Coming Soon! Mike Ballew’s New Book:
Close Enough to Touch: 3-D Comes to Hollywood
A richly detailed history of stereoscopic 3-D movies in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States from 1950 to 1975, fully annotated with rare documents sourced from the 3-D Film Archive LLC and from archives, universities, historical societies, and individual collectors in North America and Europe—illustrated with vintage photos and promotional materials by the dozen, many never before seen!
SECTION I tells the story of Golden Age 3-D movies and the people behind them, including:
- John Norling and J.T. Rule
- Raymond Spottiswoode, Norman MacLaren, the Telekinema, and Stereo-Techniques Ltd
- Milton Gunzburg, Friend Baker, Lothrop Worth, and the complete story of Natural Vision
- Arch Oboler, Lt. Col. Robert V. Bernier, and the optical marvel of Space-Vision
- The Motion Picture Research Council, Dr. Armin J. Hill, and “three thousand inventors”
…and many more, some you never heard of in your life!
SECTION II unpacks the technical data on Golden Age 3-D, with chapters covering:
- Camera Rigs—describing 30+ known 3-D camera systems, some only recently rediscovered!
- Transmission Systems—giving an easily digestible view of the mathematics behind Golden Age 3-D!
- Dual-Strip Projection—how the projectionists of 1953 harnessed twin projectors for 3-D!
- Single-Strip Projection—how mad geniuses learned to put 3-D on one reel of film!
- The Vectograph—how Polaroid and Technicolor joined forces in 1954 to bring a new technology to the screen!
- Animation—with production details never before revealed and key insights from respected animation historians!
