| T3D
2-D to 3-D Conversion Software
  T3D
(Version 6) is 2-D to 3-D conversion software that allows
you to make any regular flat photograph into a 3-D image.
Version 7 of the T3D software from UnityPro will be released
soon with an updated interface and many code improvements.
"As a 3-D enthusiast, we all know that
artificial 3-D can not reproduce a perfect 3-D look and feel,"
said Dr. Todd Wildrick, creator of the T3D software. "That
is not the goal of this product. The goal of this product
is the user who wants to turn her kids school photos in to
3-D images, or the fan who wants to convert a magazine image
of their favorite film star."
"While we have all seen claims of 'It
makes great 3-D!' from converters only to find it is jokingly
bad," said Wildrick," that is not the case with
T3D. T3D uses the latest wavelett theory combined with artificial
intelligence to help identify objects in a scene to make fun
3-D images. This software is not designed for your $100,000
3-D sales presentation, it is designed to be fun and useful."
T3D is the most advanced 2-D to 3-D photo maker
ever developed. Originally designed for professional studio
FX use, it has now been made available to the public. UnityPro
will soon be releasing a T3D Interface that will convert entire
folders full of images to 3-D.
How It Works
Take an image from a camera, from a Photoshop project, from
any source. Select it in the T3D interface, select an output
file name, decide what kind of 2-D to 3-D image conversion
you want, select from a variety of other parameters and viola!
A 3-D picture is generated. No, this is not automatic, you
still need to know what the parameters mean and set them accordingly,
but that's what makes the 2-D to 3-D image conversion process
better than any other 2-D to 3-D product out there!
Here are a few 3-D images created by 3-D
Review Online Magazine using the T3D software.
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The software can be set to give a full
range of depth. The girl's cheeks have a fully rounded
curve in this image converted using the geometric depth
cue with a warp weight of 25. The original is a black-and-white
photo taken in 1976. |
Converted using the geometric depth cue with a warp
weight of 20, the same photo now has just a little
too much output on the cheeks and nose and loses pop
on the hair and toward the back of the head. Using
a combination of the depth cues, warp weight and image
shift gives the user a powerful set of tools to customize
the 3-D output.
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This image contains quite a lot of depth, especially
the frill on the blouse. Converted using the geometric
depth cue with a warp weight of 20.
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Notice the open window in the background also pops
out in 3-D.
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Although her hair and some of the flowers are pseudoscopic,
everything else in this photo is a nearly perfect
cross-eye 3-D conversion.
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How much does it cost?
T3D is affordable 2-D to 3-D software priced at only $39.95.
(Editor's Note: Price as listed at www.unitypro.com/t3dconverter.htm
on Feb. 23, 2007.)
The software is what it is, a way for those who want a quick
way to create some acceptable 3-D from 2-D sources. For such
an outstanding product, T3D is receiving a 3-D Review
Online Magazine Must See 3-D™ Editor's Choice Award.
(Editor's Note: As of October 2008, Unitypro.com has disappeared
from the Web. If anyone finds them back online, please let
us know and we will update our links to the T3D software.)
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SeeView
Envisions 3-D Previews Inside DVD Cases
  Specialty
promotional group SeeView has announced a new kind of DVD
case that would allow consumers to get a 3-D preview of the
movie or game content on the disc.
The SeeViewer snaps into the bottom section of the open SeeView
DVD case so that when closed the viewer and 12 images are
accessible to the customer in stores. The consumer would hold
up the bottom of a DVD case like a pair of binoculars to view
the 3-D scenes. It would offer consumers a better sense of
what to expect in the DVD.
"It's very innovative and inexpensive compared to fancier
packaging; there's nothing like it on the market. We hope
consumers will ask for all DVDs to have previewers built-in,"
said SeeView creator and president Rick Andrade.
According to Andrade, "Current DVD cases just don't
have enough information to help consumers make the best choice.
