ReelTOOL
software recommended for scanning and converting View-Master®
Personal® images
ReelTOOL
is simple to use software that allows you to easily convert
your own View-Master® compatible reels into popular electronic
stereo image file formats. The reels that you've made with
your View-Master® Personal® Camera can now be digitally
archived and shared with friends, family and other 3-D enthusiasts!
The ReelTool Web site has a free limited trial
version of the software available for download on their Web
site at www.reeltool.com/downloads.php.
This amazing software also has a new lower $25 cost to get
a registration code to make the program fully functional.
You can also download a free copy of the ReelTOOL manual and
another guide with information about scanning your reels.
How ReelTool works
Scan your reels: Use a compatible backlit scanner (a scanner
that includes a transparency adapter capable of scanning a
4"x5" transparency) to scan your reel(s) in at 600
to 3600 dpi (depending on scanner capabilities). Save each
scanned reel as a BMP, JPG, PNG or TIF file.
Use ReelTool: Select the scanned reel image (or folder containing
multiple scanned reels) and ReelTool will automatically save
out the individual stereo pairs from the reel(s) in any of
the supported and chosen stereo image formats, file formats
and destination image sizes.
ReelTool automatically locates the stereo image pairs on
the reel without requiring the reel to be in a certain location,
at a specific angle, etc. provided the reel is not damaged,
the edges are not clipped from the image, and that the reel
was scanned at a suitable dpi.
ReelTool
Features:
Wizard Interface
Single Image or Batch Mode operation
Input file or folder selection (supports BMP, JPG, PNG,
and TIF input images)
Output folder selection
Select from a range of output image frame sizes or an
automatic option which chooses the best size the reel image
will support.
Select any or all of the following stereo formats when
processing:
Anaglyph - Red/Cyan B&W (Work with Red/Blue glasses
also)
Anaglyph - Red/Cyan Color (Work with Red/Blue glasses also)
Anaglyph - Red/Blue B&W
Anaglyph - Red/Green B&W
Cross-Eyed View
Parallel View
Column Interlaced
Row Interlaced
Individual Left and Right
Select any or all of the following output image formats
when processing:
BMP/BMS (BMS applicable to Cross-Eyed View only)
JPG/JPS (JPS applicable to Cross-Eyed View only)
PNG/PNS (PNS applicable to Cross-Eyed View only)
TIF
ReelTool automatically detects the stereo image pairs
and saves them in the selected formats.
Error log will report any errors encountered during processing.
Processing times will be reported upon job completion.
ReelTOOL makes it both fast and easy for you to digitally
archive your View-Master® Personal® Reels. ReelTOOL
is a fast and easy way to archive and share the stereo photos
that you've taken using your View-Master® Personal®
Camera. ReelTOOL can automatically extract the stereo image
pairs from your scanned reel images (ReelTOOL does not perform
scanning operations) and save them in any of several digital
stereo image file formats. Doing this type of image extraction
and conversion manually, without ReelTOOL, would be very time
consuming and difficult.
New Star
Trek 3-D Posters produced by Mello Smello
The folks at Mello Smello have released some of the most
spectacular 3-D images featuring classic Star Trek
ever produced. Mello Smello has licensed Star Trek
to create 8’x10” posters and two 12”x18”
limited edition posters.
The two limited edition posters feature the classic Starship
Enterprise. These Enterprise images should thrill any Star
Trek fan and are some of the most detailed images of
the ship ever produced in 3-D. The other posters feature a
group shot of the cast, a transporter pad image that "beams"
Kirk, Spock and McCoy in and out of the transporter as you
move past the image, and solo posters featuring Kirk and Spock.
Click on the thumbnails to see larger images.
The posters can be found at the following retailers:
World 3-D
Film Expo II is Sept. 8 through 17 in Hollywood
The
World 3-D Film Expo II is scheduled for Sept. 8 through 17,
2006, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
According to expo organizers, the new prints of the 3-D features
and shorts have been coming in from the film labs and they
look tremendous! Taza, Son of Cochise looks like
it was shot yesterday; a stunning new print. Those Redheads
From Seattle looks better than the original dye-transfer
prints did in 1953! These 50 year old negatives are holding
up remarkably well, allowing us to show them properly, in
3-D, for the first time in over 50 years.
The special guests list
Rhonda Fleming and the Bell Sisters will be coming to
Those Redheads From Seattle on Friday, September
8. Leonard Maltin will conduct the Q&A.
Kathleen Hughes is confirmed for It Came From Outer
Space on Saturday, September 9.
