8mm Forum: 3D is kaput once more!

This is topic 3D is kaput once more! in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=003863

Posted by Stuart Reid (Member # 1460) on March 10, 2016, 10:57 AM:

Samsung is dropping 3D from its new range of televisions: https://www.avforums.com/article/in-memoriam-the-death-of-3d-tv.12427

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on March 10, 2016, 11:25 AM:

Nothing more than a flash in the pan gimmick Stuart.

Resolution and sound quality are far more important to me.

Posted by Steven J Kirk (Member # 1135) on March 10, 2016, 01:34 PM:

Not surprised. I have never been a fan of 3D and never thought it would become a TV standard. Only ever a gimmick. TV makers and broadcasting companies must have lost a fortune on it. The BBC ditched it after the 2013 Dr Who special. That was one of the last.

Posted by Del Phillipson (Member # 513) on March 10, 2016, 02:06 PM:

I'm with you Andrew, sound and resolution are far more important, 3D never interested me at all so won't miss it.

Posted by Stuart Reid (Member # 1460) on March 10, 2016, 02:20 PM:

Well... I quite liked my Universal 8 cutdown of Creature From The Black Lagoon in 3D! Apart from that, meh.

Posted by Evan Samaras (Member # 5070) on March 10, 2016, 06:55 PM:

I usually start to feel uncomfortable sitting through a full feature in 3D. I think I tried two times and decided it wasn't for me

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on March 11, 2016, 02:34 AM:

Digital 3D presentations in a cinema these days is a huge improvement over 35mm film. I do hope that 3D will keep going, movies like "Life of PI", "Gravity" and Hugo are just some examples.

If I was to one day have the money to upgrade our home video projector I would really want 3D to be included. [Cool]

Posted by Paul Barker (Member # 4318) on March 11, 2016, 02:57 AM:

have to agree with you Graham. i purchased an ACER projector last year to add to my EPSONS. the ACER was 3D capable in 1080P.it was on offer at the time just over £300. i have to say in 3D it is amazing. quality and effect is outstanding. even if no more were to be released on blu ray. i am more than happy with the 3D titles i have already.years ago i was never interested in 3D. but now it blows me away.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on March 11, 2016, 03:10 AM:

On decent video projectors, the PT-AT 5000e for example, the 3D aspect really reduces the brightness levels of the projected image though.

One slight downside I suppose.

Good effect though as a novelty at that sized perspective image, so long as you don't all mind looking like Ray Charles for the evening sat in your living room. [Big Grin]

Posted by Paul Barker (Member # 4318) on March 11, 2016, 03:50 AM:

more than a novelty Andrew. outstanding in my view. you either like it or you dont. not to every ones taste. like me with 16mm i love it much much more than 8mm. again down to personal taste.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on March 11, 2016, 03:52 AM:

Indeed. [Wink]

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on March 11, 2016, 04:29 AM:

I only really enjoy 70mm Imax 3D documentary films of up to 45 minutes. No outside screen references and no "trick" shots to over exercise your eyes.

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on March 11, 2016, 06:38 AM:

Kinda like projected 3D on the big screen although TV flat or 3D for me takes away the big screen impact we are used to with sprawling glorious film. I would expect to see 3D projectors continued manufacture. [Smile]

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on March 11, 2016, 09:15 AM:

I like the 3D effect but in general not the content of the films as most of them are animated films. I prefer a real cartoon or a real film but not something between like Tintin which I didn't like at all.

Posted by Dave Groves (Member # 4685) on March 11, 2016, 12:30 PM:

Having bought a 55" Panasonic t.v. I was astounded by the quality of the 3D. So much so that I bought a Sony 3D camcorder. My new Epson projector will shortly be put through it's stereoscopic paces on a six foot screen. I love 3D and have a good selection of dvd's but cartoons do absolutely nothing for me.

Posted by Mark Silvester (Member # 929) on March 11, 2016, 12:59 PM:

Hi all

I agree with your comments Paul Barker.

I love watching the occasional 3D presentation today both on my home set up and otherwise - the quality is stunning. I don't watch all the time but lots of great 3D blu rays out there.

So...you see some of us DO like 3D...it is about opinions and choices..some may not like it...but others do.

[Cool]

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on March 11, 2016, 01:09 PM:

I love 3D. I've loved it since its 1980s rebirth. It's great that older titles such as Man in the Dark, The Mask, The Bubble, House of Wax and Creature from the Black Lagoon are now available on BRD. I watched Coming At Ya! yesterday evening with great delight. Not a great film per se, as far as european westerns are concerned, but a lot of in-your-face silly effects and camera angles.

Posted by David M. Ballew (Member # 1818) on March 11, 2016, 01:41 PM:

Given that stereoscopic motion pictures have been an intermittent part of the scene since 1915, and an ongoing part of the scene since 2005 (when Disney released Chicken Little in digital stereo in ordinary, first-run movie houses), one would expect less outright hostility from those who truly love cinema, even those who don’t personally prefer stereoscopic films.

I’ve been a 3-D hobbyist since I was a kid in the 1980s. Started out drawing (by hand!) my own red and blue anaglyphs. Graduated to home-built stereo cameras, including a dual Super 8mm rig, then later a Nimslo and a Stereo Realist. Here's a link to one of my two 3-D monster movies on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF2mhJ-6yxg.

I was around back in 1986, 1987, 1988. That’s when 3-D really was dead. Trust me, this present state of affairs does not constitute “dead.”

I wish to second Jean-Marc’s enthusiasm for vintage 3-D titles on Blu-Ray. There are some genuine classics out there now—House of Wax, Dial “M” for Murder, Kiss Me Kate—and even lesser-known, lesser-quality titles can be a great deal of fun. And I happen to know for a fact that more are on the way.

