The 3D Revolution Takes Flight

When Avatar came out late last year, it met with incredible success. Within 42 days of the film's release, it surpassed Titanic at the box office, breaking a record that had stood for 12 years. As of July 2010, Avatar had grossed some US$2.7 billion (roughly NT$86.4 billion) worldwide.

What propelled Avatar to the top wasn't the magic of the planet Pandora, the war to preserve the planet's environment, or even the film's hackneyed love story. Instead, the film built its success on the advanced 3D effects that director James Cameron, a master of movie-making technology, had been honing for a decade. The effects sucked audiences in, making them feel as if they were soaring right alongside Jake as he rode a predatory Toruk above the forests of imaginary Pandora with his love interest Neytiri.

Avatar's success generated renewed interest in 3D technology, which has been around in some form or other since the 1890s. People began exploring the medium's possibilities. Since the start of this year, television and film, sports, information technology, publishing, and even medicine and disaster prevention have all been rolling out new films, products, events, and policies incorporating 3D technology in an effort to draw more media and consumer attention.

What are the technological underpinnings of the current generation of 3D? Does the technique of shooting different images for each eye truly provide a new viewing experience? We pull back the curtain on 3D to show you what makes it tick. And, we promise, no special glasses required....