P3D Stereoscopic Deprivation, Anomalous Perception and Children

[fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Dr. George A. Themelis)]

While writing a section on stereoscopic projection for our newsletter, I
was flipping through Lenny Lipton's book "Foundations of the Stereoscopic
Cinema - A Study in Depth" and reconfirmed my earlier assertion THAT THIS
IS THE BEST REFERENCE EVER WRITTEN in most sterescopic issues, not just
plain Cinema.  Unfortunately, the book is out of print.  I have lost my
original copy (when I foolishly sent it to someone I hardly knew, who has
since disappeared from the face of the earth) but was able to get another
copy from Dalia some time back.  If you find this book, don't miss the
chance.  Buy it right away!

In pages 77-80, Lenny discusses some of the issues raised here from time to
time, regarding people's reactions to stereo, problems with depth
perception, etc.  Too much to quote here.  But, a few interesting thoughts:
We have become culturally deconditioned to stereopsis through the
influence of our planar media (TV, magazine illustrations, etc.)  This
could explain some of the negative reactions.

After describing various situations that hinder stereopsis (hyperphoria,
strabismus, etc.) Lenny concludes:  "The overall situation breaks down to
something like this:  Perhaps 2-5% lacks the sense of stereopsis; another
10-15% have varying degrees of the sense... 12-20% is a significantly large
segment of the population..." and this might be a factor in the stereo
imaging's inability to gain popular acceptance.

"Children, on the other hand, have little trouble viewing stereoscopic
films for the first time, and they frequently enjoy sitting... (very) close
to the screen... (They) are not fully conditioned to cultural biases, and
just as important, their eye muscles are more supple."

(My) conclusion:  Expose children to stereo!  They are our future!

-- George Themelis


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