Magic Illusion
The magic of 3D TV – behind the scenes by Levi Mckie
It seems like a lifetime ago that 3D TV, in its early primitive stages, would to some extent induce a nauseating feeling, with the coloured glasses that had to be worn only worsening the situation. These days, new technology has brought 3D TV into the modern age, with many manufacturers putting their faith in 3D TVs’ revival and working furiously to beat the competition.
With blockbusters such as Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ pushing the boundaries of what is real and setting the benchmark for anything to follow it, it seems we’re in for a treat. Audiences all around the world fell in love with Pandora, the alien world in ‘Avatar’, in its three-dimensional form. And it’s hardly surprising – we perceive the real world in three dimensions, so why should we settle for just two-dimensional entertainment?
But many people have been left wondering just how 3D technology actually works. Well, before we can really understand this it is important to consider our biology. How and why do we perceive the world in three dimensions? In truth it is because we have two eyes, both forward facing, and this is known as binocular vision. As a result of having two forward facing eyes that are separated by a few inches, we actually perceive two separate images simultaneously, as you will have noticed when alternating between eyes. Though the images are very similar, (given that there are only a few inches of difference in perspective), there is still enough of a difference for our brains to convert into depth, which is the third dimension of vision. So, the brain receives two images with slightly different perspectives and combines them, allowing us to perceive depth. To take this one step further, imagine you are holding an object close to your face and are looking at it through one eye and then the other. You will notice that the closer the object is to your face the bigger the discrepancy in perspective is between the two images. This test gives an insight into just how the brain understands depth through visual cues.
Now let’s consider the technology that has been designed to manipulate our biology. There are a number of methods for creating the illusion of 3D TV. Many people will remember the colour filter that was used on older 3D glasses at the cinema (normally red and green) – these were used to help us to differentiate between the two coloured films that we were shown, as each of these 3D layers will have a different perspective. The 21st century has now brought us polarised glasses, and this technique works on the same principle of separating two images with filters on glasses; however it selectively screens out light not based on its colour but on its polarisation. This effect is achieved by using polarising films.
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