3D Experience

Matt Muller, Wunderman’s Lead Technical Architect, and Dom Baker, creative geek on Wunderman’s Ninja team, ponder the future of our three dimensional lives. 3D technology is changing our media landscape and how we’ll be consuming future media.

Since the birth of the projected image we’ve been driven to try and recreate the physical reality in how we see and experience our recorded images. To recreate the physicality of actually being, sensing and experiencing a moment has been a kind of Holy Grail for filmmakers and technologists for as long as people have been shining lights through celluloid.

The Victorian music hall was a breeding ground for innovation in projection, with various devices being created to bring the fantastic to 3D life via various ingenious inventions such as Pepper’s Ghost, created in 1862 by John Pepper. Over 100 years later this is still being used, hardly unchanged, by shows such as Alexander McQueen’s 2006 runway show – featuring Kate Moss as a projected semi holographic wraith-like phantom.

It wasn’t until the 1950’s that 3D cinema really touched the mainstream, alongside a whole load of other ‘amazing, hyper-real’ gimmicks including Tinglevision and Smellorama. These technologies would revolutionise the apparently sensation-hungry audience were crying out for (a nice gimmick taking precedence over a good story anytime). Zombies/Aliens or even ping pong was a guaranteed winner in making the audience jump, scream and wear DEVO glasses at the same time…easy win!

Some very early experiments included combining 3D cinema with holophonic (or, in this case, Diaphonic) sounds. These were carried out by Spanish all-round genius Val Del Omar with his Diaphonic sound/projection system…unfortunately this YouTube clip doesn’t really show off the audio.[HK1] Sound can be used in a far more subtle way to really enhance a sense of space; with your eyes closed, you could almost believe you were there as this binaural recording demonstrates (put your headphones on, press play, and close your eyes).

It’s hard to tell whether the current rash of 3D films is another blip on the 3D cinema timeline. The big challenge has always been to use 3D to really enhance the storytelling rather than just make people in daft glasses jump. The big test I guess is whether the experience of watching the film in 2D after seeing the 3D version doesn’t engage you. And this is the crux of the issue, what can 3D offer beyond things coming out of the screen?

Viewing technologies

Stereoscopic 3D works by displaying two almost identical images of the same object, the difference being they each have a slightly different perspective. This tricks the brain into thinking it is seeing a single 3D image. This effect is usually achieved using different types of glasses.

Most cinemas showing 3D films project both the left and right eye image onto the screen, polarised glasses then filter a single direction of polarised light for each eye. But another popular (and more accessible) method used in both print and the web is the Anachrome; this uses tinted (typically red and cyan) glasses. Both these methods using glasses fall under the category of ‘passive viewing’.

The other category is ‘active viewing’. This is where the person viewing wears electronic LCD shutter glasses; these work with the refresh rate of 3D enabled displays. The glasses display separate alternate images for each eye, at a very fast rate, in synchronisation with the screen. This ultimately produces the 3D effect.

The third way is called ‘auto-stereoscopic’: this is a method for viewing 3D which does not require glasses. There are different methods for achieving this (such as ‘parallax’ and ‘lenticular’) but at a high level it is achieved using filters to direct light from different pixels at different angles. There are a number of constraints associated with this method, in particular viewing angles and viewing distance. We can expect to see some variations of this approach appearing in consumer devices in the near future.

3D enabled consumer products

The current slew of 3D movies and the availability of 3D-ready TVs are certainly driving forces in the current enthusiasm for 3D. It seems that off the back of this momentum the idea of integrating stereoscopic 3D into various electronic consumer devices is being welcomed with open arms.

Video and photography

Up until recently 3D capable video cameras were accessible only to professional production companies, but Panasonic has recently announced a consumer-based 3D camcorder: the HDC-SDT750. But to view the footage you will need a TV capable of the side-by-side method of 3D playback, plus the standard fashionable 3D eyewear.

 Panasonic HDC-SDT750 camcorder

Panasonic have also announced a 3D lens system designed to work with their LUMIX G Micro System Micro Four Thirds cameras – http://goo.gl/TJLN.

Multimedia and gaming

In early 2009 graphics chip manufacturer NVIDIA® announced NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ technology which, through the use of special glasses, enabled video cards and compatible monitor displays or projectors. This delivers a 3D experience for gaming, video, photography and presentations – http://goo.gl/bI5P.

 NVIDIA® 3D Vision™

More recently Sony have announced a firmware update to the PlayStation 3 which will enable it to support all existing game titles in 3D; there will also be purpose-developed titles available in the future. An update to enable Blu-ray 3D on the PS3 is also expected in the near future.

Microsoft has also commented on support for 3D gaming on their Xbox 360 platform; “There are already 3D games available today on Xbox 360, and this selection will continue to evolve. Today, you can buy a 3D TV and wear glasses to play games such as Avatar and Batman: Arkham Asylum”.

At CES 2010 in Las Vegas there were announcements of 3D-ready laptops from manufacturers which are now appearing on the market. Some using passive viewing (with polarized glasses) and others integrating NVIDIA® 3D Vision™.

3D in media

In a bid to creating engaging and richer user experiences, purpose-built 3D campaigns, documentaries and UGC video sites are being rolled out. Now that the hardware is available, it’s more accessible for agencies and brands to create 3D experiences in everyday media. Below are a few examples of such content.

Campaigns

There have been a few campaigns which have used stereoscopic 3D. A recent successful campaign featuring 3D was Dance Off, created for Australian clothing store Jay Jays. In stores they placed various wall features which customers could view using 3D glasses (handed out when they entered). When customers got home they could then view a campaign site http://danceoff.jayjays.com.au in 3D using their snazzy new eyewear.

The video-based experience was shot using a 3D camera and engages users to interact with the products and information. The viewing experience was also available in 2D for users without glasses.

A production crew descended on a famous road race circuit on the Isle of Man recently to film David Coulthard driving the new Mercedes SLS AMG…in 3D! The team consisted of specialist Hollywood 3D filmmakers, helicopters and pursuit vehicles with the latest equipment to film the event.

These two online video portals have created dedicated channels for viewing 3D content. YouTube’s 3D channel has additional functionality in the video player that provides a dedicated menu option which allows a user to select which type of stereoscopic projection they would like to use. Vimeo’s 3D channel contains some great links to online resources that might help budding 3D content producers.

In summary

Over the past 100 years 3D, stereography, phantasmagoria, etc has been a persistent experiment. Tried out on a variety of media – from photography to websites to album covers (who doesn’t love The Cramps?), gigs, and even textiles (with Marios Schwab’s 3D outfits). Hot on the heels of cinema’s success TV is ready too, with a raft of 3D TVs ready to saturate the Christmas market.

Even gaming has (since the first eye-mangling red and green variant of PONG) tried to bring 3D to life. The SEGA Master Gaming system IN 3D tried, though if the games were anything like the ad then I’m a monkey’s uncle. And as we speak Nintendo, having put the bizarre Virtual Boy console behind them, are exploring glasses-free 3D gaming with the new DS handheld.

3D is definitely a very interesting area to watch, with glasses or without.