Now they have the chance to preview a movie on 12 3-D slides
built right into the bottom of every SeeView DVD case. At
the end of the day, we believe we are offering the consumer
a chance to see more before they pay for new DVD films, games
and TV content. And there’s nothing wrong with that."
The 3-D images and the bringing a pair of "collectable"
3-D glasses to the store is beneficial for retailers and consumers,
and would be especially exciting for the 3-D collecting community.
"I can see new chapters in the stereo collectors guides
dedicated to which DVD packages contained SeeViewers,"
said Van Beydler, editor of 3-D Review Online Magazine.
"Will collector's want to have every Seeviewer color
variant to have a complete collection? Will the movie companies
offer different views inside the SeeViewers to make them more
collectible? It could become an entire new 3-D collecting
field if the idea takes off."
  The
SeeViewer is a patented cell-phone sized pocket viewer. The
idea for the SeeViewer was developed by Andrade after his
wife sent him to the video store to rent a DVD movie. Knowing
his wife’s taste in movies was very discriminating compared
to his own, Rick tried desperately to compare a few movies
side by side. But the packaging on the front and back of each
DVD movie was not enough.
With a long history of Hollywood film distribution in his
background, and using both his UCLA Film and MBA degrees,
Rick discovered a better way to help him make the best choice,
he would find a way to craft a small pre-viewer inside each
DVD case. This pocket-sized viewer could then become part
of the case itself, it could show select preview scenes, reviews
or other exciting reasons to buy or rent a movie. Problem
solved, right?
It would take another year making models in his garage before
he was awarded a patent, and another year more making dozens
of design and prototype changes. Then, finally with the help
of two brilliant designers, Luis Niquet and James Graham,
3-D master conversion artist Jim Long, and film recorder experts
Nelson and John Monceaux, the SeeViewer was born.
The 3-D DVD case is only one way the SeeViewer could be used
to present 3-D images. The SeeViewer could also be customized
to promote any product or service. Using new technology, the
SeeViewer team of film and digital experts can convert and
display any image-sequence into a 3-D film strip. For the
first time, marketing and advertising programs can now tell
a story in pictures, cartoons or sketches, and create memorable
sequences for their customers to laugh, cheer and collect
for a lifetime...all without batteries or electricity
No publishers have announced plans to begin using the SeeView
packaging.
The SeeViewer fits snugly inside the specially designed DVD
keepcase. (Image courtesy of Rick Andrade)
A close up look at the mirrors and advance knob on the SeeViewer.
(Image courtesy of Rick Andrade)
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View-Master®
Store Display Ceiling Light Sign from Belgium (1960)
View-Master® produced many advertising items
to promote selling reels, viewers, cameras and more over the
years. Recently a unique ceiling light sign from Belgium came
up for auction on eBay. The item sold for $567.57 with seven
bids. The lighted display sign has the same View-Master®
image on both sides. Around two of the image cels were the
words "Rob otten . 734 Chee de Gand . Bruxelles"
and "T.P.B. 12/142/60." The sign operates on 130
volts. The electric cord was missing it's plug but the owner
had tested the light, which worked perfectly.
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Sigourney
Weaver teams up with director James Cameron, with whom she
worked in the 'Aliens' series, for the sci-fi movie 'Avatar'
being shot in 3-D
 Avatar
will be one of the first mainstream films to be made in 3-D
only and both the actor and the director are excited about
the project as its giving them and opportunity to work together
after a long hiatus.
Director James Cameron said, "Weaver and I have always
looked back fondly on our collaboration in Aliens,
and we're excited at the prospect of working together again.
She has a unique blend of strength, sensitivity and intelligence
needed to play the character of Grace, and she has a special
significance for fans of science fiction. So, in addition
to being perfect in all ways for the part, there is something
special about her returning to the genre in our film. I was
thrilled when she responded so strongly to the script, and
I can't wait to see what she creates."
The live action would be shot with the proprietary Fusion
digital 3-D camera system developed by Cameron and Vince Pace.
