Cosmic origins: experiences making a stereoscopic 3D movie

Nick Holliman

doi:10.1117/12.840957

23 February 2010 Cosmic origins: experiences making a stereoscopic 3D movie

Nick Holliman

Proceedings Volume 7524, Stereoscopic Displays and Applications XXI; 75240C (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.840957
Event: IS&T/SPIE Electronic Imaging, 2010, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

Context: Stereoscopic 3D movies are gaining rapid acceptance commercially. In addition our previous experience with the short 3D movie "Cosmic Cookery" showed that there is great public interest in the presentation of cosmology research using this medium. Objective: The objective of the work reported in this paper was to create a three-dimensional stereoscopic movie describing the life of the Milky way galaxy. This was a technical and artistic exercise to take observed and simulated data from leading scientists and produce a short (six minute) movie that describes how the Milky Way was created and what happens in its future. The initial target audience was the visitors to the Royal Society's 2009 Summer Science Exhibition in central London, UK. The movie is also intended to become a presentation tool for scientists and educators following the exhibition. Apparatus: The presentation and playback systems used consisted of off-the shelf devices and software. The display platform for the Royal Society presentation was a RealD LP Pro switch used with a DLP projector to rear project a 4 metre diagonal image. The LP Pro enables the use of cheap disposable linearly polarising glasses so that the high turnover rate of the audience (every ten minutes at peak times) could be sustained without needing delays to clean the glasses. The playback system was a high speed PC with an external 8Tb RAID driving the projectors at 30Hz per eye, the Lightspeed DepthQ software was used to decode and generate the video stream. Results: A wide range of tools were used to render the image sequences, ranging from commercial to custom software. Each tool was able to produce a stream of 1080p images in stereo at 30fps. None of the rendering tools used allowed precise calibration of the stereo effect at render time and therefore all sequences were tuned extensively in a trial and error process until the stereo effect was acceptable and supported a comfortable viewing experience. Conclusion: We conclude that it is feasible to produce high quality 3D movies using off-the shelf equipment if care is taken to control the stereoscopic quality throughout the production process.

Citation Download Citation

Nick Holliman "Cosmic origins: experiences making a stereoscopic 3D movie", Proc. SPIE 7524, Stereoscopic Displays and Applications XXI, 75240C (23 February 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.840957

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available