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3D DIGITAL MOVIE SYSTEM
by V. Komar, Y. Ovechkis, V. Elkhov, N. Kondratjev
Now with the wide spreading of computers it is essential to use digital technologies that enable an easy manipulation and management of images. The holographic images with their amazing quality are still shot on a celluloid film and consequently have certain inertia. It is not a problem for displaying holographic film at cinema theater, but can be vitally important for advertising, business presentations and for creating a 3d virtual reality.
In this connection a new technology of the digital image processing has been developed in the NIKFI Laboratories.
Being applied to the cinema, this technology has also no disadvantages of the movie systems, existing nowadays. Viewers can
perceive the 3d image outside the screen, right in the auditorium, not using glasses or helmets. Thus they can freely
change their position in armchairs, looking at the 3d image and over, as we do it in life, and not losing the image.
This technology has been created partly on the basis of our earlier developed experimental system of the 3-dimensional TV without glasses.
The Experimental System of 3-D Television
This 3D TV project was conducted by NIKFI, South-Korean Institute of Science and Technology and several Russian organizations
in 1997-1998. We designed and manufactured the experimental system of video-filming and projection a three-dimensional
moving color image onto a holographic screen.
The filming implemented the video camera with eight lenses and eight matrixes. The video-signals from camera were
transmitted by eight channels to the video-tape recorder or directly to the converter, where their frequencies ware
magnified by 8 times, and then they were transmitted by one channel to a video-projector. The video-projector had 3
cathode-ray tubes with the red, green and blue composing parts for projection. Before the screen of
cathode-ray tubes there were 3 projection lenses; before each lens there were liquid-crystal choppers consisted of
8 vertical strips each.
 The strips
opened in such sequence that provided the perception of three-dimensional image. The holographic screen
formed several viewing zones by reflected from it light with about 350 mm in cross section diameter of a zone. When the eyes of
viewer were in this zone, he saw the image perceived by him as three-dimensional.
This experimental development of the 3d television appeared perspective in various relations. Indeed, it helped us in
proceeding to creation of 3-dimensional digital cinema. Although the technological principles and key technical aspects of
our new 3d digital movie system are currently "know-how", and hence they can not be published; we are with pleasure presenting
its practical features.
Features of the New 3-D Digital Movie System
This system has the following practical features:
1. As it has been marked, a viewer should not put on glasses or a helmet and can freely change position in an armchair,
looking at and over the 3-dimensional image.
2. The film shooting is made by a two-raster camera with two lenses that radically simplifies the image capturing.
Thus the system provides the preservation of all cameraman’s techniques and methods used in the current cinematography.
In this system shooting of films of any complexity and duration is not a technological problem.
3. The rendering of images for 3d projection from the two taken foreshortenings is carried out by a special computer program.
4. A digital record of fragments of the image is made on a disk together with a special code record. Due to the coding the
volume of record is not much differs from the volume of record of a regular 2-dimentional 35mm film.
5. The projection of 3-dimensional image is made on a separating screen, which forms visual zones. Each zone is large enough
to make a viewer feel comfortable and to give him(her) an opportunity to change position in the armchair while watching the movie.
We designed several variants of such screens for different movie theaters with different (unlimited) number of seats.
6. The projection of 3-dimensional movie is made by a complete set of the 3d digital projection equipment and can be completely
controlled by computer.
Conclusions
Compatibility with all computer technologies, as well as preservation of habitual cameraman's and director's methods of shooting, makes the given system of digital 3-dimensional motion pictures economically advantageous during introduction and operation.
And in sight of the new creative opportunities and the power of emotional influence of 3-dimensional cinema, along with the full comfortableness of viewing conditions for the audience, such digital 3-dimensional system certainly becomes a serious alternative to all current systems of cinema.
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