Old films to 3D

[Connor]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone knew how companies are going about converting old films to 3D. I was under the impression films had to be shot by 3D cameras to produce a 3D image. For example, Titanic is being converted to 3D. I didn't think Titanic was filmed in 3D, so how can it be made into 3D?

[Chevypower]

I don't really know, and I think a simulated 3D would never be as good as real 3D. But here is my guess. They could crop the picture horizonatally, and give a slight shift between the left eye and right eye.
A bit like simulating stereo sound from a mono source. It's just a very small delay in the right track, but sounds like any stereo track to anyone who hears it - It has to be a very small delay, even 1 video frame at 1/24-1/30 a second is too much delay.
I found the Toy Story 1 & 2 to be not that impressive for 3D. Now they have found a way to recapitalize on old movies. They charge more for 3D screenings than normal screenings. The can pull old movies that they know were already hot movies. Hollywood has lost a lot of its creativity and it is evident they would rather take no risks and capitalize on movie names that are already successful than come up with something new.
Think: Transformers, Karate Kid, Gi-Joe, AstroBoy, the fact that many movies now have not just one sequel, but several.

[Sarge]

Let's save them the trouble and just boycott those releases. Maybe then they'll invest their money in more palatable endeavors. Sorry, guess i'm just getting old!

[Psychonaut]

And adding much-needed dialogue to silent pictures.

[Sarge]

Originally Posted by Psychonaut

And adding much-needed dialogue to silent pictures.

[wallendo]

3D-ization is the new colorization.

[wallendo]

Originally Posted by Chevypower

...
I found the Toy Story 1 & 2 to be not that impressive for 3D. ...

The Toy Story movies were designed in a 3-D CGI environment and originally rendered in 2D The new movies were re-rendered using a 3-d "virtual camera" and are true 3-D movies.