Stars Christina Hart and William Basil are confirmed
for The Stewardesses on Saturday, September 9,
as are crew members Allan Silliphant (producer/director/writer)
and Chris Condon (producer/cinematographer).
Mamie Van Doren will be here for Hawaiian Nights
(short subject playing with "Miss Sadie Thompson")
on Sunday, September 10.
Kathleen Hughes will also be attending The Glass Web
on Monday, September 11.
Earl Holliman is planning to attend Devil's Canyon
on Monday, September 11.
For House of Wax on Tuesday, September 12, Paul
Picerni will be there.
Biff Elliot, star of I, the Jury, will be attending
on Wednesday, September 13.
Jim O'Keefe, son of director/actor Dennis O'Keefe, will
be attending the screening of Diamond Wizard on
Wednesday, September 13. Diamond Wizard never had
a 3-D playdate anywhere in the world until now! Jim was
an extra on the film, which was shot in England.
Julie Adams will be attending the 3-D repremiere of Wings
of the Hawk on Thursday, September 14.
Of course, as mentioned previously, Slick Slavin will
make his first public appearance in decades for Stardust
in Your Eyes (short subject playing with Robot
Monster) on Saturday, September 16.
Udo Kier, the star of Paul Morrissey's Frankenstein
is confirmed for Saturday, September 16.
For Cease Fire on Sunday, September 17, something
very special: Some of the actual soldiers who appeared in
the film (and members of their families) will be attending.
Rhonda Fleming will also be attending the World 3-D Premier
of Jivaro on Sunday, September 17.
Warren Stevens will be appearing for Gorilla at Large
on Sunday, September 17.
Opening Night Gala (Party at 6 p.m., then the double bill
of Those Redheads From Seattle and Taza, Son
of Cochise): $50
Ticket Prices: Individual tickets: $14 except Rarities
II, which is $16
Expo Passes (Tickets for all 39 shows, including opening night
gala): $499
All who purchase a pass receive a free program book, a free
T-shirt, and free pair of cardboard Polaroid glasses. A $594.00
value!
Individual tickets are not for sale for Those Redheads
From Seattle and Taza, Son of Cochise. To see
these two films, you must either purchase an Expo II Pass
or a ticket to the opening night Gala. The festival can be
reached at (661) 538-9259 or by Fax at (661) 793-6755.
Award-winning
3-D capture and creation software for design through print
now offers the fastest conversion of any 2-D pictures to 3-D
and a timeline feature for precise creative control of Animation
Effects and Flips.
Already heralded as a pioneer of modern 3-D and lenticular
technology, HumanEyes Technologies will soon launch PrintPro
2.0, a multi-faceted, easy-to-use 3-D creation and production
application developed for designers, photographers, ad agencies,
brand owners and printers; now based on next-generation technology.
2-D to 3-D Conversion and an interactive Timeline feature
for precise creative control head the list of new features
in PrintPro 2.0.
HumanEyes will demonstrate the technology in its booth #
974 at SGIA, being held at the Las Vegas Convention Center
from September 26-29, 2006.
“Designers, printers, and packagers gave us their wish
list, and PrintPro 2.0 is the result,” says HumanEyes
Technologies CEO, Duby Hodd. “SGIA attendees will be
the first to see the software, made stronger and faster on
a new technology platform. We’re confident they will
be impressed by its abilities to revive the power of their
existing 2-D collections as well as empower them to easily
create spectacular, new 3-D imagery.”
Hodd says PrintPro 2.0 marks a substantial step forward in
making 3-D and lenticular easy, quick and affordable.
New 2-D to 3-D Conversion The fastest and easiest 2-D to 3-D conversion available
in the industry is the chief feature addition in PrintPro
2.0. Previewed late last year, this highly anticipated component
is now fully integrated within the product line.
Working with PrintPro 2.0, the user has complete control
of the 2-D picture’s conversion to a 3-D image, without
needing to understand or manage the underlying complexities.
Intelligent tools carry-out the user’s wishes. Users
will be able to perform the entire conversion within the HumanEyes
application, no other image processing tools are needed. In
contrast to other lenticular processes, there is no need for
complex, time consuming tracing or layering. As part of HumanEyes
business approach, the process is simple, intuitive and easy
to master.
New Timeline Interactive Workflow
The Timeline allows users to precisely control the composition
of their creation. The creative professional can get real
time feedback, view progress and changes in each frame, and
then choose the views they wish to have in their final output.
This is a totally new concept that will allow creatives to
go beyond the currently limited abilities of flip and animation
effects, into a world of easily made, lively animations.
