This is a simple 2D stationary drone video (original video by Tom Fisk) duplicated with a time offset. So the stereopair depth effects come not from the motion of the camera, but from the motion of the vehicles themselves. Their speed translates to visible depth because speed is just displacement over time, and in this case, horizontal displacement—which we know also determines perceived depth in a stereopair. So the greater the speed of the car, the more it changes position between the L & R here, and the greater its difference in depth from the stationary roadway is.
This was inspired by a conversation I had with @swan.collective on Instagram about stationary camera stereopairs, in which moving objects create their own depth effects (like clouds, stuff on the surface of moving water, etc.). It made me consider things that move at different rates but only along one axis, and I thought of stop-and-go traffic jams! I couldn’t find quite the right video of that, but found several related ones I will share.
After posting this in IG, it has become clear that the number one response it elicits in presumably Generation X people is: FROGGER! More in this series to come—stay tuned…
TAGS: experiments > traffic; vehicles > cars, motorcycles, trucks
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