About 3D Movies

3D Technology is considered the most exciting development in cinema presentation since its first debut in 1922, with the movie, "The Power of Love". Although that movie did not become very popular, it was enough to create a stir and start a revolution in film making.

© TheVlue

The 1950s saw a proliferation of 3D movies, most of which were in the comedy and horror genres. Because this was an era of discovery in film making, there were still no standards that were set for making 3D movies. Soon, they were brought to the background again due to other innovations in film technology that became more popular, like Cinemascope.

3D Technology uses special film making technology and eyeglasses to present an illusion of depth. Although the technology has been around since the 1950s, it was only recently that it has been improved for use in theaters and television broadcasts. The introduction of high end theaters such as the IMAX and other Disney themed vieweing venues allowed the influx of 3D films."

Through the use of 3D glasses, that has color filters, images can be superimposed, which create the illusion of depth. Through the filters in these glasses, the light received by the eyes gets polarized. The effect is a three dimensional projection of the same image in both eyes, yet perceived from different perspectives.

Obama In 3D Glasses
© Andrew Teman

By 2009, digital 3D movies became more ingrained in people's movie viewing tastes, which led to more movies being released in 3D. The most successful 3D film so far, is Avatar, released in last December, and became a record breaking hit. The movie set the current standards for 3D film making. James Cameron, the director of Avatar was also able to convince theater owners all over the US to invest about $100,000 for the technology needed to present 3D movies.

How To Train Your Dragon Double-sided poster

3D Bluray discs would soon be the next trend, as movie studios tap into the anticipating market of moviegoers who would also want to watch 3D movies at home and not just in the movie theaters.

Shrek 4 Double-sided poster

Some of the 3D Blu-rays that will be out in the market will be "How To Train Your Dragon", "Monsters vs. Aliens", "Shrek 4", "Alice in Wonderland", "Bolt", and "Ice Age:"Dawn of the Dinosaurs".

Alice In Wonderland Double-sided poster

© elvisripley

The technology allows 2 images of the same scene to be superimposed with each other, in order to create an illusion of depth. Moviegoers are given special glasses with filters to help them perceive these two perspectives as one complete image with depth.

Of course, there is no way that the movie screen would do the integrating of the images for you. It is your brain which analyzes the two images instantly and perceive them as a three dimensional object. The main principle used here is the polarization of light waves. With the use of polarized glasses, two images are formed, one for each eye, and the brain processes these images. The brain then integrates them together and you immediately get a 3D perception.

That's a cool way to get your brain moving while watching a great movie!