Animated Stereoviews of Meiji Japan

November 13, 2009 6:40 PM

Animated Stereoviews of Meiji Japan

via japansociety on twitter

posted by BuddhaInABucket (37 comments total)

These are really neat. Thank you!
posted by Barking Frog at 7:00 PM on November 13

Very cool. It was neat to see the 3D effect, though, now I feel a little woozy. Worth it.
posted by Atreides at 7:01 PM on November 13

That last one is great.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:09 PM on November 13

And indeed, there are a lot of earthquakes here in Japan!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:14 PM on November 13 [6 favorites]

ah, love this. Thank you!
posted by peachfuzz at 7:16 PM on November 13

Related AskMe post.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:16 PM on November 13

Does the stereograph of the geisha looking at stereographs make this MetaMeiji?
posted by Pollomacho at 7:25 PM on November 13 [2 favorites]

What a cool trick! Thanks so much for the post.
posted by Malor at 7:37 PM on November 13

Awesome.
posted by norabarnacl3 at 7:39 PM on November 13

The most interesting thing for me is having a chance to see the offset between the left and right eye.

(Also, neat pictures)
posted by Decimask at 8:00 PM on November 13

Beautiful. Several of these immediately brought to mind Kurosawa - Rashomon, Sanjuro etc. - really seems as if excerpted from his movies. Wonderful find.
posted by VikingSword at 8:13 PM on November 13

I can honestly say, without risk of hyperbole, and I've been here awhile, this is the single greatest Metafilter post, ever.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 8:29 PM on November 13

What a cool trick!

ChickenView. This is how chickens see the world. They don't have binocular vision, so they move their heads back and forth.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:32 PM on November 13 [3 favorites]

head hurts
posted by leotrotsky at 8:34 PM on November 13

Fantastic. That little back and forth brings them to life.
posted by PHINC at 8:54 PM on November 13

I love old images of Japan, but wow. 15 seconds and my head hurts, and I feel kind of pukey. Still, kind of neat.

Need to lie down for a little while.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:43 PM on November 13

Wonderful, thank you so much.
posted by BaxterG4 at 9:46 PM on November 13

Kind of cool to see that Inari temple has looked that way for well over a hundred years. Also, it's definitely worth clicking the Flickr links below and looking at the originals, non-pukeyvision-style (like a normal stereogram/Magic Eye), especially because of the informational writeups.

Great stuff.
posted by DoctorFedora at 12:11 AM on November 14

I have to say that I passed this link up a handful of times today because I didn't understand the description. Animated stereoviews? Meiji Japan? Was this some kind of weird niche anime about a Harajuku-like part of Tokyo where teenagers dress like Raggedy Ann and Andy for tourists? What?

Anyway, this was absolutely fantastic. This is one of the best things I've seen on Metafilter in a very, very long time.

Although this probably won't generate a ton of comments because it doesn't really invite snark, there should be no mistaking how seriously awesome and amazing this is.

Thank you again for sharing this!
posted by Davenhill at 12:27 AM on November 14

I have a suspicion that a lot of what you see on those photographs probably hasn't change a whole lot.

It also suddenly made me wonder about the logistics of making massive statues like that Buddha.
posted by Harry at 1:39 AM on November 14

these pictures...they vibrate?
posted by UbuRoivas at 3:25 AM on November 14

Those (non animated) 3-D stereoviews are part of a much larger (fantastic) flikr set of old Japan first posted on mefi by madamjujujive.
posted by vronsky at 3:33 AM on November 14

Oh, I forgot to point out that I originally read the FPP a number of times as "animated stereotypes of Meiji Japan." Then it was full of geishas and torii anyway, so I guess maybe it wasn't so far off after all.
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:32 AM on November 14 [2 favorites]

I have a suspicion that a lot of what you see on those photographs probably hasn't change a whole lot.

wait. what?
posted by johnnybeggs at 5:41 AM on November 14

The pictures are neat, but I can't agree with the rave comments. Sorry to throw cold water on the whole idea, but to me the "animation" does not add to the pictures. Yes, it creates a 3D effect, but the movement is so distracting you miss details. I'd rather look at them in an old fashioned stereoscope, or as static 2D pictures as in madamjujujive's set.
posted by beagle at 5:44 AM on November 14

These are fascinating. They made me think of one of my favorite photographs, In the Court of the Meiji Temple, Tokyo, Japan by Werner Bischof.
posted by HopperFan at 5:46 AM on November 14 [1 favorite]

I have a suspicion that a lot of what you see on those photographs probably hasn't change a whole lot.

I can assure you even TV historical dramas here in Japan do not reach this level of Ye Olde Worlde Japan.
posted by gomichild at 6:11 AM on November 14

If you're like me and are wondering what the "animated" part meant, make sure your browser isn't set to run animated GIFs only once.
posted by tommasz at 8:21 AM on November 14

to me the "animation" does not add to the pictures.

I love this link, but I'm also on a fence about the animation. I think it would have to run much faster, so as not to perceptibly shift to the unaided eye, in order to create something that feels more real. It took my computer a long time to load them, so at first I was looking at flat images and really enjoying them. The "shaking" effect dizzied my eyes after a very short time.

But I'm glad I got to see them at all. A lovely link, thanks.
posted by Miko at 8:36 AM on November 14

Yes, it creates a 3D effect, but the movement is so distracting you miss details. I'd rather look at them in an old fashioned stereoscope, or as static 2D pictures as in madamjujujive's set.

I can't say I had any problem noticing the details. Perhaps it was that concentration that helped make me a little spin crazy when I stopped. With that said, it's interesting to reflect back to a world when stereoviews were a popular form of entertainment. How exciting or interesting was it for individuals to hold those wooden contraptions to their faces and imagine themselves standing somewhere around the world or elsewhere. I know as a child, I would peer through a stereoscope that belonged to my great-grandparents (folks who lived virtually their entire lives on a farm) and find it neat, but then, I had already been exposed to a world of movies and television, so I can't say that I'd have had the same experience.
posted by Atreides at 8:37 AM on November 14

Also, for some reason, these images really made me wonder about the sounds, the smells, the coolness or moistness in the air..they seemed realer than real in that they invite the viewer right in. I don't usually have that experience looking at photos. They're beautifully composed and treated.
posted by Miko at 8:38 AM on November 14

I'm happy to report that I have absolutely no problem with viewing these. Which is nice because I can't see those stereo dot images, etc, at all. I don't find the effect distracting... in fact I *feel* like I notice far more detail because of it. A little app that let you vary the speed with a slider would be nice, though.
posted by BaxterG4 at 9:03 AM on November 14

they seemed realer than real in that they invite the viewer right in. I don't usually have that experience looking at photos.

In the 3D business the term used is "vivid."
posted by StickyCarpet at 11:04 AM on November 14

I nth the "photos great, "animation" not so great." Frankly, I felt like it was going to induce a seizure. Still, very nice in very short visits.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:45 AM on November 14 [1 favorite]

This reminds me of Percy H. Argenweiler's classic travelogue, An Extremely Jittery Visitor to the Mikado's Court.
posted by No-sword at 2:49 PM on November 14

OoKkAaYy.

The alternating pic method works better than the crosseye or distant stare but certainly not as well as a good viewer.

People have tried using this method on movies too, with predictable results. Bags full.
posted by HTuttle at 3:53 PM on November 14

That was fantastic. Arigato gozaimasu!
posted by unwordy at 9:17 AM on November 16