Today, 3d week on Channel 4 has kicked off, which is maybe an indication that viewing of 3d images and videos may be becoming slightly more mainstream? So I picked up my glasses from Sainsburys a few days ago, ready to see what Channel 4 can offer.

A quick word about the glasses first. They’re ColorCode 3D glasses, which are yellow and blue; different from the red and cyan glasses that most people are used to, and different from the stereoscopic glasses that are needed to view the 3d images on this site.

I’m keeping an eye on the #3dweek tag on twitter as I write this.

The first thing of note is that everyone shown wearing glasses on screen were wearing the red/cyan glasses. On the subject of glasses, I have to say that my right eye (looking through blue) is beginning to ache a bit, which can’t be helpful. I’m loving the images, but I think that whilst we have to wear glasses, all it will be seen as is a gimmick. Maybe if we were using something other than cardboard glasses it would be better? A lot of the tweets made reference to the annoying glasses, especially having to take them on and off.

There was less 3d footage than I expected, and not all of it was worth seeing in 3d. Some of it had obviously been shot as normal film would have been shot, without thinking about the depth of field that makes 3d so interesting. A fantastically composed 2d shot may look awful in 3d, whilst an innocuous 2d shot may be incredible when seen in 3d. It’s important to have some subjects in the foreground, middle and background of images, otherwise there’s no really much point in them being 3d.

I have to say the adverts were very interesting, but I think that some companies may have missed a trick. ING Direct had an advert about cushioning the blow of a 3d television (which at the moment cost £3500), followed by an advert for an Olympus camera. However, I reckon that it would have been a great opportunity for Fujifilm and Loreo.

Interestingly enough, about half way through the programme, there started to be a few negative tweets about the 3d experience dotted amongst all of the positive ones. A lot of people started hoping that Derren Brown would be better than the Queen in 3d. Well, to be fair, the footage of this kick-off programme is over 50 years old, and it was experimenting with new technology. The newer footage of the Queen in 3d taken at a recent garden party was better than the older stuff; it’s clear to see that the film-makers have had a lot more experience of shooting in 3d in these 50 years.

So, what makes good subject matters for 3d? I reckon it doesn’t add too much to movies, but with everyday footage it’s great. I think we’ll be seeing a lot of sport on TV in 3d in future, and I think that for special occasions people will request 3d. The 3d wedding photography that I’ve done so far has largely gone down well, and I think it will be big in future.