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Stereoscopy and the Cinematographer
Gunaratna, Vidu ; SMUTNÝ, Vladimír (advisor) ; MYSLÍK, Jiří (referee)
The thesis is a study of stereoscopy from a cinematographer's point of view. It views stereoscopy in it's entire spectrum of today's use - from rides in theme parks, over commercial narrative films, to documentaries with a cultural value. It briefly takes a look at the early theories of binoculars, the early stages of stereoscopy discovery and stereophotography. Next it briefly focuses on the history of stereoscopy in cinema from its beginning, to it's renaissance in the 1950's up to today. Thereafter the thesis continues with a description of the principles of depth perception, with keywords like disparity, parallax, convergence and accommodation. It mentions the importance of non-stereoscopic depth cues to the process of stereopsis. The next part concentrates on the stereoscopic window, which is analogical to the frame and it's borders in conventional cinema. It investigates the screen size, the distance limit of the far plane and stereoscopic window violation. It continues in breaking down the stereoscopic image and factors that influence the size perception of objects and figures in it's space, as well as analyzing the perception of the whole image depending on the viewer's position to the screen. Attention is given to a special case of stereoscopy - orthostereoscopy. Depth bracket, native parallax and terms such as stereo comfort zone, depth budget and depth bracket are defined to create an understanding of the importance of the concept of the depth chart. The aesthetics of depth is demonstrated on a few recent stereoscopic films. A general overview of equipment for stereoscopy follows - rigs, 3D monitors and software. The thesis continues in discussing the tools of the cinematographer divided into two groups - non-stereoscopic and stereoscopic. The non-stereoscopic are linear and colour perspective, atmosphere blur, focus and camera movement. While the stereoscopic tools are interaxial distance and convergence. The cases of hypostereoscopy and hyperstereoscopy are understood as tools of the trade as well. The next chapter is dedicated to the specifics and limitations of stereoscopic imaging - the necessity of perfect pairing of cameras, lenses, the specifics of framing for stereoscopy, issues related to the mirror in the rigs, lighting and use of optical camera filters. The next part of the thesis briefly covers related topics that have an impact on the image as well. Namely set design, post-production, with stress on colour grading, and various stereoscopic projection systems, including autostereoscopy. The last part of the thesis is an interview with cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, ACS, ASC who shares his experience on shooting the Hobbit. The conclusion is a reflection on the question, if stereoscopy is a tool and it also tries to estimate the future of stereoscopy in film and television.
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