full article can be read here: http://www.dtvusaforum.com/news/back-to-the-future-style-3d-advertising-without-glasses-warner-bros-is-on-board-51519/

Nightmare in 3D!

Hey All,

Over the weekend I shot Reverse Window and had my first taste directing a 3D project. It was a great experience and manipulating the disparity throughout the shoot allowed me to get a better feel on how to utilize depth appropriately, while following the 1/30 rule.

This week, I wanted to share some stereograph art from Joel Fletcher. Fletcher is a photographer and stop motion animator who worked on many different hollywood projects in his career, of the most famous, The Nightmare Before Christmas. While on set, he took many photos of the sets and characters  using a stereo rig on Kodachrome slidefilm. He later digitized and transformed many into anaglyph format which resulted in some awesome Jack Skellington nightmare pics.

What I found most notable of his efforts though is the amount of depth he was able to capture and include. Many of the pics have household locations and also choose interesting elements to highlight (checkout the parallax within the mirror). Hopefully, some of the pics will provide some inspiration in the weeks to come!

More of Joel Fletcher's Anaglyph 3D Nightmare Before Christmas pictures can be seen here: http://www.joelfletcher.com/3d-nightmare.html 

Tech Dose: 3D w/One Camera?

This week while researching for my blog post topic, I found a great website on 3D technology and development: http://www.stereoscopynews.com/.

It is there where I found a posting for a single lens capable of producing 3D images. Made by Samsung, the lens is the first of it's type and uses liquid crystal "doors" to split the lens and alternately block light from one and the other. By interlacing the images from both perspectives together, a 3D image is produced. The lens will be interchangeable in the brand's compact system camera (csc). I'm not sure of the specifications yet or how adjustable the settings will be but it'll be interesting to watch and see how this technology develops. Whether or not it becomes a viable alternative from traditional 3D shooting methods will be the question.

The full article can be seen here: http://www.stereoscopynews.com/hotnews/3d-cinema/shooting-cameras-rigs/2884-samsung-first-single-lens-3d-camera.html