Renowned, Existing HumanEyes 3-D Features Improved
in PrintPro 2.0 HumanEyes has employed the most sophisticated advancements
in the renovation of its core technology. One of the most
obvious changes is faster and more robust graphic processing
power. The new software design makes the new features possible,
and improves existing features including project creation,
animation, and flip tools.
Better Than Before 3-D Capture and Creation HumanEyes’ unique 3-D Capture and Creation
technology caught the attention of the imaging and graphic
arts worlds when the company’s first software offering
premiered in 2004. The product’s ease of use and requirement
of only a standard digital camera and ordinary print devices
was surpassed only by its ability to generate extraordinary
3-D imagery. HumanEyes 3-D was in fact a winner of the prestigious
PIA/GATF InterTech Award, which honors excellence in innovative
technology for the graphic communications industry.
Since then, HumanEyes has been employed worldwide to capture
and hold the attention of consumers. The software has been
used for brands such as Harry Potter, Vanity Fair, Coca Cola,
Citroen, Corona and many others.
All HumanEyes software now includes stronger, highly competitive
2-D effect functionality.
Advanced Animation Create a dynamic story easily with PrintPro 2.0.
Users simply go to the Timeline, pick the object to Animate,
pick a start and end point and presto, it’s done.
Advanced Flip To create a Flip using PrintPro 2.0, users just add
the images to Flip and use the Timeline to either automatically
or manually distribute them across the number of frames selected.
Users can easily change or customize further by clicking on
the Timeline and moving the frames.
Better Combinations As before, but now faster and easier, HumanEyes technology
allows different effects to be combined so that a 3-D image,
for instance, can be part of a complex Animation or Flip project.
Enhanced Output
PrintPro 2.0 continues to work with version PrintPro 1.3 to
provide excellent output quality. The new version provides
additional export features and CMYK support.
HumanEyes Technologies Ltd., with offices in Jerusalem and
New York, has developed and patented simplified methods for
creating stereo panoramic 3-D pictures. Using mathematical
algorithms developed at the Hebrew University, the software
overcomes optical limitations that have existed for over 90
years, to allow creation of a new standard in 3-D pictures.
It has been determined that advertisements created using this
technology result in dramatically increased impact on the
viewer.
HumanEyes' Board of Directors includes Benny Landa, founder
and former CEO of Indigo (now a division of Hewlett-Packard),
Duby Hodd, HumanEyes’ CEO, Yoav Chelouche, former President
and CEO of Scitex, Mimi Sela, CEO of Landa Ventures, Alon
Dumanis of the Van-Leer Group and Gideon Ben-Zvi, former CEO
and co-founder of HumanEyes, Ligature and Wizcom.
Imageworks
3-D for stereoscopic production established by Sony Pictures'
Imageworks
Sony Pictures Imageworks president Tim Sarnoff recently announced
the appointment of Buzz Hays to the position of senior producer
for thecompany's recently formalized Imageworks 3-D stereoscopic
pipeline. This pipeline is dedicated to the creation of three-dimensional
stereoscopic versions of standard release films for the IMAX
3-D and Real D platforms.
Hays' first projects are the 3-D stereoscopic adaptations
for two of Columbia Pictures' films: Monster House for
Real D theaters and the first CG feature from Sony Pictures
Animation Open Season in IMAX -3D.
Before joining Imageworks, Hays worked for Radium, where
he executive produced visual effects for numerous music videos
and broadcast commercials worldwide. Prior to working at Radium,
Hays was executive producer at yU+co, where he produced title
sequences for films such as Catwoman, The Terminal
and The Chronicles of Riddick. Earlier, Hays co-founded
TriBeCa Interactive with Robert De Niro. In 1993, Hays co-produced
the independent film, Swimming with Sharks.
Between 1987 and 1993, Hays served as director of engineering
at Lucasfilm THX, where he was responsible for all research
and development efforts, including the THX Sound System and
Home THX. Hays also oversaw the design, construction and installation
of more than 600 movie theaters and film dubbing stages worldwide.
Imageworks' prior work in the 3-D stereoscopic format include
The Polar Express and 301 effects for Superman
Returns.
National
Graphics Inc. has been issued U.S. Patent for its revolutionary
new lenticular printing process that enables printing presses
to produce three-dimensional images.
The company received a patent for its Systematic
Lenticular Lens Selection in a Digital Printing Environment.
The lenticular process can be printed on products such as
paper, containers, packages and labels.
National Graphics displayed its lenticular
capabilities by printing the back cover of the 1,000th issue
of Rolling Stone and in Detroit Magazine's
special Super Bowl XL edition.