And this is far from the only reason to be hopeful. A promising new approach to autostereoscopic television is in the offing: http://www.ultra-d.com/.

Head Mounted Displays and Virtual Reality are the coming thing too. Witness Oculus Rift, Samsung VR, even Google Cardboard. I personally already have the latter, and believe me, it’s marvelous for watching 3-D footage.

If there’s one thing I have learned down through the years, it’s that people who hate 3-D really, really, really hate 3-D and really, really, really love to gloat—an unseemly habit.

My guess is that people who hate 3-D do so for the same reasons many people hate treadmills and Stair Masters and uphill rides on bicycles—because the old muscles are tired and flabby. An occasional 3-D movie can have therapeutic benefits, strengthening the eye muscles, and once in a while one hears of moviegoers discovering for the first time they have a vision problem when they wonder how they can see stereo at the movies, through glasses, but not in their everyday lives.

Posted by Stuart Reid (Member # 1460) on March 11, 2016, 02:00 PM:

Thanks for the input David, very interesting. I have seen 3D movies where I feel there was no discernible need for added depth, movies such as Prometheus, but then I thought the latest Star Wars movie looked fantastic in 3D - so good I saw it twice in that format. A lot of Pixar's work also looks amazing; there's a wonderful 2D/3D gag in Inside Out which just cries out to be seen in three dimensions.

I look upon 3D as another tool in the film-maker's arsenal in the same way anamorphic or 70mm can add something, but unfortunately I feel a lot of 3D has been a cynical money-grab by the studios; Over the last decade there have been a great deal of terrible post-produced 3D features, and yes, a lot of cheaply made CGI cartoons.

Posted by David M. Ballew (Member # 1818) on March 11, 2016, 02:47 PM:

"I feel a lot of 3D has been a cynical money-grab by the studios..."

Amen to that! And furthermore, the big decision makers are so skittish about audience complaints or backlash, they tend to allow only shallow imagery with minimal parallax. As a consequence, many recent 3-D movies look about as deep and dimensional as your average coin. This is a topic I will cheerfully unpack later, in a separate diatribe--er, I mean, a separate post. :-)

I thoroughly agree with you about the latest Star Wars flick. I took the family to see it at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, which offers very bright IMAX 3-D projection. I paid almost as much for the tickets as I do for car insurance! Ha ha ha! But in the end, I felt the experience was well worth every penny. Part of that was the beautiful venue, part of that was the visual majesty of IMAX, and (for me) a major part of it was the lovely 3-D.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on March 11, 2016, 04:10 PM:

For someone who has clearly devoted a section of their life to this work as you clearly have David,
I am pleased the Star Wars presentation in premium surroundings lived up to your expectations and hopefully superseded them!

I admire your dedication to this art form David. [Smile]

Posted by John Hourigan (Member # 111) on March 11, 2016, 04:23 PM:

Today's digitally projected 3D surpasses what came before hands down, and has actually made me enjoy going to the movies again. It can't be denied that the image is absolutely stunning -- except to those whose only criteria seems to be format for the sake of format.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on March 11, 2016, 04:45 PM:

Digital images of today, I know are totally stunning John!

You'll hear no argument from me on that one.

It's one thing to idolize our grass roots and embrace them, but rose coloured glasses won't cloud my judgement or perspective no matter how much affection I have for my preferred gauge.

I love the tactile nature of Super 8mm film and all of its fine high end refined machinery and resulting images for completely different reasons to those I appreciate from my digital counterparts.
Both extremely engaging, but for totally different reasons and appreciation.

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on March 13, 2016, 04:38 AM:

The most interesting thing for me was making my own 3d anaglyph unit mid 80's capturing the family in 3d supet 8.Really interesting researching how to do it through numerous books, easy today with the internet.

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on March 13, 2016, 06:07 PM:

I'm sure there were front of lens prismatic adapters made for Super8 cameras to make polarised 3D films. I'll have to get the old Movie Maker mags out to check.

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on March 14, 2016, 05:53 AM:

Talking of 3D viewing and on another thread we watched The Wizard of Oz with quite a nice 3D adaption, not for all I know but it was good. The scenes of the poppy fields worked very well in the depth department.

Would be nice to know how many other 3D Imax adaptions make it onto Blu-Ray.

Posted by Dino Everette (Member # 1378) on March 14, 2016, 05:09 PM:

Bolex sold an outfit

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on March 14, 2016, 09:48 PM:

Here is the Bolex 16mm 3D outfit:

http://bolexcollector.com/accessories/filter50.html

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on March 16, 2016, 03:14 AM:

The Elmo ESM-1 3D mirror outfit was another rarity which gave excellent polarised 3D although the picture projected taller than usual. We had a guy in our club way back who used to go round demonstrating it and showing his 3D colour movies, fun times. I think it was the Bolex kit my father used with 9-5 in the 1950's.

Posted by Ricky Daniels (Member # 95) on March 18, 2016, 03:47 PM:

Yup, The Elmo ESM-1 (Elmo Stereo Movie) Unit is a polarised beam splitter for mounting on your cinema camera for filming and then mounting on your favourite Elmo projector for 3D projection... Of course you'll also need a nice silver screen!

Sponson made an Anaglyph 3D unit too that I always wanted to explore and maybe modify for polarised 3D but by the time I was ready to make the initial purchase I became interested in SD video Field Sequential 3D capture and projection. An interest fuelled by a huge curiosity in the VHD video disc format that made 3D Hollywood features available in the Field Sequential format, of which I now have may discs and 2 players sourced from Japan!

Golden days of discovery... and I've now VHD discs in my collection of both Jaws 3D and Friday 13th Part 3D, titles that to this day are still unavailable on the BR3D format!

Best,
Rick

UBB.classic^TM 6.3.1.2