Piranhas 3d

Look the anaglyph red/cyan trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnQb75f5MkE

rendering 3d model

3d stereo anaglyph created from two renderings in sunflow, modeled in Structure Synth.



Put on your red-cyan glasses (red over the left eye) and view it larger (840x525).

©2008 David C. Pearson, M.D.

3D games by Sergey Kotsun

Give a look to these very very nice games

«Shooting gallery» (anaglyph game):

«Paper waves» (anaglyph game):

and «Duck Shoot» (anaglyph game):

Use red/cyan glasses to view in 3D.
Many thanks to Sergey Kotsun for sending me his links.

3D Cover of Snowboard Magazine

Team Rider Pat Moore on the 3D Cover of Snowboard Magazine
Wear red/cyan glasses to see it in 3d.

Sky announces 3D football matches to be shown in April

Sky has announced that four more Premier League matches will be broadcast in 3D during April on its brand-new channel.

The satellite broadcaster kicked-off its 3D channel with the clash between Manchester United and Chelsea on 3rd April. This month it will show Blackburn Rovers vs Manchester United on 11th April, Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal on April 14, Manchester City vs Manchester United on April 17 and Chelsea vs Stoke City on April 25. Sky has promised to announce more games to be shown before the end of this year's season in May.


All of the matches are exclusive to pubs and clubs, until the 3D channel launches in full for home users later in the year. To find a venue showing the matches, you can use the Sky 3D Pub Finder online by just typing in your postcode. With Sky claiming that 1,000 pubs, clubs and other venues have signed up, most people should be able to find the matches close by.

The Final Destination Trailer in Anaglyph 3D

This is the official trailer of The Final Destination 4, encoded in anaglyph 3D!!! grab a pair of 3D glasses (Red-Cyan) and enjoy!!!

Avatar 3d anaglyph

Click the images to enlarge
3D glasses anaglyph necessary to view this image in 3D (red/cyan)

Avatar 3D Video Game!

3d glasses you get from the cinema do not work with this display, all you can do is use anaglyph glasses (select your glasses colours in the drop-down menu right below the video). Click in the video to go to youtube.

James Cameron introduces the first look at the 3D video game based on his much touted Avatar. Check out the official site for the game
http://avatargame.us.ubi.com/agegate.php



FAQ on Stereoscopic 3D (from Avatar game website)


1. Do I need to buy a special version of the game in order to play in 3D?

Absolutely not! Any Avatar: The Game DVD or Blu-Ray is capable of displaying the game on either traditional or 3D-enabled screens. Toggling between traditional and stereoscopic 3D is performed through the Options Screen accessed directly from the Main Menu.






2. Do I need a special TV or computer monitor to play the game in 3D?
Yes. Avatar: The Game has the option of outputting in most standard stereoscopic 3D formats, but a TV or monitor that is “3D-enabled” is necessary to decode and display the game in stereoscopic 3D.






3. What stereoscopic 3D signal formats is the game compatible with?

Avatar: The Game is able to output most 3D signal formats from your Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, including: RealD, Sensio, side-by-side, line-interlaced, and full checkerboard. On the PC version, Avatar: The Game supports all of the previous formats plus the NVIDIA® 3D Vision™, iZ3D and dual head formats.







4. What type of 3D glasses do I need to play the game in 3D?

Since the type of glasses needed to view content in stereoscopic 3D changes depending on the television or computer monitor being used, make sure to check with your hardware manufacturer to determine the right set of glasses to match the TV or monitor you have at home. This is also the reason why 3D glasses are not being bundled with any version of the game.






5. Does my Xbox 360 have to be equipped with an HDMI output in order to play in stereoscopic 3D?

Not necessarily. Displaying the game in stereoscopic 3D depends mostly on the input requirements of your television or computer monitor (hardware). That being said, most of the 3D-enabled televisions tested during production required the use of an HDMI input in order to display any content in stereoscopic 3D.






6. What 3D-enabled TVs are currently on the market? …and are they compatible?

Although we are unable to provide an exhaustive list of all 3D-enabled television hardware that are compatible with the game, here is a sample list of 3D-enabled TVs that can display the game in stereoscopic 3D:

3D-Enabled TVs (*tested during development):

- Mitsubishi: WD-57833, WD-65833, WD-73833, WD-60737, WD-65837, WD-82737, WD-60735*, WD-65735, WD-65736, WD-73735, WD-73736, WD-65737, WD-73737, WD-82737, WD-73837, WD-82837, WD-65835, WD-73835, L65-A90.
- Samsung: HL-T5076S*, HL-T5087S, HL-T7288W, HL-T6189S, HL-61A750, HL-72A650, HL-T5089S, HL-T5676S, HL-T5687S, HL-T5689S, HL-T6176S, HL-T6187S, HL61A750, HL67A750, HL50A650, HL56A650, HL61A650, HL72A650.
- Hyundai: S465D*.
- JVC: 463D10*.