National Graphics and its lenticular innovations
were featured earlier this year in Small Business Times
Ventures special report on Blue
Ocean companies.
National Graphics is offering to license the
patent to interested digital printers, giving them the opportunity
to provide digital lenticular printing to their clients.
Austrailia
will have more 3-D cinemas than anywhere else in the world
outside North America and Korea when the animated adventure
story Monster House opens in the country in September.
The new format requires hi-tech digital projectors, and cinema
patrons wear special glasses.
A visiting Kodak executive from Los Angeles, Bob Mayson,
who is selling the concept worldwide, said Australian cinemas
were visionary enough to take a risk on the technology. "They
must be glad they did or they would not have come back for
six more (installations)," he said.
Greater Union and Village Cinemas installed five 3-D screens
for the January release of Chicken Little, and the
six new screens will be in place by September 7 for Monster
House.
U.S. studios are driving the change, because they are producing
3-D films with the wow factor to justify higher ticket prices.
By year's end Australia could have 20 3-D cinemas and two
more 3-D films will have been released: a 3-D version of The
Nightmare Before Christmas and Meet the Robinsons.
Delegates at the Australian International Movie Convention,
at the Gold Coast, were told that within 10 to 15 years U.S.
studio films could be available in digital format only.
The studios will save as much as $1billion a year via this
transition but there is no guaranteed economic benefit for
exhibitors because the general public will not see the difference.
While 3-D cinemas might be an answer because they provide
a point of differentiation, they are costly: the price tag
for digital projection is about $150,000 and 3-D capability
doubles that.
A
new line of 3-D televisions by Philips uses the familiar trick
of sending slightly different images to the left and right
eyes, mimicking our stereoscopic view of the real world. But
where old-fashioned 3-D movies rely on the special glasses
to block images meant for the other eye, Philips' WOWvx technology
places tiny lenses over each of the millions of red, green
and blue sub pixels that make up an LCD or plasma screen.
The lenses cause each sub pixel to project light at one of
nine angles fanning out in front of the display.
A processor in the TV generates nine slightly different views
corresponding to the different angles. From almost any location,
a viewer catches a different image in each eye.
Providing so many views is key to the dramatic results. Sharp
Electronics makes an LCD display that projects just two views,
requiring an audience to sit perfectly still in front of the
screen. With the Philips technology, viewers can move around
without losing much of the effect, one set of left/right views
slips into another, with just a slight double-vision effect
in the transitions.
The TV can also display standard two-dimensional images,
close to HD quality.
The uncanny 3-D illusion stops people in their tracks, as
it's meant to. Philips is initially selling the 42-inch screens.
which debuted at the Society for Information Displays conference
in June, to retailers who will create 3-D ads to grab the
attention of passing shoppers.
Casinos are interesting in the screens, the mesmerizing effects
may help patrons part with more of their money. Holland Casino
just announced plans to install the screens throughout its
locations in the Netherlands.
Finding content for home users is more of a challenge.
One nearly ready-made source of content is modern video games,
which actually generate three-dimensional objects internally,
then flatten the images into 2-D representations for standard
monitors. Philips has developed hardware and software that
can extract the original depth information from the game engine
and use it to create 3-D images on a WOWvx display.
In New York, the company demonstrated the technique with
the first-person shooter Call of Duty. It looked
almost perfect, except for a little shimmering around the
edges of objects, which Philips says will be fixed in the
coming months.
The company also has plans for video. The ultimate hope is
that studios will produce more 3-D content, like the recent
3-D version of Sony Pictures' Monster House that
screened in 162 U.S. theaters. But Philips is developing software
to convert standard video to 3-D by analyzing movement to
determine the original depth position of people and objects.
A standard laptop running Philips' software was able to convert
the DVD The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
into 3-D in real time and display it on Philips's new 20-inch
"3D 4YOU" LCD monitor, a retail-kiosk implementation
of the 3-D screen.
The result looked vaguely 3-D, though it was marred by some
blurriness and double images.
"I think for consumers this is simply not good enough,"
said Philips executive Rob de Vogel. "But the progress
in the past year is amazing." He expects the company
to show a better version of the conversion software to the
public in the coming months, possibly at the next Consumer
Electronics Show in January 2007.
It
Came from Outer Space in 3-D shows in San Fransisco
It
Came From Outer Space in glorious 3-D unspooled for three
days of performances on July 27, 28 and 29 at the Red Vic
Movie House in San Fransisco.
Based on a story by Ray Bradbury, It Came
from Outer Space was the country's hottest film when
it debuted in 1953.
