Blog
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Stereoscopy
I had the pleasure of watching Alice in Wonderland on Friday evening (one of the many perks of having children of a certain age). It was everything you’d expect of a Tim Burton film and I’d recommend a watch, but I’m not going to review the film, it’s the experience of watching it in 3D that prompted me to write this post.
This year could prove a very interesting one in the history of 3D viewing, with Sky’s 3D channel set to launch this Saturday with coverage of Manchester United v Chelsea, and 3D TV sets about to hit the market in the UK (albeit for several thousand pounds each). But does the experience of watching 3D really live up to the hype? Personally, I find it extremely hit and miss – and for the most part a distraction to what you’re watching.
Stereoscopy has been around since the 1840s, when it was invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone. Originally, you’d view a pair of stereo images through a viewer resembling a pair of binoculars, so that each eye sees only the left or right image to create the effect of depth. Indeed, if you look the wrong way through a pair of binoculars at a pair of stereo images you can effectively make your own stereoscope – something I had great fun experimenting with whilst at college with a pair of 35mm cameras.
If you’ve ever seen one, there’s something quite magical about viewing antique stereo images from the turn of the last century. An image so far removed from the present suddenly becomes tangible, like you can reach out and touch it.
Unfortunately, that magic struggles to transcend beyond the novelty factor in the cinema. You’re suddenly hit with objects flying out at you in deep, exaggerated perspective, that detract from, rather than enhance the narrative. The most effective shots are those where you forget you’re watching in 3D, you just feel that much closer to the story.
Its a shame 3D material is reliant on such a controlled viewing environment to be appreciated. Despite the gimmicky nature of 3D, it remains a fascinating area I’d like to explore further. For starters, it’d be really interesting to work up the animation we created for Dealerward in true 3D.
There have been many false dawns in the advent of 3D, during the fifties and eighties in particular, but with Hollywood and Sky now embracing the technology it finally looks like 3D will be here to stay.
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Designer Breakfasts
This morning I had the pleasure of meeting and listening to Franco Bonadio at the ‘Designer Breakfasts’ seminar held at BBH, Kingly Street. Franco, CEO and creative director of Identica, gave his refreshing and honest account of running a design consultancy. I liked his ‘fast/slow’ topic referring to a technique he learned at life drawing classes – spend too long over something and invariably the result is overworked and distorted. Give yourself limited time and anything can happen, sometimes disastrous, but often spontaneous, interesting and worth talking about.
All in all, a good way to spend a morning. I highly recommend it.
Image ©merceblanco (Flickr) -
Nursing Home LPs
Just made a reccy visit to a derelict nursing home in north London that will be used as the location for the ‘Last Tango in Croydon’ film being shot this weekend. The place is largely in ruin through vandals and water seepage, but I stumbled across a box of saturated LPs amongst the broken glass, nappies and bits of plasterboard. Interesting, if poignant, little insight into the musical pleasures enjoyed by the last residents who lived there.
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Cows Go Moo (And People Do Too)
We’re delighted to be part of “Cows Go Moo (And People Do Too)”, a project to make a short film to raise the profile of children’s charity The Place2Be. The project has snowballed since we first met the project’s founder, Danny Somekh, and the film’s director, Armand Attard, last week. The film, entitled “Last Tango in Croydon” and starring Keith Barron, is now in full pre-production with a shoot planned for 27/28th April. Applied Works will be creating the opening titles and publicity material for the film. More to follow…
Blog: Cows Go Moovie
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3G: Three Generations of Women
Just launched is the first phase of a website we’ve designed and built for ‘3G: Three Generations of Women’, a collaboration between Pathways of Women’s Empowerment, an international research and communication consortium, and photographer/videographers Guilhem Alandry and Anna Kari.
The project explores the differences in the lives of women of three generations within one family (daughter, mother and grandmother) through photographs, video interviews and 3d panoramas. Initially launched with three Egyptian families, the project will, over time, expand to include families from other countries including the UK, France, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone. As the project grows, it will become possible to compare the differences and similarities in the stories told by women, across countries and across generations.