3-D Movie/Video Division

The Stereo Club of Southern California is celebrating its Golden Anniversary this year (2006). Although different stereo formats have been recognized and shared over the years, club activities have centered around the creation, projection and judging of 35mm stereo slides.

In 1982, David Starkman and Susan Pinsky hosted a group of stereo movie enthusiasts at their home in Duarte. This initial meeting evolved into a separate 3-D Movie/Video Division of the club, with meetings scheduled four times yearly. At that time, I was principal of an elementary school in Arcadia. The Media Center at the school, which I outfitted with a pulldown silver screen, and the school auditorium, with its ceiling-mounted video projector, offered a convenient and accommodating venue for these meetings. I began hosting these get-togethers, and was recognized as the “Movie Division chairman”. Although I would have liked to participate in the monthly SCSC meetings, at that time I had a night teaching job in addition to my principalship, so Movie Division meetings, held on Saturdays, gave me an opportunity to contribute and participate.

The first group project the Movie Division undertook was a spoof of the Summer Olympics which had recently taken place in Los Angeles. The group put together a 16mm film, shot with an Elgeet stereo lens on a Bolex camera, of several “Olympic events”, such as the javelin catch and the backward race.

Another early 16mm group project was organized by Alan Williams, who wrote and directed a sci-fi spoof involving aliens interrupting a family picnic. Alan’s picture was shot with a Bolex and involved a number of special effects. With the introduction of the Toshiba stereo video camera and the Nu-View attachment, most movie members began to shoot video instead of film. Subsequently, digital cameras largely replaced film cameras.

Over the years attendance waned at Movie Division meetings and they were scheduled less frequently. In order to reach out to other 3-D movie enthusiasts, it was decided to hold an international competition. This first competition was highly successful. Entries were received from around the United States and even from overseas.

Meantime, I retired in 2000 and began to host Movie Division meetings at my home. These Saturday meetings were frequently attended by movie buffs who had to drive considerable distances. Traditionally we began our meetings in the late afternoon with a barbecue and enthusiastically shared our latest undertakings and equipment purchases and inventions, often until the wee hours of Sunday morning. The success of our first competition was repeated at three subsequent competitions, with judges reknown in the stereo community, such as Chris Condon and Dan Symmes, and interest in the Movie Division grew to the point that I could no longer accommodate the numbers in my home. Currently we are seeking a new venue for our meetings which will accommodate 40-50 stereo movie fans.

The 3-D Movie Division created a retrospective DVD in 2003, celebrating its “first twenty years”. This interesting compilation of excerpts from group projects, members’ work and competition entries is for sale on this website.

We are announcing our fifth International Competition this month (October, 2006) and completing our latest group project, Slow Glass, which is the most ambitious project our group has undertaken. Based on a short story by Bob Shaw, Ray Zone wrote the screenplay, produced and directed Slow Glass which will be shown at the SCSC’s annual movie night in June as well as the NSA Convention in Boise in July. 3-D movie/video makers are encouraged to enter the Fifth-Ever 3-D Movie/Video Competition. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2007. Judging will take place in May, and winning entries will be featured on Movie Night and also in Boise.

John Hart, Chairman
3-D Movie/Video Division