Three-Dimensional movies are not new. They date back to the 1930’s when people wore red and blue glasses to view them. These early three-dimensional movies (anaglyphs) did not enjoy much popularity because, although the pictures had depth, they were unrealistic. During the 1950’s, 3-D movies, in full color, were shown in theaters where the audience wore colorless polarized glasses to view them. These pictures were popular for a time but, once again, audiences were just not interested.

Both the anaglyphic and 3-D processes employed stereoscopic photography, which presents two different pictures to a viewer, one for each eye, which the viewer’s brain causes to appear as three-dimensional. These processes take advantage of human binocular vision to fool people into thinking that the pictures have depth. The 3-D movies were made having objects coming out of the screen into the audience. This sometimes fascinated and scared audiences. Unfortunately, due to the nature of stereoscopic photography, prolonged viewing causes eyestrain and headaches, with or without the glasses. Again, although stereoscopic pictures have depth, they are unrealistic.

Over the last half-century, various widescreen techniques, including CINERAMA and IMAX, have emerged using special screens (in special theaters) to “surround” the audience. These movies provide cues that “fool” viewers into believing that they are watching a three-dimensional movie. although popular for a while, CINERAMA failed financially. IMAX continues to exist and is popular, albeit in a limited number of theaters. While IMAX 3-D is interesting because it combines depth and surround cues, it still results in audience eyestrain and headaches.

3-D has recently enjoyed a revival in theaters. Many films are now made in both 2-D and 3-D formats, because it is relatively easy to do so. Often, the 3-D version does not make it to theaters. 3-D movies have a renewed popularity. However, audiences still complain of eyestrain, and many feel that the scene depth is unrealistic.

On the other hand, a HOLOGRAM or an INTEGRAL PHOTOGRAPH produces natural three-dimensional images in space, obviating the need for special glasses while eliminating eyestrain and headaches. A viewer’s brain is not fooled into seeing depth where there is none, and cannot tell whether the image is real. He can even look around objects to see what is behind them. The Quantum Optics Holophoto™ Three-Dimensional Process is a patented system based on the principle of viewing holograms. It has numerous applications both theatrical and non-theatrical. It represents the future for three-dimensional technology.