3D-Enabled PC Monitors (for use with PC version only; *tested during development):

- All NVIDIA® 3D Vision™* supported PC monitors and TVs available at: (http://www.nvidia.com/object/3D_Vision_Requirements.html)
- Hyundai: W220S, W240S, P240W, S320D.
- Miracube: G240S, G320S, G460X.
- Zalman ZM-M220W.
- iZ3D*: H22OZ1-G01.

DISCLAIMER: List contents are subject to change. Compatibility is based on similar use of technology, and not an outright guarantee of compatibility. Many of the 3D-enabled technologies emerging on the market within the next few years should be compatible with the game (make sure to verify the signal format), but were not available at launch time.

Citizen Kane in stunning 3D!

If you have 3D glasses red/cyan handy, this actually looks pretty good.

3D "Citizen Kane" is not coming to an IMAX near you :-))

Avatar 3d

Click the images to enlarge
3D glasses necessary to view this image in 3D (red/cyan recommended)

Happy New Year!

Click the images to enlarge
3D glasses necessary to view in 3D (red/cyan recommended)

New 3D images: MadWorld

take a look to the Wii title MadWorld, which has been out for about a month now. The best aspect of converting screenshots of the game into 3D is that since the the visuals are already in black and white, the color doesn’t take a big hit during the transition.










Notes:

- Click the images to enlarge
- 3D glasses necessary to view in 3D (red/cyan recommended)
- Give your eyes a minute or two to adjust to the 3D – I promise, it works!
- Some images work better in 3D than others
- Tip: Try to divert your eyes back and forth briefly from the 3D image to something not 3D, such as your desktop wallpaper

3D Glasses Dress

Dress your 3D glasses

2009 3D Movies in 3D Anaglyph

2009 3D Movies in 3D Anaglyph -
you need red/cyan glasses to see this video

This video shows a partial list of the 2009 3D Movies. The following 2009 3D Movies are listed in this video - then below is a complete list of 2009 3D Movies.

James Cameron's Avatar
Coraline
Disney's G-Force
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs from 20th Century Fox
Monsters vs. Aliens by DreamWorks Animation
Planet 51
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, directed by Steven Spielberg
Toy Story 3 by Pixar Animation Studios
Disney Pixar's Up
My Bloody Valentine 3D


2009 3D Movies

Deep Sea-quel (2009)
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (2009)
Crood Awakening (2009)
Night of the Living Dead (2009)
Untitled Dustin Voigt Project (Formally Godspeed) (2009)
The Magic Tale (2009)
The Dark Country (2009)
Horrorween 3D (2009)
Dawn of the Dead - converted to 3D (2009)
Around The World in 50 Years (2009)
1.8 Days (2009)
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Frankenweenie (2009)
AVATAR (2009)
Planet 51 (2009)
Disney’s A Christmas Carol (2009)
Toy Story in 3D (2009)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
Final Destination 4: Death Trip 3D (aka: Final Destination 4) (2009)
G-Force (2009)
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009)
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
Up (2009)
Battle for Terra (pre-release title: Terra) (2009)
Monsters vs Aliens (2009)
Bob the Builder in 4D (2009)
Jonas Brothers - The 3D Concert Experience (2009)
Under the Sea 3D (production title: Deep Sea-quel 3D) (2009)
Coraline (2009)
My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009)
Toyko Mater (2008)

Game 'Pirates of the Caribbean Online' in 3D

red/blue glasses are required

http://piratesonline.go.com/#/game_info/3d_glasses.html


What is 3D? How does it work?

3D simply means, “three dimensional.” Pirates Online uses a 3D system that separates game graphics into two colors, one red and one blue. When the game is viewed with 3D glasses, the two combine to make the action appear to pop out of the screen.
Just turn on the 3D option in the Graphics Settings by following these simple steps:




From the Pirate Selection Screen, click the Options button. If you’re already in game, use F7 or the "Esc" key to open the Game Menu. Select Game Options.
Click the Display tab. In the Display tab, click the box beside "3D Glasses." A check mark will appear in the box and you will get a confirmation pop-up window explaining the feature has been turned on.
Click OK to confirm these changes. Save your Settings and exit the Options Menu.
Turn the 3D option off while in game:
1. Press F7 or the "Esc" key to open the Game Menu. Select Game Options.
2. In the Display tab of the Game Options panel, click the box to "3D Glasses".
3. Save your changes and exit the Game Options menu to return to your game.

