The history of 3D in film
In film, the term 3D is used to describe any visual presentation system that attempts to maintain or recreate moving images of the third dimension, the optical illusion of depth as seen by the viewer.
The stereoscopic era of motion pictures began in the late 1890s when British film pioneer William Friese-Greene filed a patent for a 3-D movie process. However, due to the high production cost, few viewing places, and not least to the negative physiological side effects, it has not become widely popular until in recent years.
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The earliest confirmed 3-D film shown to a paying audience was The Power of Love, which premiered in Los Angeles in 1922.
In June 2005, a theatre in Hollywood became the first commercial movie theatre to be equipped with the Digital 3D format. Both Singing In The Rain and The Polar Express]were tested in the Digital 3D format over the course of several months.
Through the entire history of 3D presentations, techniques to convert existing 2D images for 3D presentation have existed. Few have been effective or survived. However, the combination of digital and digitized source material with relatively cost effective digital post processing has spawned a new wave of conversion products.
In June 2006, Superman Returns was released including 20 minutes of 3-D images converted from the 2-D original digital footage.
On January 16th, 2009, Lionsgate released ”My Bloody Valentine 3D”, the first film to be projected in Real D Cinema. It was released to 1,033 3D screens, the most ever for this format, and 1,501 regular screens.
The big Hollywood producers are now investing billions in 3D theaters in the US and the rest of the world is expected to follow. Soon all major movies will be shot or animated and released in 3D.
Thanks to the blue-ray disc format which now has become the standard, and millions of 3D ready TV screens in the market, 3D will soon enter the private homes with a new dimension of viewing.