According to Cameron, the film would be composed of 60 percent
computer-generated elements and 40 percent live action. The
performance-capture photography would last 31 days on a high-tech
soundstage in Playa Vista. Cameron will shoot live-action
for 31 days in New Zealand. The shooting will begin in April
and the movie is expected to be released in summer 2009.
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Ghost
Rider 3-D Lenticular 1-sheet Movie Poster
Here is a look at the Sony Pictures Ghost
Rider lenticular 3-D movie poster that was distributed
to movie theatres to promote the Nicolas Cage film based on
the Marvel Comics character. The poster features a close facial
shot of Johnny Blaze (played by Nic Cage) that transforms
in its lenticular-ness into a fiery Ghost Rider skull.
University
of Oregon's The Cultural Forum showing free 3-D Movies through
March 2007
 Sitting
in a crowded movie theater is seldom worth it, unless you're
wearing cardboard glasses, face the possibility of suffering
a severe headache and the film's villain is a fish-human hybrid.
The Cultural Forum started providing a weekly
3-D movie showing, beginning Friday, Feb. 5, in 180 PLC, with
the science-fiction film, Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Released in 1954, the popular film features a prehistoric
fish-human hybrid who escapes from scientists and captures
a female research assistant.
Michael Aronson, a University assistant professor who teaches
various film courses, said Creature from the Black Lagoon
came in the middle of the "golden era" of 3-D movies,
which was a short lived period between 1952 and 1955. "3-D
had been around as a technology since the '20s, but it became
popular in the '50s to differentiate movies from TV, which
was beginning to become a threat," Aronson said. "Original
3-D technology required two cameras and used mirrors to angle
shots, but the film (projection) had to be perfectly synchronized
to avoid giving massive headaches to audience members,"
Aronson said.
Alexa Koenings, a University junior and film coordinator
for the Cultural Forum, said she wanted to create this series
because she believes most students haven't experienced 3-D
movies. "It's a phase in art history that hasn't really
carried on into our generation," she said. Koenings,
who is undeclared but wants to major in fine arts, transferred
from the University of Washington a year ago, even though
Seattle is where she developed her enthusiasm for film. "The
visuals are sometimes more important than the plot,"
she said. 3-D movies "are so aesthetically different
than other movies today."
While Aronson said he finds 3-D movies "artificial,"
he praised them for their advances in technology at the time,
such as the use of stereo sound. "Our sense of what cinema
is or what movies are can change," he said, adding that
while 3-D is considered "cheesy" today, it was popular
in its time.
Priscilla Ovalle, a University assistant film professor,
said movie genres not only tell us what was popular during
a time period, but viewers can learn about societal issues
from movies. "At the time, creature films were out of
fashion, so the studio releasing Creature from the Black
Lagoon advertised it as a science-fiction film. The publicity
worked and the film is still highly regarded as a sci-fi flick,"
she said.
Aronson said one of the reasons science-fiction films were
popular in the postwar era was because people had anxieties
about the affects of the Atom Bomb. This was reflected in
mythic hybrid creatures, such as in Creature from the
Black Lagoon.
While Koenings admitted she doesn't know very much about
3-D films, she said she appreciates how the genre attempted
something different in cinema, which was the approach she
took when making an art film last summer.
"Working with Alexa was really great. She has a lot
of ideas," said Kevin Hazlewood, a University senior
who worked as art director on a movie with Koenings. Koenings,
who enjoys drawing and watercolors, said she believes good
movies are similar to other artistic mediums.
Aronson said cinema can be a beautiful experience, but he
believes the clunky technology of 3-D filming takes away from
this possibility.
"I think 3-D movies are only as good as the scripts
and ideas at their core," Ovalle said. "The best
3-D effects will only do so much if the film itself is otherwise
unwatchable, but nothing beats a flying saucer in your face."
The film series were held on Feb. 2, 9 and 15 and the same
dates in March, which are all Thursdays and Fridays. There
is no charge for admission.
For more information contact Alexa Koenings at (541) 346-0633
or by e-mail at alexa_koenings@hotmail.com.
