Advertisers are taking their conversations to a different dimension: the third dimension. But it ain’t your parents’ brand of cheesy cardboard glasses-style 3D, it’s digital.
In April, Canadian charity Tema Conter Memorial Trust, which aims to improve understanding of acute and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) encountered by emergency services personnel, made a splash in the ‘3Deep’ end by completing the world’s first 3D public service announcement. The spot follows the world’s first digitally produced 3D TV commercial for Pepsi, which aired in the U.S. during the Super Bowl in January.
Tema’s commercial, crafted by Toronto-based Geneva Film Co., was shot using two digital cameras that represent the right and left eye. The footage was then amalgamated into a single computer file that can be played through a digital projector and viewed in 3D with the assistance of special glasses with polarized lenses in 3D-enabled theatres – there are currently 122 in Canada. The spot can also be viewed in 3D online and on 3D-enabled mobile devices, with a 2D version available across all the same platforms as well as on TV. The goal was to convey the horrors of PTSD by literally adding another dimension to the way the message is communicated.
‘[Advertisers] can leverage the incredibly immersive experience of 3D as a strategy for drawing the viewer into a powerful message,’ explains James Stewart, founder, producer and director, Geneva Film Co. ‘In this commercial we used 3D to effectively pull our audience into the experiences and suffering of workers with PTSD.’
