3D

[W. Gray]

On another thread I mentioned that widescreen movies got their start in 1928 but the process under the name CinemaScope did not take off until 1953, or so.

A short-lived 3D movie craze also took off in the early 1950s. Turns out though, 3D was actually in theaters in the mid 1930s.

Last night on TCM On Demand, a 1936 black and white short was shown demonstrating the process.
Moviegoers had been given 3D polarized glasses as they entered the theater. The short described the process, how 3D is filmed, and some background concerning perceptive vision. The word "Stereo" is used.

According to a demonstration in the short, a young woman with one eye covered could not put the end of a piece of twine through a small brass ring hanging from the ceiling at eye level. Makes me wonder how a person with an eye patch gets along.

Once all the scientific data was presented, patrons were then asked by the announcer to properly place the glasses with the red lens over the right eye and the blue lens over the left. Then all kinds of stuff began flying into the audience with the announcer yelling at everyone to duck. I could not see the depth because I did not have polarized glasses. As a young kid, watching 3D, I can tell you we did "duck and cover."

3D had a mini comeback in the 1980s in movie theaters. That hype caused CBS TV to run a big promotion with Seven Eleven stores to provide 3D glasses for an upcoming movie presentation. CBS announced that glasses were really only needed if one wanted to see the movie in 3D.

On a Saturday night, CBS ran a circus movie starring Raymond Burr. I cannot recall the name but it was made in the 50s. The depth perception on television was not that great and due to lackluster ratings, CBS did not try it again.

The problem with depth perception was apparently because when I watched the TV screen without the glasses it was like watching normal TV.

However, in the movies, if one watched the screen without the glasses there was a distinct double image that was difficult to watch without eyestrain.

[Diane Amberg]

I have a firefighter friend who lost an eye in a freak golfing accident and I asked him how he manages. He said the brain learns to compensate for the lost depth perception. We all tend to have a dominate eye anyway. I have crossed dominance. I'm right handed, but left eyed.  Roll up a sheet of paper into a tube, hold it up to your face and look through it with both eyes open. Then close one eye. If you can still see through the tube, that's your dominate eye. Don't move the tube and close the other eye. You may see nothing.  Most people who are right handed also see with their right eye.     I loved the old 3-D movies. The one I saw at Disney World was fun too. Do some of you still have your family's sterioptican viewers and slides? View Masters?

[W. Gray]

I had forgotten about those Viewmasters. It is still amazing when you think about how much progress has been made in such a short time.

Viewmasters were a follow up to the old single picture peach hued stereoscopic scenes that came out in the late 19th century with a huge heavy viewer made of wood and metal that one placed up to his or her head and it fit completely around both eyes.

There was no internal bulb. You had to be in bright light. Our library had a boatload of pictures for those viewers.

I think someone, maybe Kodak, came out with a stereo personal still camera.

I never knew anyone who had one and I do not know what kind of viewer he or she might have used.

[Roma Jean Turner]

I would love to have those old View Masters and Stereoptics from my childhood.  My grandparents had a bunch of the old photo cards.

A few years ago I had double vision for about six months.  It came on from a bad virus that paralyzed a muscle in my right eye.  It was quite an experience to adjust to.  A real assault to the nervous system at first. I learned a lot from that experience.  It was amazing how the brain and senses began to adapt.  I went from feeling totally helpless and unable to do anything to being able to get around quite well and watch TV.  I learned that the image furtherest from me on the left was the real object and to just watch the image on the left for TV and movies.  I kept right on working, everyone was very supportive and helpful.  One day I remember hearing all these noises and I couldn't figure out what they were.  It finally occured to me that all of a sudden I was hearing the traffic at the stop light 2 blocks away from my house. After the visiton normalized the increased hearing just went away.  The doctor said most of these cases clear up in 6 months, if not they would consider surgery on the eye, but not before two years.  So, the only option was to learn to work with it ASAP.

[frawin]

I have a couple of those old view masters and some photos.  My kids and grandkids can enjoy them, but I can't.  I had a cataract when I was 2 years old.  Because they did not have lasers, etc. back then, the procedures were much different.  Anyway, I've had 3 operations on that one eye, but since I grew up with very little vision in it, it's never really been a problem.  I do have a little problem with depth perception, can shoot a gun, drive a car and do most anything people with 2 eyes can do.  Although, I can't enjoy 3-d, vew masters, or that type of  thing.

mlw