Kamyio's Anagyph and Stereoscopic 3D Star Wars IV Conversion [updated 2.9.11] + Sample Video Now Available (* unfinished project *)

It’s been a long run since I did my first post about converting my 1984 CBS/FOX VHS into 3D and HD.  It was a pretty incredious idea.  To upconvert, then convert to 3D is a task that I was just not up to.  So I went simplier.  Using an already converted 1080p version I have taken the task of converting to 3D, anaglyph for the time being.  Reason I am doing this only for right now is simply because I seriously doubt there are a lot of you that have 3D TVs and all the other hundreds of dollars worth of things to get it all setup.  So I am going to start with the basics because really, we all want to know.  How on earth will Star Wars look when George Lucas converts them himself?

So how does 3D look in anaglyph?  Well here was my first attempt.

I have since destroyed this version because for obvious reasons the resolution is ridiculiously low and just not worth wild.

But for the following screenshots, please, put on some of your ceral box 3D red/cyan glasses and check out the new screens.

This is just nice crips letters floating through space.  Classic.

This one I have to explain a little more, yes, obviously it’s an explosion.  But many of you wearing 3D glasses still see some individual blue and red dots floating, don’t worry.  Because of the high speed frame rate you will never ever notice during the movie.  It looks brilliant.

This last screen is what I am most proud of, when you’re wearing your 3D glasses everything pops and really has depth to it.

That’s where I am at right now, there is still a long way to go.  At the moment I’m doing higher framerate conversions, but also looking for ways to tone down the size of the file.  At the moment it’s hitting about 7.6GB.  Way to much for an internet release right now.  Any questions, I would be more than happy to answer.

This is my plan for the future:

Release this to 35 lucky people on disc.  And then setup a torrent down the road.  No, there is no cost for the 35 people, it’s just whoever really, really seems into trying this out for the first time.  What you will get is a 3D conversion of Star Wars IV, as many interviews as I can find.  Also I will be contacting the people at Deleted Magic just to make sure I can add some of their deleted scenes.  I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem, I just want to make sure because they did a good job of finding everything.  Also a special DVD case and 5 anaglyph 3D glasses for a sweet viewing party.

A stereoscopic version will only be created if there really is a want for it.  I can do it, but I want to make sure you guys are looking for it in the first place.

Cheers

-Kamyio

... wow. That sounds intense.

it also sounds like a lot of work. good luck.

Hey Kamiyo, glad you started a new thread. My interest in this project is still as strong as ever, and I'm excited. Count me in as really wanting to be one of the 35. Anyway, your screenshots look pretty good with good depth. It also sounds like you're compiling quite the special features collection. It should prove a worthy addition. Out of curiosity, are you planning to do a slight color correction (i.e. fix things like Luke's green light saber)? But then again, that might be overkill, so whatever the release I'm excited. I'm really glad you abandoned the VHS to 3D conversion, in favor of using the HD versions.

The Aluminum Falcon said:

I'm really glad you abandoned the VHS to 3D conversion, in favor of using the HD versions.

Agreed.

Im interested , count me in for a copy.

This could be REALLY good , but I think you should correct the colors first if possible, I hate green lightsabres. But I would love to see a copy

This last screen is what I am most proud of, when you're wearing your 3D glasses everything pops and really has depth to it.

This is just nice crips letters floating through space. Classic.

Please count me in as a test subject once it's ready for a proper test.

:)

Darth Editous said:

This last screen is what I am most proud of, when you're wearing your 3D glasses everything pops and really has depth to it.

I don't want to rain on your parade, but... okay, the remote sticks out a bit, as does Luke's arm, but everything else, including the console in the foreground, is at exactly the same depth.

This is just nice crips letters floating through space. Classic.

Floating at the same depth as the stars with no recession into the background - it looks like the two images are identical and just offset.

As for the explosion and training images, as far as I can tell you've just taken adjacent frames, offset them slightly, and channel-mixed them to red and cyan. Such a technique might give you a hint of a 3D effect in, say, one scene out of ten, but for the vast majority of the film your brain's just going to be confused.

DE

 For your first part, yes it does look exactly like that.  But a few things of explaination to maybe help you understand what I am doing. 

3D isn't a science, and I know where your getting at.  My 3D is basic cutting certain images and making them background or fore ground.  It isn't going to be like Avatar, James Cameron specifically shot that in 3D so you can have extreme depth to where things look rounded rather than just cutouts.  It is physically impossible for me to make this look like Avatar 3D without a multimillion dollar budget because you would have to literally build 3D figures and then drape the video over these figures, basically you would have to rebuild every set and chacter scene by scene, but attach the original video to it.  I would love to do this, it would be incredible to do, but unfortuantly I don't have the time or budget, but if your willing to donate a few million I'll get right on it.  :)

Now for the explosions and the rest of it, these screenshots were taking as the video was playing, I did not take screen shots then convert the picture, this is real time what it looks like.  BUt also 3D only truly works when in motion, otherwise as you can tell there are obvious levels of depth rather than a physical rounded off feeling.  Which I explained how it can be done above. 

This is what I can do with what I am working with. 

A side note to everyone else, I do believe we have 5 copies taken for sure, maybe 7 but I need a confirmation from the others here.  So at most, 30 freebies left!