Do I need special 3D glasses? How do I get them?

Yes, you need 3D glasses to play. The game uses the same red/blue 3D glasses that you’ve seen or used for lots of popular movies, video games and commercials. If you already have 3D glasses with red & blue lenses you can use them to play Pirates Online in 3D.

When can I play in 3D?

You can play Pirates Online in 3D any time you want, but we do not recommend using the 3D option during Invasion or GM events. Since these events and 3D require a huge amount of your computer’s resources, running them at the same time will greatly slow down your game experience. Enjoy 3D all you want but remember to take a break from time to time to give your eyes a rest. Also, players on older computers may notice a slow down after turning on the 3D option. If that happens try this;

From the Pirate Selection Screen, click the Options button. If you’re already in game, use F7 or the "Esc" key to open the Game Menu. Select Game Options.
Click the Display tab to access the Display Menu. Below the Display Menu is a Graphics and Audio Menu, make sure you’ve selected the Graphics tab.
In the Graphics tab, make sure all your detail levels are set to “Low.”
Turn off Reflections. Make sure Aggressive Memory Conservation, Shader Level and Rendered Shadows DO NOT have a check in the box beside those options. Also make sure Compressed Textures IS checked.
Save your Settings and exit the Options Menu.
Now try playing the game in 3D to see if changing your Graphics Settings has improved the game’s performance.
Use the FULL SCREEN mode for the best performance.

2010 World Cup To Be Broadcast in 3D

look this poster with red/cyan glasses

That rights folks, time to get that 3D glasses out of the closet or to buy new one as FIFA & Sony have teamed up to offer 25 matches in next year’s World Cup in 3D.

FIFA is partnering with Sony to produce up to 25 matches in 3D, using Sony’s 3D camera and broadcast technology, which has been on a development fast track.

Pundits have long suggested that live sports could be a killer app for driving 3D to the home — as well as to theaters as alternative content — and FIFA’s plans to present the global event could be a pivotal factor.

Such sports leagues as the NBA and NFL have tested live 3D for select public events. The World Cup, which begins in June, will by far have the have the widest reach of any 3D sports competition to date.

The 3D coverage will include live public-viewing events in such cities as Berlin, London, Mexico City, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Sydney.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment also plans to produce and distribute an official 3D movie that will be made available on several formats, notably Blu-ray. The Blu-ray Disc Assn. is expected to complete its 3D standard this month.

Sony, which has made 3D a key part of its business strategy, offers a 3D digital cinema system for theater owners and plans to incorporate the format into many of its consumer products, including its Bravia LCD TVs, Blu-ray recorders and players and VAIO and PlayStation3 systems.

“The transition to 3D is under way, and we at Sony intend to be leaders in every aspect,” Sony Corp. chairman chief executive Howard Stringer said. “Our sponsorship of the World Cup allows us to leverage our cutting-edge 3D technology and premier products with dazzling content to produce a unique and totally compelling viewing experience.”

A Christmas Carol 3D

It was fantastic the visual effects were amazing when your seated with your 3D glasses on.
Its based on a book by Charles Dickens which was written around the mid 1800's.
The story goes that Ebenezer Scrooges business partner Jacob Marley is dead. One Christmas eve night Marley visits Scrooge to warn him of his chains he'll be carrying when he passes away and tells him he'll be visited by 3 ghosts. The ghost of Christmas past, the ghost of Christmas present and the ghost of Christmas yet to come the same night Marley visited. Scrooge is a horrible mean old man who cares for no one but him self. Even his nephew tries to convince him to chance his ways with no luck. He also treats his poor assistant Bob Cratchit and family like a piece of dirt. He soon changes his error of his ways after being visited and buys the biggest turkey in the butchers gives Bob Cratchit a payrise and make sure his family and tiny Tim are looked after. This ends with a great ending.

3d photo

3d glasses red/cyan

World's First 3D Video Clips Website Launched

World's First 3D Video Clips Website Launched

http://3dvideoclips.net

While 3-dimensional videos are quickly gaining popularity among Internet users, Rocking Headlines Limited decided to launch the very first website dedicated to quality 3D content. The new website, 3DVideoClips.net promises to constantly provide its visitors with the latest 3D Video Clips available on the Internet.

