Several older films like Jaws are being rereleased in 3D. How do the studios convert the film from 2D to 3D? I thought 3D required filming with two cameras.
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To get native 3D you do indeed need two cameras. But, you can use computers to separate certain elements on the screen and apply a 3D depth effect to those elements. So, using Jaws as an example, an artist using a computer will draw a line around the shark in each frame of film and then set it to be closer to the viewer than the rest of the frame.
This process isn’t perfect. It might be hard to perfectly outline the item in question and it might look odd for that one object to pop out while the rest of the scene is flat. With more work and more money these problems can be resolved but it usually never looks as good as using native 3D.
There’s a ton of different ways to convert 2d to 3d, nowadays it’s all “Automatic” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2D_to_3D_conversion%23Automatic_conversion
The software is Tracking either movement, focus or blur to generate the 3d effect as a new layer
> It is possible to automatically estimate depth using different types of motion. In case of camera motion, a depth map of the entire scene can be calculated. Also, object motion can be detected and moving areas can be assigned with smaller depth values than the background.
Proper 3D does require two cameras, but you can cheat it somewhat with a 3d-ifier device which can simulate turning 1 video stream into 2. Lots of maths and video processing and the results are okay-ish – good enough to slap a 3D label on a DVD, but limited, with some shots behaving better than others.
I know as we made a movie best part of a decade ago when 3D was still riding the wave from Avatar – the sales agent thought they could sell it better using 3D as a gimmick, so paid for the “conversion” (€1500 or so) to make a mediocre 3D version. Technology improves, but ultimately it’ll never be “real” 3D
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