Also an update to what I am doing, I am current having my computer run it's balls off in converting about 3 different versions right now.  I have Wookiegrommers, I have the "Original Theatrical Release DVD" version and I have the 1997 version.  When they are all finished I will be watching them all to see what ones really give the best 3D effect for you all. 

Also I am researching just how many deleted scenes there were to make sure I can all the good versions hopefully converted.  I know lots of them are pretty crumby and grainy, but I'll do my best. 

-Kamyio

I will take the plunge, I wouldn't mind checking these out also, so which versions are you sharing?

Oh hey, Kamyio, I didn't mean to suggest that you'd constructed the images separately - just that this it was the process you're using has effectively done. I do understand the effect you're achieving (at least as well as I can from those screenshots), I just disagree that such a technique actually works as 3D at all. For instance, how well does it work a few frames later in the training scene, when Luke's hands and the training ball are moving in the opposite direction?

It just seems to me that it's a bit like painting random colours over a greyscale image and calling it colourised... sometimes it might just work (I know there are some shots during the Bespin escape in ESB that can work under the Pulfrich effect) but most of the time it won't, unless the footage has been specifically shot to take advantage of it (as the BBC did once years ago).

But anyway, did you know you can upload 3D videos (side-by-side) to Youtube and viewers can view them with different methods (different anaglyph colours, side-by-side, etc)?

DE

When my computer finishes it's converting later this evening I'll upload a clip so you can kinda understand what type of 3D affect I'm getting here.  Just to make sure, you do own 3D anaglyph glasses right?  Because I don't want you to assume that these are that way, but to really see them the glasses make it look fairly good.  :)

And with YouTube I had no idea, but still.  Right now, it being the size that it is that would be dang near impossible to upload the entire thing.

-Cheers

UPDATE:  SAMPLE VIDEO (please note that while this is a sample of my work, this is very early on and being that it was uploaded via a video site the quality is not perfect at any measure)  ENJOY!

View My Video

OK, please don't forget me :-)

sounds interesting. if there's still a spot in the 35 I'd like to be part of it

Harmy said:

Judging from the video, Darth Editious was exactly right about the method used, it is just consecutive frames layered over each other, it is especially obvious when a shot changes, you can totally tell that one is delayed.

Let's talk a little more about 3D shall we?  Everyone is used to the visual effects that Avatar,  and even Tron achieved.  It's brilliant, the colors are wonderful and everything seems to be where it belongs.  These were shot in 3D.  What that means is quite literally what is happening is two cameras (or lens, depends on the director and budget) are at the same time capturing the video stream.  Once again, the problem with what I am working with is it just wasn't shot like that, so instead using scripts the video is duplicated, then imaged slightly off (as your saying) to get a 3D effect.  But there is also the other side of things, this is red/cyan 3D.  Stereoscopic 3D (what you have watched Avatar in) is something completely different.  Stereoscopic 3D really makes things pop, and does a much better job. But honestly, how many of you have dropped the bomb and purchased a 3D yet?  I doubt many of you have.  

Right now I am converting to red/cyan 3D specifically to get a taste of what 3D will look like with Star Wars.  Once again, I would love to put this into stereoscopic format.  But I do not even have a 3D to test.  Maybe someday I will, but for right now I am trying to bring this into a format that we all can enjoy.  

Now there is one more thing, actually two.  The video isn't brilliant is because this is the internet we are talking about.  That video web site, downgraded and made my video rather quite ugly to watch, take in the fact that the audio is rather quite off you can know the frame rate would slowed making watching in 3D more hindering than anything else.  I know that when I posted, more than anything I wanted to show that this project is real and there is an actual 3D effect.  But when you play the HD video on my Mac, it's beautiful.  Yes there are some problems yet when it comes to switching scenes, but I am researching to find the answers on what older 3D movie production companies did.

Now the second part of that is about your 3D glasses.  I have been researching reports about the cyan side of 3D glasses.  There is no one universal color.  Yes, it's cyan, but the shades can be slightly off where it obviously cannot match what you see on the screen, thus ruining the effect.  

Anyways, project is still heading in the right direction.  Thanks for your comments, I do like getting them, even the negative ones because I really like to research into things that I wouldn't think of myself.

Cheers,

-Kamyio 

You need glasses?

I'm out. :p

Kamyio, are you aware of the Pulfrich effect? What you're doing with the red/cyan overlays can be simulated psychovisually by wearing a pair of "half-shades" - putting a dark filter over one eye (you can even experience the effect simply by squinting one eye) and watching any normal movie.

The brain processes the dark image more slowly, so your brain ends up combining, say, frame 1000 from the left eye against frame 1001 from the right eye. The beauty of this system is that you don't have to worry about colour filters or compression artefacts - in fact, you needn't do anything to the movie at all.

I don't think anyone's expecting you to turn Star Wars into an Avatar-like 3D experience, and I salute your enthusiasm for trying something different, but I just really don't see how it could work. For every shot where a lightsabre swings out of the screen towards you, there'll be another where it cuts back into the background, ruining the 3D effect.

but I am researching to find the answers on what older 3D movie production companies did.

I'd like to see what you will end up with, so count me in !