[Broadcasting Cable]

A reminder that 3D technologies have had their ups and downs a number of times in the last 150 years can be found in groundbreaking the new 3net documentary Sky Soldier: A Vietnam Story in 3Dthat the 3D channel is airing on Memorial Day.

Stereoscopic still photos were wildly popular in the last half of the 19th century and thousands were taken during the Civil War, but the technology had fallen out of favor by the 1960s. Recently, however, producer Tom Jennings came upon a rare cache of 3D photos that had been taken during the Vietnam War by Major Joel Glenn, a Silver Star-decorated soldier who had served two tours of duty in Vietnam.  …

While the 3D photos were in pristine shape, some shots required extensive work to recalibrate them for video. During the 1960s, 3D photos were shot with a camera with two lenses, producing a shot for the left eye and another for the right eye that were then developed into a slide that was viewed in a 3D viewer. “It was a very painstaking process,” to realign photos so the focus and resolution was correct on video, Jennings says.

The production also broke new ground by actually filming Judy Glenn showing her husband’s photos with a 3D projector. While the viewers watching the projection could be captured with a normal 3D camera rig, the crew had to take the glass from 3D glasses and put them over the camera lens in order to film the projector in 3D.  …

The special ends as Glenn returns to his Florida farm with his cherished photographs, which may very well be the only 3D account of the Vietnam War in existence.

Read the full story here: http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/485113-3net_Doc_Features_Rare_3D_Vietnam_Era_Photos.php