Beyond Anaglyph
 

Online, I seem to only see people making anaglyph videos. If I were to start doing some 3D myself, is there a way to get into doing other kinds?

I've seen the 3D flat screens where you wear the glasses, I've gone to 3D IMAX films, REALD movies, etc...I understand that some of those require certain frequencies or special technology to display right?

Are there some harsh budget realities to creating and displaying those types of 3D? I'd love to get into dabbling in 3D as it begins to take hold, but I'd love to do it where I can retain the colors and my audience's eyes don't melt out of their heads right before they explode from extended red/cyan 3D torture. :-)

You see anaglyph online because any computer can display an anaglyph on any standard monitor (well, any VGA or better but that is the standard these days). But that does not mean people do not make the other and better types of 3D, only that they post anaglyphs online because that is what everyone can watch.

Besides, YouTube lets you watch non-anaglyph 3D videos, so most of us do not even make anaglyphs anymore, it is just that you still have your YouTube player set to anaglyph because you probably do not have any special equipment needed to view it in full color in both eyes.

Ok, so if you and others aren't making anaglyphs...what kinds of 3D are people out there making? (besides crosseyed) How do I set my computer to view it? What kind of specific hardware is required? How about what kind of software to make that kind? What kind of glasses would I need?

I guess the main point I'm trying to figure out is what the entry level costs are to do something besides anaglyph. And what is there besides anaglyph that someone can do from their living room, not a stereographer's studio or whatever?

Well, the most popular way to distribute a 3D movie is field sequential DVD, which uses horizontal interlacing. As you know, DVD uses interlaced MPEG video, splitting each frame into two fields. The field sequential DVD uses one of the two fields for the left image, the other for the right image (hence the name field sequential).

To produce such a DVD, just combine the two images using horizontal interlacing. On the PC you can use my Bororo 3D plug-in for Sony Vegas. Then render as MPEG and use DVD Architect (or other DVD software) to make a DVD. And you can play the DVD with Stereoscopic Player, which allows you to view it as an anaglyph or on two monitors and such.

Ideally, you would have a computer with dual video and plug a digital projector in each video output, placing polarizing filters in front of each at 90 degrees against each other, then use the aforementioned player to split it between the two projectors and watch with polarized glasses. That is as close as you can get to a 3D theater viewing. It is also quite expensive.

Or you can see a special 3D monitor. Berezin.com has a lot of this information (he runs an online store from that web site, so he has all that information to get you to buy from him, but of course the information is there even if you do not buy anything).

Adam - can you recomend polarized glass for placement in front of a projector, a glass source that is. I am interested in using two micro projectors to do that type of stereo projection but don't know if the charateristics of those projectors might not be suitable for polarization nor what type of glass to use. Any suggestions are appreciated.

I have never done it myself yet, but I have had good experience with berezin.com, so I would buy such filters from this site. However, since I have not used such filters, I cannot vouch to their quality, only that I have had good experience with that online store.

I would actually contact the store owner and ask him which filters are the right ones for me before I would buy.

Thanks, for the price of the plastic 3" lens I couldn't go too far wrong.

You're welcome. Let me know how it goes.

you can get a pair of 4X4 circular polarizer for 25$ here
Polarization.com

just put them between two glass plates from a picture frame.

Adam, thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge on this. Fun to learn about, and hopefully I am trying this stuff myself sooner than later.

I'm considering filming 3D (controlled environment) love stories using HMC150s on a bracket, applying a FCP plug-in for the interlacing, then projecting the DVD onto a DIY silver screen at the reception. The 3D glasses would be party favors.

Shopping list:
1. DIY camera bracket
2. FCP plug-in
3. Polarizing filters for the projector
4. DIY silver screen (already have the stand)

Any ideas on cost/feasibility? Other expenses?

Dana,

You will need two seperate projectors, they need to be properly aligned, and as such showing projects from a regular DVD using interlaced left and right may not work very well if it works at all- you may need special software/hardware that will send two separate sync'd signal to both projectors, or if you only have one projector you'll need a specialized system like 'REAL D' which is very expensive.

