Low Cost Ways to Show A 3D Short Film?

[Nathaniel Watson]

We're currently working on a 3D short film and have all the gear for shooting (beam-splitter rig, cameras, DIY polarized 3D Monitor, etc.) so are now looking at our options for showing the movie to an audience.

We are very tight on money, so are looking for a low-cost way to show it to at least 10 people at once.
At the moment are options appear to be:

- anaglyph (yuck),

- shutter glasses + a 3D projector (we already have a PS3 for playing content and a 3D projector, I think it's the Acer X1161, but the 3D shutter glasses tend to be very expensive),

- using 2 projectors + a silver screen (very expensive, how essential is it? or does anyone know any silver-screen alternatives?) + polarized glasses (cheap)

So does anyone know any other ways we could show 3D content for cheap?
Are 3D shutter glasses going to come down in cost over the next few months?
If using 2 polarized projectors, are there any alternatives to using a silver screen?

Thanks.

[Arnie Schlissel]

You've just learned one of the big lessons of working in 3D: nothing is cheap.

You might want to see if there's a 3D capable screening room in your area that you can rent for the occasion. Be aware, though, that they may require a Digital Cinema Package, which will cost you a bit to have made.

If that's still out of your price range, I think that a blue-amber anaglyph, like Colorcode, retains a more natural look than any other.

[Nathaniel Watson]

Thanks for the reply, Arnie.

As far as I know the only local place capable of showing 3D is the big cinema, which uses Dolby Digital 3D, which is expensive to get encoded.

I hadn't heard of Colorcode, so thanks for that, I'll look into it.

[Prech Marton]

Hi

if you cannot afford a silverscreen with two projector, go for the 120Hz,
and a few shutterglasses. They will be cheaper by the time, and if you order
10 piece maybe you get discount.
If the movie is more than 5 minutre, then forget the old anaglyph method!


"DIY polarized 3D Monitor"
write more about this! :-

[Nathaniel Watson]

Thanks for the reply, Prech.
Hopefully 3D glasses will drop in price as 3D TVs become more popular. Good idea about looking into a bulk discount. :)

The DIY monitor we are using is based of this video here: YouTube - The Vizard: DIY 3D Viewing Station
It's a fairly basic design, although the glass you need to use is quite expensive.

[Prech Marton]

As i see here, the right eye see a lot darker image than the left? :O

[Alister Chapman]

What resolution do you need to project at? Acer have some really cheap DLP projectors at the moment (DLP is best for polarized). The X1130P is around $300. It's only 800x600 but reasonably bright. A pair of them makes a good polarized rig. You will need a silver screen or a screen that retains the lights polarization. There are some not too expensive screens for 3d including the DaLite Versatol range that start at around $120 US. Throw in some RealD glasses and use the lenses from the glasses on the projectors (not too close or they will distort due to heat) and for under $900 your good to go. 3D polarized projection is not nearly as expensive as 10 pairs of active shutter glasses at $90 each for wireless.

Use a Matrox DualHead2go. The DualHead2go takes the 2 (800x600) projectors and combines them as a single external 1600x600 monitor. Make up your videos as 1600x600 side by side clips and you can even play back off a laptop without any special drivers or software simply by playing back full screen.

[Giroud Francois]

you can make a cheap silver screen with silver paint (best in spray can).
if you use 2 polarized projectors with cheap RealD glasses (about $4 on ebay) it should cost you almost nothing except projector rental or purchase.
You can play the movie with any computer and the 3D player from 3dtv.at
ideally you would shoot in 720p at 60fps but 30fps would be ok too since no eye switching is involved.
Benq is making high lumen output very cheap.
you can get the 4x4 polarized filter for $25 at Polarization.com

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

really nothing wrong in anaglyph if you conform it to your screening facility correctly.

[Nathaniel Watson]

Wow, thanks for those tips Alister and Giroud.
I'll be sure to check all that stuff out :)

[Adam Stanislav]

Originally Posted by Alister Chapman

The X1130P is around $300. It's only 800x600 but reasonably bright. A pair of them makes a good polarized rig.

Any opinion on the Viewsonic PJD6531w DLP 3-D Projector? It costs $689 at B&H, but you only need one and has the resolution of 1280 x 800, which is a 16:10 variety of 720p (but it also accepts 1080p and 1080i input).

[Giroud Francois]

you need only one, but then it means you go with expensives shutter glasses.

[Adam Stanislav]

Originally Posted by Giroud Francois

you need only one, but then it means you go with expensives shutter glasses.

Do you know that, or are you assuming it? Because the page only talks about "3D glasses" without specifying what kind. And it talks about "millions of microscopic mirrors in its imaging chip" which can mean it is producing two separate polarized images. It does not show them at the same time, but if it uses different polarization for each eye, you would not need shutter glasses, you would need polarized glasses.

But it does not say it clearly, which is why I am asking. Someone here is bound to know.

[Arnie Schlissel]

Straight from the source:
3D Projector - 3D Ready - 3D DLP - Classroom Projector - Education Projector - School - Video | DLP - Texas Instruments

[Alister Chapman]

The viewsonic requires, as has been pointed out expensive active shutter glasses. The cheap Acer 1130P's that I am using my cheap(ish) polarised rig can also do single projector 3D with active glasses.