Third Magazine » Vintage 3D

Classic Friday: Stereoviews of old Japan

"Mitch" — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:04:59 +0000

“In the late 19th and early 20th century, enigmatic photographer T. Enami (1859-1929) captured a number of 3D stereoviews depicting life in Meiji-period Japan.”

Below are a few images from a wonderful gallery, we suggest you check out the rest here.

Source: http://pinktentacle.com/2009/10/animated-stereoviews-of-old-japan/

Tips: thanks Carlee!

Youtube now has a 3D channel!

"Mitch" — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:03:10 +0000

That’s right! Youtube now has a anaglyph 3D channel. This could really help in inspiring new and independent content. Plus it looks like there are about 14 different 3D formats/styles that you can view some of the views in via drop down menu…

Old 3D – Things haven’t changed too much

The James — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:54:43 +0000

Today over at Gizmodo there is a short write up on a very old school 3D projector, the Stereo Realist Model 81 3-D Slide Projector. Don’t worry though, UK’s Channel 4 and Virgin Media aren’t attempting to pass this off as a new home theater system, even though their new 20 year old technology is now available on demand (in case your cardboard glasses fell apart before you were able to catch the Miley Cyrus Concert). This old slide projector was manufactured in 1950, looking a little like Darth Vadar and weighing about as much as a young grizzly bear, it boasted stereo imagery.

Although this projector may look ancient compared to modern projection methods, conceptually, things haven’t changed a whole lot when it comes to how we view 3D. This allows for a perfect opportunity to present a quick refresher on 3D. It’s really pretty simple. If each of our eyes sees the same image from a slightly different perspective, our brains will create the illusion of depth. This concept still applies to modern 3D methods and was the basis of the giant old style projector above. The only thing that has really changed over the years is how we isolate the images to be viewed separately by each eye, and even that hasn’t changed drastically. The old Stereo Realist used red and blue glasses to cancel out opposing images. This method is still common today (we are talking about you Channel 4). But modern technology has allowed other methods that can optimize the image including polarization and shutter style glasses. So 3D imagery is actually a pretty archaic concept, but with modern viewing methods the future applications are becoming quite interesting.

Flashback: Spooky frogs

The James — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:44:03 +0000

Since 3D film is definitely not new territory in the entertainment world I thought it might be interesting to take a look at back at some of the pioneer work in the industry. 1953 saw the release of “The Maze” in black and white 3D, a chilling tale about…well…a maze of all things. Although the trailer explicitly instructs all of us to keep the ending a secret, it has been 56 years, so I don’t feel bad about telling you it’s a frog. Yep, that’s the twist. There is a scary frogman. Trust me, frogs were much scarier in the ’50s. Check out the trailer.