You may have more luck trying to hire large 3D Passive Ready LCD/LED tvs (more will be available from event hire places as they hit the market over the next year or so). The BluRay 3D delivery spec has been confirmed, so I would imagine off the shelf 3D authoring for BluRay is probably about a year away.

For that level use, basically, 3D isn't 'there yet'.

Thank you so much Craig. I appreciate your insight.

Getting a second projector wouldn't kill us, and would serve as a backup. It sounds like the software involves more than a plug-in, and though alaglyph is available, it just looks awful.

I don't know about hauling a TV to a wedding. Hmm...

Two projectors then is viable, but you also need a 'silver' screen solution. The difficulty would more often than not be alignment - you would need a custom built bracket for you two projectors that you could take around with you that would be set up with some adjustability to fine tune alignment - but it'd be doable.

There are programs for playback, some free, that could probably do the trick for you at the moment. Just be ready to do a lot of experimentation to be first off the block. It's not 'showtime' for this sort of thing at the the lower cost end of the market yet.

You could probably power two projectors from a laptop with two DVI outputs using currently available software. It's all certainly achievable.

What's the next best option (leaving out two projectors and Anaglyph) of shooting 3D, editing it and then delivering on a regular TV/HDTV?

For the last couple of weeks I have been reading up on this, and think I have the basics sussed out. Well I hope so as I have ordered up some gear and will be out doing plenty of test shoots in the next month.

Anaglyth to me is out of the question. It's OK to show peole some work online, but certainly not good enough to show off your work at an exhibition.

3D TVs are not yet out, though just around the corner. Sony and Panasonic have announced their range, that will be their flagship range and therefore very expensive at first.

So you will need two cameras to shoot the 3D. You will need Tim Dashwoods FCP plugin.(free with watermark or $389 without it)
You will need an NVidia graphics card above a 8800.

You will need a 3D capable monitor. Good news, Alienware and Acer have new models out now. ( Not too expensive)

You will need a pair of active shutter 3D glasses ( NVidia for about £135)

You will need a 3D player.
StereoMovie Player

And you are ready to go. I think. I haven't yet got that far. Buying the Alienware monitor and 3D glasses this week.

I haven't yet worked out why I would need Cineform's 3DNero. Perhaps someone could explain for me on that one.

If I am wrong here in what's needed, please let me know!

If we have a stereo player, can't we make it run on a laptop or a CRT monitor? This might bring down the cost of buying a 3D ready LCD panel.

I am still in the zero budget testing stage of trying my polarized projection using pico projectors and have a question about the polarizing filter itself. I ordered a sample of silver screen and just received it this week. So I used a pair of Real3D glasses to act as my filter and shined an LED flashlight through it, then observe it on the screen wearing another pair of Real3d glasses. This seems to work, but I am wondering if there is a higher degree of polarization using an actual circular polarizing filter than would be achieved with just the Real3D glasses? Is there a significant difference between the filter and the glasses? Some light still goes through with the glasses but I am thinking that this would be the case even with an actual polarized filter.

Along with my almost no cost testing, I was able to shine my LED flashlight through an old photo slide and see the projection on my silver screen with the corresponding eye. What I do notice is that the right eye glass of the Real3D used as a filter is observed with the left eye when wearing the Real3d glasses. This seems to be the opposite of just shining the light through the glasses and directly looking at it. Does the silver screen somehow reverse the polarization? And of course I may be totally screwed up about how I am interpreting my results.

If it is circular polarization, yes it does. See page 87 of this book (it is in the PDF format, free download).

Thanks, it doesn't get into the technical detail of how it is reversing but that is good since I most likely wouldn't understand the physics involved. It appears to be similar to the image reversal of a mirror. At least I know I wasn't totally confused about what I saw.

Yes, it is the left-right reversal of an image. When the "circle" of the polarized light reflects, the left-hand circle becomes a right-hand circle and vice versa.