Looking at declining ratios of opening weekend grosses between 3-D and 2-D equipped theaters, the LA Times recently asserted that 3-D was losing audience interest. This claim was refuted by proponents of 3-D who point out that 3-D screens still pull in 1.5 to 2 times as much as the same films on 2-D screens and they also point to independent surveys by Screen Digest and USC’s Entertainment Technology Center which they say indicate strong audience enthusiasm for 3-D and that “the more viewers see this generation of 3-D, the more they say they like it and the more eager they are to see more.”

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The Ogden Standard-Examiner quoted Phil Lelyveld of the USC School of Cinematic Arts’ Entertainment Technology Center about 3-D movies. “The two-color glasses, used for years and years, go back to the 1800s. They achieve the 3-D effect by sacrificing color,” Lelyveld said. “[The newer] polarized glasses are slightly gray in tint, and they don’t take the color out. With polarized glasses, which look like sunglasses, the light is spinning clockwise in one eye and counterclockwise in the other.”

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“G-Force” is a hybrid, using both techniques since it has both live and animated characters, said Phil Lelyveld, project manager of the Consumer 3D Experience Lab at the University of Southern California’s Entertainment Technology Center.

After films are prepared for 3-D viewing, viewers who want the full effect must wear the special glasses.

“The two-color glasses, used for years and years, go back to the 1800s,” Lelyveld said. “They achieve the 3-D effect by sacrificing color. One lens is red and the other is green or blue, so there is a color each eye cannot see. “(The newer) polarized glasses are slightly gray in tint, and they don’t take the color out. With polarized glasses, which look like sunglasses, the light is spinning clockwise in one eye and counterclockwise in the other. If you tilt your head, you still get the 3-D effect, unlike with the colored glasses. Polarized glasses currently predominate in theaters.”

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Executive Briefing
Basic 3D Perception Concepts

By Phil Lelyveld
ETC@USC

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The 3D Entertainment Summit in association with Variety also announced that the Entertainment Technology Center at USC (ETC@USC) will serve as its Presenting Partner. ETC@USC will work with Bob Dowling on the conference content and will provide outreach to its leading edge industry constituents. The Entertainment Technology Center at USC is an organization within the USC School of Cinematic Arts and was founded with the help of George Lucas in 1993, with the goal of bringing technology and entertainment visionaries together to collaborate on the future of entertainment technology.

“A key focus for ETC@USC is our work to enable 3D to expand from the theatre into the home. As Presenting Partner of the 3D Entertainment Summit, we are able to bring what we hear from our Hollywood studio and large consumer electronics and technology sponsors, to help usher in the next generation of entertainment,” said David Wertheimer, CEO &executive director of the ETC@USC. “The 3D Entertainment Summit in association with Variety, presented by ETC@USC, is a unique opportunity for people to dig deeper into the creative and business opportunities for 3D.”

Lab program manager for ETC@USC’s 3D Content Lab Phil Levyveld added, “Participating in the effort to elevate the value of the conference is beautifully aligned with the goal of the Consumer 3D Experience Lab, which aims to accelerate the convergence of 3Dbased ideas, so that consumers looking for 3D content, products, and services will have a consistent, enjoyable purchasing and viewing experience.”

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