From stereoview cards to large-format IMAX films, 3-D technology's heightened realism and powerful visual allure have held audiences captive for over a century and a half. The technology, known as stereoscopy, creates an illusion of depth by presenting two slightly different images to the eye in print or on-screen. The advent of stereoscopic film technology excited both filmmakers and audiences, as a means of replicating all of the sounds, colors, movement, and dimensionality of life and nature for the first time. The origins of 3-D film are often linked with a proliferation of stereoscopic films in the 1950s. By the time films like Man in the Dark and House of Wax was attracting large crowds, however, the technology behind this form of filmmaking was already over a century old. Stereoscopic Cinema and the Origins of 3-D Film, 1838--1952, examines this "novelty period" of stereoscopic film, charting its progression from Charles Wheatstone's 1938 discovery of 3-D to the 1952 release of Arch Oboler's innovative film, Bwana Devil. Stereoscopic specialist Ray Zone argues that the development of stereoscopic film can best be understood through a historical analysis of the technology rather than of its inventors. Zone examines the products used to create stereoscopic images, noting such milestones as David Brewster's and Oliver Wendell Holmes's work with stereoscopes, the use of polarizing image selection, and the success of twin-strip 3-D films, among others. In addition, Zone looks at the films produced up to 1952, discussing public reception of early 3-D short films as well as longer features such as Power of Love in single-strip anaglyphic projection in 1922 and Semyon Ivanov's 1941 autostereoscope Robinson Crusoe. He integrates his examination of the evolution of 3-D film with other cinematic developments, demonstrating the connection between stereoscopic motion pictures and modern film production. Stereoscopic Cinema and the Origins of 3-D Film, 1838--1952, is an exhaustive study of not only the evolution of 3-D technology and the subsequent filmmaking achievements but also the public response to and cultural impact of 3-D movies. Zone takes the reader on a voyage of discovery into the rich history of a field that predates photography and that continues to influence television and computer animation today.

Stereoscopic cinema began in the early 19th century and exploded in the 1950s in Hollywood. Its status as an enduring genre was confirmed in 2009 by the success of 3-D movie 'Avatar'.

Though it may come as a surprise to both cinema lovers and industry professionals who believe that 3-D film was born in the early 1950s, stereoscopic cinema actually began in 1838, more than 100 years before the 3-D boom in Hollywood was created by the release of Arch Oboler's African adventure film, Bwana Devil, filmed in "Natural Vision" 3-D. Stereoscopic Cinema and the Origins of 3-D Film, 1838--1952, is a comprehensive prehistory of the stereoscopic motion picture. In the late nineteenth century, stereoview cards were popular worldwide, and soon filmmakers wanted to capture these "living pictures" with motion, sound, and color. Writing a new chapter in the history of early cinema, Ray Zone not only discusses technological innovation and its cultural context but also examines the aesthetic aspects of stereoscopic cinema in its first century of production.

Includes credits and details of over 200 films from the early part of the 20th c. to the present. Full technical specifications are included, sometimes with patent drawings and equipment photos. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Hollywood is going 3D, readers learn how to adapt their production skills to this hot new medium so they can be part of the movement.

Der 3D-Film hat die Art, wie wir das Geschehen auf der Leinwand erleben, verändert. Einen Schritt weiter geht der stereoskopische Film, der nicht nur die Wahrnehmung der Zuschauer in neue Dimensionen führt, sondern auch die 3D-Filmproduktion revolutioniert. Die Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen „Konrad Wolf“ hat in einem interdisziplinären Filmprojekt Wirtschaft und Forschung zusammengebracht: Gemeinsam mit Profis der Filmbranche erarbeiteten Studenten und Absolventen Lösungsstrategien zu aktuellen technischen und ästhetischen Fragen der Stereoskopie und der s3D-Filmproduktion. Grundlage des Projekts bildete die wissenschaftliche Begleitung des s3D-Films „The Magician“, dessen Entstehung im Buch sowie durch eine s3D- und eine 2D-Produktion auf Blu-ray dokumentiert wurde.