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Channel 4 has revealed the programmes which will make up its 3D week. The Queen, Derren Brown, Miley Cyrus — or Hannah Montana or whatever her name is — will be joined by two 1970s horror films over the week of 16 November.
3D is a hot topic right now with the Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W1 compact camera hitting stores and ever more 3D films doing boffo box office, such as the spectacular Up. But we’re still not sold on 3D television.
Still, it’ll be interesting to see how the Channel 4 season works out, with some interesting technology employed to create the three-dimensional magic: programmes are being graded right up to the last minute using the Quantel Pablo colour-correction system. The week will be broadcast in ColorCode 3D, which is cleaner than the traditional anaglyph method, and will even let viewers watch in 2D without glasses.
The Queen in 3D
Monday 16 November 9pm
In 1953, Bob Angell and Arthur Wooster shot the Coronation in stereo3D. This Royal Review footage has never been seen in public, languishing at the BFI until Wooster’s son David dug it out. The footage has been cleaned of flicker and imperfection by the first use of the eMotion Engines’ Pure+ restoration application with Quantel Pablo. A second programme sees Angell and David Wooster filming the Queen in 3D in the present day.
Derren Brown Presents the 3D Magic Spectacular
Monday 16 November 10pm
The nation’s favourite piss-artist Derren Brown will compere a show full of magic tricks and illusions in 3D.
Flesh for Frankenstein
Wednesday 18 November 12.40am
Andy Warhol protégé Paul Morrissey shot this goretastic gothic-camp horrorfest in Spacevision 3D. Expect disembowelment, nudity, a chucklesome mix-up involving a severed head, and bloody stuff being waved at the camera.
Friday the 13th Part III in 3D
Friday 20 November 10pm
When you’ve made two films in a series and there’s no real need for a third, 3D is just an excuse to make a terrible pun title — *cough*Toy Story 3D*cough*! Friday the 13th Part III was released in 1982 and features deformed, death-averse slasher Jason Voorhees killing coeds in a forest. It’s the first of the series to feature the famous hockey mask, and if you’re inspired to buy it on Blu-ray you’ll get a mask with red and blue 3D eye-holes.
The Greatest Ever 3D Moments
Saturday 21 November 9.20pm
It’s Channel 4 — it’s Saturday night — it’s a talking heads round-up! Look out for Andrew Collins talking about how he first saw Jaws: The Revenge while riding a spacehopper and eating Spangles.
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
Sunday 22 November 3pm
You never see Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus in the same room together, do you? Crave is suspicious. 3D for the kids as the achey-breaky offspring is joined by something called the Jonas Brothers.
Viewer-submitted 3D films
Viewers have been invited to submit their own short 3D films, which may make it on to the air. An interesting tutorial is on YouTube.
3D glasses are being handed out at Sainsbury’s and with Sainsbury’s Internet shopping. Channel 4 also suggests the strongest effect will be achieved if you set your TV to 16:9 ratio and colour settings to ‘neutral’ or ‘cinema’. Analogue signal will be in 3D, but the effect will not be as strong as from a digital set-top box such as cable, Sky or Freeview. Finally, turn down your lights and sit as face-on to the telly as possible, at least 1.5m (5ft) away. If you enjoy Channel 4’s 3D week, don’t forget to let us know.
