Stereoscopic-3D storytelling – rethinking the conventions, grammar and aesthetics of a new medium

The film and broadcasting industry is currently at a very exciting and key defining moment in its evolution: the much heralded third age of Stereoscopic 3D (S3D). This current resurgence sees a proliferation of S3D film cinema releases, new S3D television channels, live S3D coverage of sporting events and S3D viewing technologies becoming a viable and affordable option for the home viewing experience. This provides a timely context in which to re-examine and re-evaluate Stereoscopic 3D in an academic context. Film and cinema studies have evolved significantly in the past century in their responses to the two-dimensional film-making medium; its production techniques, storytelling capabilities and audio-visual narrative devices. We are now at the precipice of a pivotal moment in film-making and cinema history, which calls for new ways of thinking about and articulating this new form of visual storytelling. This article maps the development of S3D fictional film-making, its technologies, its physiological effects, the discourses that have surrounded it and the division of industrial opinion that currently concern its future. Interwoven with commentary and reflection from industry practitioners, the article also investigates some contemporary examples of S3D fiction film-making in an attempt to provide a contribution to the foundations for the ongoing study, articulation and documentation of stereoscopic-3D storytelling.