Archive for June, 2010

I’m currently in Singapore leading a series of 3D camera workshops with the new Panasonic 3DA1. Several of my students continue to confuse focus with convergence so it’s worth reiterating here: The convergence point, i.e. where the left-right camera lens axes intersect, defines the screen plane in a scene. As a matter of practice we always set the convergence point FIRST then focus. When the convergence point is placed BEHIND an object, that object appears in FRONT of the screen. When the convergence point is placed AHEAD of an object, that object appears BEHIND the screen.

Audiences viewing a 3D program are not immediately aware of the focal plane and can actually converge their eyes on the screen while focusing elsewhere inside the 3D volume. This is a fundamental conceit of 3D, and is the reason audiences are able to explore the 3D space around them.

3D Workshop Singapore • 12 June 2010