May 2008 Open Discussion Starter on the use of 3-D Space (depth) in 3-D Film

Dear LinkedIn 3-D Stereo Professionals Worldwide members,

The Stereo 3-D Professionals Group is still growing rapidly and now has 176 members. More and more it should be possible to network in the 3-D corner of the industry through the Group - or so I hope. Either way, with 176 members we should be able to have an interesting discussion about the topic of Stereoscopic 3-D production. Stereo 3-D as a film medium brings forth a few subjects of discussion that are, generally speaking, simply not debated. Sure, you may not want to discuss professional visions and ideas with your fellow 3-D filmmakers, but a healthy discussion can only lead to a better end product for everybody. Why else do people go to conferences and masterclasses in every conceivable industry and niche? So here is what I feel an important, nay, vital subject in 3-D cinematography of which I would love to hear your (professional) opinions.

One the biggest subjects of stereoscopic image creation is the functional use of depth and, specifically, the non-disruptive use of audience space (negative parallax). Ah, yes, the old eye-poking 3-D that makes a 3-D film both memorable as an experience and forgettable as a serious storytelling medium. It is one of the biggest challenges in 3-D cinematography: to find a good use of the 3rd dimension, both into screen space and outside of it, in theatre space. It is actually very hard to find artistic justification for eye-poking 3-D shots and they may well only really be classifiable as fairground-type entertainment. In a way this can be compared to finding a good, solid and justified use for the full CinemaScope and Cinerama screen width. It’s not impossible, but it is definitely a cinematographic challenge.

One opinion is that use of out of screen 3-D is acceptable as long as it doesn't interfere with the narrative flow, but that places such 3-D outside of the narrative process. Even so, how can non-interference be achieved? Can negative parallax be integrated properly into narrative flow at all? Are there any examples of properly integrated eye-poking 3-D you know of? Shots that come to my mind are the floating hunter robots in ‘T2:3D’ (Universal attraction), Jared-Syn’s arm in ‘Metalstorm’ and Van Gogh’s paint in ‘Medium’ (TV episode). The negative parallax in those shots serves a narrative function, is spectacular as an out-of-screen 'effect' and doesn't take the audience out of the movie. Suspension of disbelief is sustained.

It's a bit like wearing a big clown suit in a Shakespeare play: what are you going to do with it and how are you going to make it integrate into the serious performance? As a broader point the question CAN be asked if 3-D can actually surpass the fairground quality of its merits? Personally, I think 3-D should be approached as a form of theatre with the ability to move the camera around it all. In theatre, the audience space does sometimes get used as well, and this can be a very powerful effect, but this breakdown of the fourth wall carries a cost with it. It destroys the suspension of disbelief. I have always found camera access a difficult thing to look at in films and eye-poking 3-D is just that: admission of the presence of the audience, a camera and the fact that this is a 3-D film. How can we get around these obstacles and even turn them into merits to carry the story further than a 2D version of the film ever can?

I would love to hear your opinion on and, indeed, practical examples (maybe your own) of proper use of 3-D depth.

Best 3-D regards,

Alexander Lentjes
Stereoscopic 3-D Professionals Worldwide LinkedIn Group manager

www.the3drevolution.com
Tel. +44 1179 441 449

March 2008 Open Discussion Starter on information sharing within the 3-D Stereoscopic Industry

Dear LinkedIn 3-D Stereo Professionals Worldwide members,

My name is Alexander Lentjes and I am the group manager of the 3-D Stereo Professionals group. As LinkedIn does not give the opportunity to post questions to a particular group or have something of a bulletin board for groups, I'd like to use this e-mail opportunity to ask a group-wide question. A question that I feel is very important to start a discussion that may further 3-D Stereoscopic cinematography as a whole.

Would it not be beneficial for the 3-D cinematographic community to share knowledge on 3-D techniques and approaches?
Have a look at this short list of 3-D Stereoscopic film techniques:

- Warped, floating & animated stereo windows
- Active retinal, depth & sharpness rivalry
- Interocular discrepancy
- Parallax contraction & discrepancy
- Interocular & convergence animation
- Depth compression
- Active recentration

Do these terms sound familiar to you or are they completely unknown to you? They should be part of every stereographer’s cinematographic toolset, his 3-D dictionary, but are they? Are you using the same techniques in your cinematic stereography as your 3-D collegues and are you openly talking about them? Or is it all hush-hush, don’t let anybody know you’ve just discovered the non-symmetric camera frustum...

What sets the 3-D industry apart from regular film and video production more than anything else, besides a second camera? The secrecy surrounding 3-D shooting techniques and technology. All this cloak & dagger and unwillingness to communicate concepts and approaches has so far led to the repeated failing of an industry that should have enormous potential. Instead of building upon the knowledge of 200 years of stereo photography, every 3-D professional has had to discover the trade and its techniques all over again. This has kept 3-D film production a mysterious black art with very few true 3-D professionals to call upon for 3-D productions and very high production costs for those who do venture into a 3-D project. And even then, the knowledge is kept a secret and not shared with the rest of the audio-visual industry, preventing the possibility of building upon the existing knowledge, taking the medium of 3-D film making further and developing a 3-D film language. All elements that help bring production complication and cost down to 2-D levels, besides taking away the enormous confusion that exists surrounding 3-D.

Speaking from experience, most stereographers are unwilling to share knowledge, know-how, and even generic information on 3-D filming techniques. This is mainly due to an unjustified fear that they will be out of a job when everybody knows how to shoot 3-D and build 3-D cameras and camera rigs. Because how can an industry develop when the knowledge is obscured and mystified? 3-D hasn’t been stalled for 200 years because of technological difficulties – that never stopped regular film production and even large format film production. The current digital switch-over and HD filming technology are not going to make any difference to the success of 3-D in that respect. The same historic pattern of rise and fall over 30-year periods will keep happening to 3-D film unless the stereographic community starts cooperating, communicating and begins to open up the knowledge. There is no work in the future for the greedy stereographer if there is no further demand for 3-D film. Where would Hollywood be if its cameramen didn’t share knowledge about camera operation? Unthinkable, right?

This is besides the creative argument of 3-D film never having progressed beyond a stage of puberty, even before adolescence. Horror, fantasy, children’s movies and more horror are the mainstay of 3-D film subjects and until the day a serious movie proves that 3-D can be used to really enhance the narrative and character interaction in a movie, rather than just poke the audience in the eyes and give them a glorified nickelodeon, 3-D film language cannot evolve and take the next steps in its cinematographic evolution.

I would love to hear from you and your opinions on these matters of 3-D Stereoscopic Cinematography and the future of 3-D Film production. Should enough response come my way, it could be interesting to put the forthcoming dialogues online on the 3-D Stereoscopic Professionals Worldwide page. That is, if you want to talk about 3-D Cinematography in the first place, of course.

Kind regards,

Alexander Lentjes
3-D Revolution Productions

www.the3drevolution.com
Tel. +44 1179 441 449