Hello and welcome back to picsandportraits.
By capturing movement, film reflects the rhythm of life perhaps better than any other medium.
We project our experience on the screen and since its inception we have continued to refine
it, with the addition of sound and then colour. Both began as novelties that eventually became
standard but the next step, immersion into the image, 3D, did not fare as well.
Throughout film history, many attempts have been made to popularize 3D movies but it never
seems to catch on. Today we are going to look at why that might be as well as take a trip
through the so-called Golden Age of 3D, the early 1950s.
While it took until the 1950s to gain popularity, It may surprise you to learn, 3D film is nearly
as old as the medium itself.
It’s roots are in the early stereoscopic experiments of William Friese-Greene. Friese-Greene
would project two films and have the viewer watch them through a stereoscope. Now to understand
why or how 3D works we need to know a bit about the eye and how it functions.
Bear in mind, I am no expert, but our eyes act as cameras, capturing information for
our brain to process. Our brain then decides, among other things, how far away that
object is and what space is occupies.
Stereoscopic photography tricks your brain by presenting two offset images to each of
your eyes, creating the illusion of depth. At least that’s how your brain interprets
it.
This effect is achieved through the use of a device, such as a stereoscope or the classic
red-cyan anaglyphic glasses. Most early 3D relied on the latter.
Basically, red and cyan filters were placed over each of the projected images and when
viewed through the glasses, the eyes focussed on the corresponding colour.
If this sounds complicated, it is.
3D film went through many experiments before being embraced by Hollywood.
I would love to show you more but like many early films, the results of these experiments
no longer exist.
We do have some examples, and although a few may work with those glasses, most of what
we will see is presented in 2D or “flat”
First up, we have 1935’s Audioscopiks. This was a series of tests produced for MGM by
Jacob Leventhal and John Norling. They showcased 3-D through several different actions, including
a game of baseball and ride a roller coaster, probably the most famous.
Another early test that was screened to the public was In Tune With Tomorrow, also known
as New Dimensions. This was a short film produced by Chrysler for the 1939 World’s Fair, a
well-trodden topic on this channel.
It featured a Chrysler Plymouth being assembled on its own, with its various components dancing
and coming out at the audience.
It's very cute, very charming.
Let’s jump ahead to the early 1950s. After half a century, the spectacle of film had
faded and the advent of television brought more options for home entertainment.
People could now consume visual media without going to a movie theatre and the industry
had to distinguish itself and offer a more unique experience.
Studios believed audiences wanted realism. We hear sounds and see in colour but we also
see depth so the next logical step was 3D film.
While it had existed for decades, 3D was largely a novelty, as we’ve seen, and audiences
still had to be taught how to view it. Produced by animator Bob Clampett, M.L. Gunzburg presents
3D was a short film created as a means of doing so but also to ensure them the process
was safe.
It screened before the first 3D feature film, Arch Oboler’s independently produced Bwana Devil
in 1952. Marketed as “natural vision”, Bwana Devil was critically panned but loved
by audiences.
It’s success lead to 1953’s House of Wax, starring Vincent Price, and Man in the Dark,
produced by Warner Bros and Columbia respectively. This was 3D’s mainstream breakthrough.
That same year, Universal entered the fray with It Came From Outer Space. This is notable
1953 also brought Paramount’s first foray in to 3D Sangaree and Fox’s Inferno. Needless
to say, it was a big year and I’m sure you’re starting to notice a bit of a theme.
Because of the novelty of the images popping out of the screen, it’s no surprise many
3D films were genre films, like sci-fi, adventure and horror. These lend themselves perfectly
to 3D due to the potential of shock and awe. That’s not to say there were no dramas or
serious movies. The most distinguished director to produce a film in 3D was probably Alfred
Hitchcock with 1954’s Dial M for Murder, though it had a complicated screening history.
Early previews and screenings were so poorly received that it was immediately rereleased
flat. The 3D version wouldn’t see the light of day until the 1980s.
This was more or less the beginning of the end.
Inconvenience ultimately lead to 3D’s demise. It required twice the equipment and resources
and asked the audience to wear an accessory in order to enjoy it. And that is if it was
done properly, as one error was capable of disorienting the viewer and spoiling the experience.
This happened frequently and contributed to 3D’s decline.
It also faced stiff competition from other emerging formats like Cinerama, which presented
a massive widescreen image by using three projectors projecting three separate images to form one,
or the more enduring CinemaScope, which achieved a similar effect with existing technology
using anamorphic lenses. A wider image won out and by the mid-50s 3D was relegated back
to novelty, but it would be back.
A majority of the films from 3D’s golden age can be filed under schlock and as such,
fell into obscurity or neglect. However, in the past decade many have been lovingly restored
and converted to digital 3D by the 3DFilmArchive. If you have the interest and means to view
these films, I encourage you to support this company. They do an amazing job.
You can support us at Patreon.com/picsnportraits. We are going to be looking at 3D’s renaissance
in the 1980s as well as some of the films we glossed over there. You can get access
to that and dozens of other videos for just $5 a month.
In case you missed it, that also the home for Sleepcore now though it is free. Check
that out if you haven’t. We should have a new one going up in the next couple of weeks
as well.
As always thank you so much for your interest in this channel and thank you so much for watching!