A scientist and a schoolteacher witness the
landing of aliens in the Arizona desert. John Putnam and Ellen
watch a great fireball going down near a mine. Both are the
only ones, who believe the "thing" not to be a meteor
but an alien starship. The local sheriff and the townsfolk
think our heroes have a screw loose until some mighty strange
happenings change their minds. In the following days, people
disappear and return, obviously being manipulated in a strange
way. After a while, the sheriff becomes distrustful. He and
his men enter the mine. But Putnam hopes to reach a peaceful
solution and enters the starship.
This was the very first film to use the theme
of aliens taking over the bodies of humans.
The film was made under several working titles
including Atomic Monster, Strangers from Space and
The Meteor.
The music for the film was composed by Henry
Mancini, although he did not receive screen credit.
Here are a few 3-D auction results from the past month.
A Taxiphote stereo viewer.(1899-1920) sold for $1,705
with 12 bids. The whole mechanism is mounted on a
brass base within the box, a design feature shared
with Richards scientific recording instruments and
ultimately derived from clock making. This lower cabinet
has three shelves. Each self holds four trays with
25 slides for a total of 300 slides. Over 600 positives
and negatives mixed were included in the sale. Some
are from Sheeps Head Bay around New York, auto racing
and air races (1910). New York harbor with war ships
in background (1913), brown shirts in Brussels (1933)
and much more.
A decorated Brewster stereo viewer
with decorated casket and stereocards is currently selling
for $782.63 with 15 bids. This is an incredible hand
painted ebonised wooden casket containing a matching
decorated stereo viewer set in a dark blue, velvet lined
middle chamber with two side sections each containing
14 Underwood & Underwood good quality stereo cards
of Palestine. The soft padded interior of the lid is
lined in blue silk. Style of decoration has a Persian
or Eastern influence, popular in the mid to late Victorian
period. Colors are red, blue, green and gold with highlights
of the design in raised white or ivory enamel. Under
the top hinged lid of the viewer is the original mirror
which has some spotting of the mirror coating but it
still works adequately in reflecting light on the cards.
The etched rear screen is in good condition and is used
for viewing transparent glass stereo slides. Size of
the casket: 12 x 8 1/2 x 6 inches.
A 1920s Mutoscope penny operated stereo
viewer sold for $525 with 20 bids. This is a 1920's
stereo card viewer, similar to the many arcade machines
made at that time. The coin-mech/winder is made by Advance
Machine Company. It bears patent dates of 1916 and 1920.
The light for seeing the cards is provided by glass
windows on top and on two sides. There are four "shows"
in the viewer. The Boat Race, Fun at a Wedding, Willie
and His Sling Shot and Big Sister's Beau. As the titles
suggest, they are comic. The viewer is 13.75 inches
tall, 7.75 inches wide and 11.75 deep. The machine weighs
21 pounds.
A Realist Custom stereo
camera with Vivitar flash sold for $710 with 25 bids.
This Rare and highly desirable Realist 35mm Custom Stereo
camera has the color corrected coated rare Earth German
f/2.8 lenses. According to the seller, this camera is
in perfect working condition and comes with modern flash
attachment and high end Vivitar zoom Thyristor model
265 with auto exposure feature and filter attachment.
The rangefinder is accurate with clear windows, shutter
speeds T. B. 1-1/200" are accurate.
The
World 3-D Film Expo II is scheduled for Sept. 8 through 17,
2006, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
Award-winning
3-D capture and creation software for design through print
now offers the fastest conversion of any 2-D pictures to 3-D
and a timeline feature for precise creative control of Animation
Effects and Flips.
National
Graphics Inc. has been issued U.S. Patent for its revolutionary
new lenticular printing process that enables printing presses
to produce three-dimensional images.
Austrailia
will have more 3-D cinemas than anywhere else in the world
outside North America and Korea when the animated adventure
story Monster House opens in the country in September.
The new format requires hi-tech digital projectors, and cinema
patrons wear special glasses. 
A
new line of 3-D televisions by Philips uses the familiar trick
of sending slightly different images to the left and right
eyes, mimicking our stereoscopic view of the real world. But
where old-fashioned 3-D movies rely on the special glasses
to block images meant for the other eye, Philips' WOWvx technology
places tiny lenses over each of the millions of red, green
and blue sub pixels that make up an LCD or plasma screen.
The lenses cause each sub pixel to project light at one of
nine angles fanning out in front of the display.
It
Came From Outer Space in glorious 3-D unspooled for three
days of performances on July 27, 28 and 29 at the Red Vic
Movie House in San Fransisco. 
