Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (1930-1949)

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Some Geometrical Conditions for Depth Effect in Motion Pictures By EUGENE MILLET The fundamental considerations affecting stereoscopic vision are used as a basis of a description of the Kern-Paillard Bolex stereo system for 16mm film. JL HE PERCEPTION of a stereoscopic image is a complex phenomenon; the process of synthesis whereby one forms an accurate idea of an object observed in all its dimensions from the elementary data of the senses involves both psychology and cerebral physiology. It is obvious that, for purposes of artificially producing the impression of depth by means of plane images, only the sensory aspect of the problem need be considered; the illusion would be complete if all the sensations present upon observation of the object in nature could be produced artificially at the same intensity as in natural vision. The purely optical sensations due to the two retinal images depend on conditions of definition, accommodation, coloration, distribution of light and shade, perspective, and movement of the object. In addition, the state of convergence of the eyes produces certain muscular sensations which play an important part in effortless depth vision. A contribution submitted October 14, 1952, by Eugene Millet, Development Dept., Paillard S.A., Yverdon, Switzerland; and Paillard Products, Inc., 265 Madison Ave., New York 16, N.Y. When an object located at a finite distance in nature is observed with the naked eye, the axes of the two eyes converge upon a certain point on the object, and its various elements are seen at unlike angles by the left eye and the right. In a stereoscopic cinematographic projection, the spectator views two images on a screen, whose dimensions are generally different from those of the object originally photographed; moreover, the angle at which each eye sees the object depends on certain of the technical conditions under which the shot was taken. We shall inquire, by a simple geometrical approach, what conditions must be satisfied in order that the spectator will see the projected image at the same angles at which he might have seen the object in nature. Conditions for Natural Relief We define "natural relief" in the following way: Let there be an object A occupying a certain space in nature. Having photographed this object, we view a pair of images A' on a projection screen. We speak of natural relief if all the dimensions of A ' are seen by each of the spectator's eyes at angles equal to those at which December 1952 Journal of the SMPTE Vol. 59 517