"3DvideoClips.net acts as a middleman, gathering quality 3D content from publishers around the world and bringing it to the public after it has passed a strict quality assurance process", says Bryan O'Neil, the founder of 3DVideoClips.net.

"While there are many stereoscopic videos available in the Internet, there is also a large amount of content that is advertised as 3D but is really just a regular 2-dimensional content. Our goal is to carefully select what we publish and deliver only the best available content, saving our visitors from spending hours and hours going through various videos, only to discover that the vast majority are not what they are advertised as.", he adds.

3DVideoClips.net promises to deliver at least two new 3-dimensional video clips every day, making sure that its content remains fresh at all times. The self-hosted website that is not dependent on any streaming video providers, plans to start allowing user-submitted content before the end of 2009. According to 3DVideoClips.net, even the user-submitted content will be moderated and each video will still have to pass a quality review before being published.

O'Neil further comments: "Even though the true 3D content is not visible to the naked eye and proper stereoscopic glasses have to be worn in order to see the 3D effects, we believe that the website will become highly popular in a short period of time. With the availability of 3D glasses rapidly expanding, we estimate that by the end of 2010 at least 20% of Internet users will have a pair at their disposal. Our website also teaches its visitors how to make their own 3D glasses without spending more than a few dollars."

3D-News Posted: Saturday, November 7, 2009

Venice Film Fest offers 3D Award

ROME -- The Venice Film festival yesterday announced plans for a new award for the festival's best Stereoscopic 3D film, adding a cutting-edge aspect to the world's oldest film festival. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the award will go to "the most creative feature film among those in steroscopic 3D produced between September 2008 and August 2009" and will be sponsored by Persol (sunglass maker). The film panel for this award are director Nadia Ranocchi, U.S. film historian Dave Kehr, and U.S. film critic Scott Foundas. The Venice international film festival takes place from 2-12 September, with director Ang Lee as president of the jury. The Venice International Film Festival will unveil Pixar’s 3D version of its two Toy Story films (Toy Story 1 &2).

3D Anaglyph Game

3D Anaglyph Game
Help! Aliens!, new 3D game, has options for true 3D using either red-green or red-blue 3D glasses. The 3D effect is created using the anaglyph method to create a stereoscopic 3D effect. The red filter goes over the left eye and the green filter goes over the right eye for the 3D effect to work. It will then look like the game is happening inside the monitor.

To set the game for anaglyph 3D mode, in the main menu select Options then 3D mode and choose either red-green or red-blue 3D mode.

http://www.marjupi.com/help-aliens.php

3D iphone

3D Camera adds depth to your iPhone photography

3D photo apps are not new to the iPhone platform, but a new app from Juicy Bits looks promising in terms of making those pictures with depth a lot easier to take and view.

3D Camera 1.1 [US$1.99, click opens iTunes] is now available for iPhone OS 2.2 and 3.0 devices, and it lets you take photos that use one of three methods to create the illusion of 3D: red/cyan anaglyphs that require those funky 3D glasses, stereograms that create 3D images when your eyes look at them a certain way, and wiggle stereograms (or wiggle-grams) that use animated GIF images to provide the "depth".

To take the photos, you use one of two methods. If you're planning on taking an anaglyph or sterogram, you take one picture, move the iPhone camera slightly to the right, and take another photo. To make a wiggle stereogram, you point directly at the same object from two slightly different vantage points. The app provides instructions on exactly how to take the two photos each time you launch it.

Flickr pool: http://www.flickr.com/groups/tuawrigs/pool/

Stereophotography

wear 3d glasses red/cyan

Arts & Crafts with the Boulder Acoustic Society!

Arts & Crafts with the Boulder Acoustic Society!
By Kiernan Maletsky in Upbeats and BeatdownsFriday, Jul. 10 2009 @ 2:35PM

You could purloin a copy of Boulder Acoustic Society's new album, Punchline, using whatever methods you kids use to rip music off the internet, but then how would you see the band in 3D?

When you purchase a hard copy of Punchline, out August 18th on Nine Mile Records, not only do you get the satisfaction of supporting a deserving local band, you also get your very own "Stereoscopic" viewing kit. We've spent the last half-hour playing with it for your previewing pleasure.




Step 1: The thing starts out shaped like a CD case. Hang on, folks, we're just getting started.



