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Artifacts from the Booth - Paramount's 35mm 3D Projection System 

4/3/2017

8 Comments

 
"Single-strip film projection greatly simplified theatrical exhibition of stereoscopic motion pictures." -3D Revolution: The History of Modern Stereoscopic Cinema (2012) 
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The Depix Camera System was developed by inventors Alvin and Mortimer Marks, and captures left and right eye images on a single 35mm film frame. Alvin Marks had been experimenting with 3D technology 30 years previous, receiving a patent in 1951 for the "three-dimensional intercommunicating system". 

For Friday the 13th Part III (1982), the first major 3D release to use the Depix system, Paramount Pictures shipped out full 3D kits to 700 theatres nationwide. The kits included: a 3D lens (1), mirror box attachment (2, 3, 4), aperture plates, 3D test strip (5), and instructions (6, 7). Inside the 3D lens attachment consisted of mirrors that would separate the left and right eye images (seen below in images #3 and #5 as top and bottom), and project them out on screen as a single image. 
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The mainstream 3D craze of the 80s lasted only a few short years. The novelty wore off after the release of Jaws and Amityville 3-D in 1983. Of course, years later, 3D would have another short burst of mainstream cinema success beginning in 2008 with Journey to the Center of the Earth, and more-or-less fading away after the release of Gravity in 2013. 
8 Comments
Ben Crenshaw
4/5/2020 09:28:31 pm

Just a quick question, hopefully somebody is still around to answer it. How much is one of these worth? I have one in my garage and I hate to see it just get thrown out.

Reply
Jerry Peacock
6/5/2020 01:42:37 pm

Is yours complete? I've been looking for one for a long time to experiment with.

Reply
Ben Crenshaw
6/5/2020 11:27:15 pm

email me at [email protected] and I can send you pictures. I believe it is complete though.

Chelsea link
11/4/2020 12:20:18 pm

We have a complete Paramount 3D lens set in good condition stored at one of our theatres we're looking to sell. Still has original tags and components in a case.
Contact me at [email protected] if you're still interested!

John Irvin
10/13/2020 07:36:22 am

I have a complete (seems to be new) still in its crate with foam packing and all Original manuals

Reply
Mike Ballew
10/13/2022 03:31:21 am

Hi! I realize I'm late to this conversation, and no doubt you figured all this out a long time ago, but the alignment loop illustrated is for the Marks 3-Depix format. You will note that the thin lines are the actual frame lines. The slightly heavier "dark bars" separate the left and right images within each frame. So, when setting up the alignment loop and when threading the feature films FRIDAY THE 13th PART III and TREASURE OF THE FOUR CROWNS, which were shot using the Marks 3-Depix converter, be sure to thread the film with the "dark bar" across the center of the aperture plate. Avoid the erroneous practice of threading with the "thin lines" across the center of the aperture plate, else you will be projecting "right eye, frame 1" with "left eye, frame 2," giving rise to an annoying, out-of-phase effect onscreen.

Reply
John Irvin
9/15/2023 12:49:38 pm

Does anyone know what these are worth. I have one from my cinema we restored. Its brand new in the original case with all paperwork and foam
[email protected]
if you know anything

Reply
Fuck Buddy Morley link
1/3/2025 09:42:55 am

I appreciate you sharing this

Reply



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