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Breakfast
Toast in 3-D Session to be held at NAB2007 Electronic Media
Show in Las Vegas
 NAB2007,
the world's largest electronic media show, will present a
special session about new developments in 3-D digital cinema
from 8:30 to 10:15 a.m. on April 14, 2007. The session, Breakfast
Toast in 3-D: Raise your Glasses! will be held at the
Las Vegas Convention Center in Suites 222 and 223.
With the advent of high resolution electronic cinema projection,
it has become much easier to deliver stereoscopic 3-D visual
materials to large public venues. Will this only mean a resurgence
of the novelty cinema of the 50’s? Or is this, instead,
the leading edge of a movement whereby every film in the latter
part of this century will be jumping out of its window?
Moderator
Tom Scott, VP Technology, Onstream Media / EDnet, San Francisco,
CA
Presenters
Kenbe Goertzen, President and CEO, QuVis, Topeka, KS
Lenny Lipton, Chief Technology Officer, REAL D, Beverly Hills,
CA
Boyd MacNaughton, MacNaughton Inc., Beaverton, OR
David Schnuelle, Director, Image Technology, Dolby Laboratories,
Burbank, CA
NAB2007, the annual convention of the National Association
of Broadcasters, is the essential destination for more than
100,000 electronic media executives, trendsetters and visionaries.
This event brings together the entire spectrum of media -
television and radio broadcast, audio and video production
and latest technologies from all corners of the globe.
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3-D
Center of Art and Photography offers Digital Stereo Photography
Classes 
 Want
to learn how to make 3-D images from a single-lens digital
camera?
People living in the Portland, Oregon area have
the opportunity to attend classes hosted by The 3-D Center
of Art and Photography. Digital Stereo Photography will be
presented starting Wednesday, April 4, 2007, from 7 - 9:30
p.m. Shab Levy will instruct the four week class.
This class is designed to teach the student everything he
or she ever wanted to know about digital stereo photography.
Students will learn how to take stereo photos with a digital
camera, how to use Adobe® Photoshop® and other photo
editing programs to align their digital stereo pairs and how
to set and adjust the stereo window. Maximum class size is
only 10 students and due to this small class size, additional
discussion topics will be determined based on class interest.
A single-lens digital camera and tripod are recommended for
all students.
Class dates are April 4, 11, 18 and 25. Pre-registration
deadline is April 1.
Cost for the class is $50 General and $40 for Friends of
the Center (level 2 or higher).
The 3-D Center of Art and Photography is located at 1928
NW Lovejoy in Portland, Oregon. Call (503) 227-6667.
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3-D
Auction Results
Here are a few 3-D auction results from the past month
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A Civil War stereoview of Dr. Richard Burr embalming
an unknown soldier sold for $338.33 with 14 bids. The
stereoview is a Taylor & Huntington Real Photo Stereoview,
the War for the Union, Photographic War History, #2531.
Dr. Richard Burr Embalming Surgeon, Army of the James.
Dr. Burr is credited with designing the basic structure
of modern arterial embalming in which the veins of the
dead are filled with chemical preservatives in place
of blood.
A stereoview showing two Pullman train cars sold for
$388 with 11 bids. This stereoview was taken by Alfred
A. Hart, Artist, 135 J Street, Sacramento, CA. The view
is marked Central Pacific Railroad, California, on the
front, and Scenes in the Valley of the Sacramento, on
the back. The main subjects are two railroad cars from
the 1860's. The closest one is marked Pullman Car A
Pennsylvania, and the furthest one is marked Pullman's
Palace Dining Car. There are a handful of men standing
around and a lot of new construction in the foreground.
A stereoview of President Abraham Lincoln sold for
$443 with 18 bids. This is a Keystone stereoview created
with permission from the Division of Prints in the Library
of Congress around 1920. This was from the original
and last stereo portrait that Mathew Brady would produce
before the president would be assassinated. The card
has text on back regarding Keystone's search for lost
photographs in the archives of the Library of Congress.
This particular stereocard had the upper corners cropped.
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