Step 2: Take the instructional sleeve off, pull the CD out from its hidey-hole in the back of the package, and put it in your player of choice. Let the fresh folk wash over you.



Step 3: Read the instructions. If you're a wuss, that is. Come on, people, it's not that hard. Don't even look at that picture. We can do this.



Step 4: A bend here, a Velcro there, and bam! You've got your very own cardboard View-Master.



Step 5: Place one of the five photo inserts in the appropriate slots. I know it seems like Kailin Yong's fiddle is going to poke you in the eye, but you're safe, I promise.

Sure, it's a little gimmicky, but you have to admire the attention to detail. That probably costs a lot more to manufacture, and I challenge you to resist the temptation to try it out if you get your hands on Punchline.

Coraline 3d - Bluray & DVD

Henry Selick's "Coraline" is a smart adaptation of Neil Gaiman's extremely popular award-winning novella. Selick's screenplay is excellent and faithful without being a carbon-copy of Gaiman's story, and Selick adds some of his own dialogue to the film, so his contribution is most certainly not only visual, and chooses which dialogue to use from the novel wisely. Less of a horror story than the novella and more of a dark fantasy, "Coraline" features a well-written and well-drawn lead character and brings the novel's bizarre world to life without compromise. The film's fantasy world grows more bizarre each time we see it, and is as discomforting as it is fun. I missed the singing rats from the novella, but this was more than compensated for by the visual splendor of the garden scene, and there are numerous other examples of the changes from the novel making total sense as Selick's vision of the story differs from Gaiman, but doesn't betray the original work of art, only compliments it. The voice cast is very good and one cannot praise the spectacular animation enough. I was very pleased with the 3D presentation here, it was very, very rarely (only once or twice) used as a 'cool effect', and overall was very tastefully used to give the visuals more depth. Perhaps the first really good film to have a wide release in 2009, and looking at the next few weeks I see more than one film I'm moderately interested in, so this might end up being a pretty good year.

Michael Jackson 3D

Ο Jackson ετοίμαζε φαντασμαγορικό 3D οπτικό υλικό για τις συναυλίες

Σχεδόν δύο εβδομάδες πριν από το θάνατό του, ο Michael Jackson είχε τελειώσει τα γυρίσματα ενός πολύπλοκου οπτικού θεάματος με τίτλο «The Dome Project». Το υλικό προοριζόταν να προβληθεί σε γιγαντοοθόνη στη σκηνή των επερχόμενων συναυλιών του στο Λονδίνο και αποτελείται από τρισδιάστατες εικόνες και πλάνα που θα συνόδευαν την ερμηνεία του στις συναυλίες.

«Ήταν μια πρωτοποριακή δουλειά», δήλωσε ο Vince Pace, η εταιρεία του οποίου ήταν υπεύθυνη για τις ειδικές κάμερες που κινηματογραφούν σε ένα νέο τρισδιάστατο σύστημα που ο ίδιος δημιούργησε μαζί με το σκηνοθέτη James Cameron.

Δύο άτομα που ενεπλάκησαν στο project, αλλά δεν μπορούν να αποκαλύψουν τα ονόματά τους λόγω εμπιστευτικών συμβολαίων που έχουν υπογράψει, επιβεβαίωσαν την ύπαρξη του project στο Associated Press. Σύμφωνα με αυτές τις πηγές, η προετοιμασία κράτησε πέντε εβδομάδες και τα γυρίσματα έγιναν μεταξύ 1-9 Ιουνίου στα Culver Studios, εκεί όπου πριν από 70 χρόνια είχε κινηματογραφηθεί η υπερπαραγωγή «Όσα Παίρνει Ο Άνεμος».

Τέσσερα γιγαντιαία σκηνικά είχαν κατασκευαστεί, θυμίζοντας παλιότερες δουλειές του Jackson και ειδικά το βιντεοκλίπ του «Thriller» από το 1983: ένα νεκροταφείο, ένα γιγάντιο ομοίωμα του Michael Jackson ως λυκανθρώπου, μια πυκνή ζούγκλα και μία οικοδομή, στις σκαλωσιές της οποίας θα προβάλλονταν διάφορα άλλες εικόνες. «Με την τρισδιάστατη τεχνολογία, το κοινό θα είχε την εντύπωση ότι θα ξαναζούσε την εμπειρία του «Thriller», σα να βρισκόταν εκεί», συμπλήρωσε ο Pace.

Ο Βασιλιάς της Ποπ βρισκόταν στα πλατώ τις περισσότερες ημέρες και τα μαραθώνια γυρίσματα κρατούσαν συχνά μέχρι τις πρώτες πρωινές ώρες. Ήταν πολύ αδυνατισμένος και ωχρός, και συνοδευόταν από πλήθος σωματοφυλάκων και σεκιουριτάδων. Είχε ανάλαφρο βήμα, αν και κάποια στιγμή χρειάστηκε βοήθεια για να κατέβει μια σκάλα. Παρ’ όλα αυτά, άφησε θερμές αναμνήσεις στα μέλη του συνεργείου, στα οποία συστήθηκε προσωπικά και τα χαιρετούσε όποτε βρισκόταν εκεί.

Το «Dome Project» βρισκόταν στη φάση του μοντάζ και της ψηφιακής επεξεργασίας όταν πέθανε ο Jackson. Υπολογιζόταν να είναι έτοιμο τον επόμενο μήνα, αλλά τώρα κανείς δεν μπορεί να πει με σιγουριά ποια θα είναι η τύχη του.

Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience

Jonas Brothers 3D (2009) available on 3D Blu-Ray and 2D DVD.

Nosferatu becomes Orlok the Vampire in 3D!

wear 3d glasses red/cyan


Chris Heuer
Stevensville Maryland

©2009 Chris Heuer and CreativeCOW.net. All rights reserved.

Article Focus: "Nosferatu," the first vampire movie, and some say still the best, rises again in 3D! In this "Creative COW Magazine Extra," Chris Heuer used desktop tools including AE and Mocha to breathe new life into this classic of world cinema.


When asked what it would take to turn the movie Nosferatu into an anaglyph 3D movie, I thought for a moment and then replied “Seventy thousand dollars, a team of 10 to 15 visual effects artists and 3 months.”

Curious, I then asked “What do we actually have to work with?”. Keith Carter, the Director of the project (and a good personal friend) replied “A very small budget... and YOU.”

Now to fill in some details. The reason I was able to quote a price so quickly (which I would now consider way under budget) is because this story begins about a year earlier.

Carol Bidault de L'isle of Media Fusion in Washington, DC had acquired a library of recent independent films. Carol and Media Fusion help independent filmmakers that cannot find access to the marketplace. “Sometimes it is just a matter of repackaging these films, sometimes it’s re-editing that can make the difference," she says.

Among these new titles was an odd copy of "Nosferatu," by F.W. Murnau. "Nosferatu" was the first film to be made (although without permission) based on Bram Stoker's "Dracula," and has developed a massive cult following since its release way back in 1922.

In the end, the film is a wild ride with lots of new features, including an introduction by Troma Entertainment’s Lloyd Kaufman (“Toxic Avenger,” “Class of Nuke ‘Em High”). The DVD version will also have a popup trivia version, a Director and Producer commentary version, the “Making Of,” two pairs of 3D glasses – and for the die-hard fans, a special edition with a comic book prequel and an action figure, complete with a miniature rat!

Cannes 2009: 3D film Up to make history at festival opening

The film 'Up' is the first animation ever chosen to open the festival, which is now in its 62nd year. The comic tale from Disney's Pixar Studios cost $150 million to make and is a far cry from the fuzzy 3D offerings of old.

Gone are the red and blue cardboard glasses that left audiences feeling seasick in the 1950s. Instead, moviegoers on the French Riviera will be asked to exchange their Ray-Bans for special polarised spectacles.

Disney has a dozen more three-dimensional movies in the works and Hollywood executives hope that the technology will prove exciting enough to lure audiences back into the cinema. Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of Pixar's rival, DreamWorks, has described the new generation of 3D as the third great revolution in the history of film, after the arrival of sound in the 1920s and colour in the 1930s.

Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton and George Lucas are among the directors working on 3-D projects, while studios are dusting off past blockbusters and giving them the 3-D treatment, including The Matrix and Toy Story.

The only glitch is that not every cinema has the equipment to show the films in their full glory, and it is an expensive investment in the midst of a global recession.

The technological wizardry of 'Up' is not the only thing which makes it stand out from previous animated offerings. Instead of the usual cute animals, Disney has tapped into pensioner power by making the hero a 78-year-old balloon salesman who sets off for South America by tying thousands of balloons to the roof of his house.

"That it's an animated film is noteworthy because it's the first time, but the important thing is that it's an excellent film in its own right," said Thierry Fremaux, director of the festival, when explaining his choice for opening night.