3D on Social Media: Resources
For the Special Interest Groups at
NSA Virtual 3D-Con 2021 (
video) and
2020 (
video).
Compiled by Gordon Au / World of Depth (
Instagram/
YouTube)
Based largely on
poll results; the quotes below are
individual opinions only.
2021: How best to share and experience 3D online is an issue crucial to the survival of 3D, and at its forefront today is how to do so on social media. For this SIG, Gordon Au moderates Q & A and discussions featuring a panel with experience not only in social media, but also in PR, group organizing, web design, platform creation, and more. We will discuss pros and cons of different platforms, best practices, newcomer advice, how to build followings, and more, in a talk that should be of interest and use for everyone from social media newbie to 3D club organizer!
Panelists
David Kuntz: @hubbledoge on IG, @DavidWKuntz on Twitter, Hubble Doge on FB
Sarah Falk: @blueprintblues on IG
Stephen Wong: @covergirlphotographer/@oz3dclub on IG, stereo3dinfo.com
Vanessa Grein: @Vanessa.Grein on IG, Vanessa Grein on FB
Moderator, Gordon Au: @WorldOfDepth on IG, WorldOfDepth.com
Thanks also to Jack DesBwa, creator of Stereopix.
2020: Thanks to the advent of stereoscopy phone apps and dual-lens phones, 3D has been on the rise on social media such as Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr, as well as more specialized sites like Flickr and Phereo. Join us for a sampling/overview of some of these platforms, tips and considerations for viewing and sharing 3D on them, general discussion, and undoubtedly many mutual "followings"!
Speakers
3D on Instagram—Gordon Au: Instagram / YouTube / Tumblr (old)
Wiggle GIFs—Jassimine Dixon: Eye See Magic / Instagram
Reto3D (iOS), Wigglegram (iOS/Android)
3D on Facebook—S. Rathinagiri: StereoFractals.com / Facebook
3D on Flickr—David Starkman & Susan Pinsky: Stereoscopy.com / Reel 3D / 3-D Legends / Flickr / Instagram
3D on Holopix—Nima Zeighami: Holopix / Twitter / LinkedIn
Closed Beta signup (Android only), Lightfield (automultiscopic) tablet
‘Lightfield Animations’: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
List of Attendees - feel free to add your contact info (open until 8/19/20)
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Benefits/Advantages
- Discover more 3D and creators of 3D
- Many are convenient for phone photographers
- Many platforms are free
- Follow people/topics you like
- Give and receive reactions and comments
- Organizing tags for content
- Tag specific people to share with them
- Create a record of your 3D work / 3D diary
Drawbacks/Limitations
- Uncertain viewership
- Time/energy required to build a following
- Bell curve of 3D quality
- Spam, trolls
- Social drama
Best suited for: Stereopairs, Anaglyphs (<50% say Wiggle GIFs , ~33% say 3D Videos)
Ease of viewing 3D: 4.3 out of 5
Ease of sharing 3D: 4.1 out of 5
How welcoming to beginners: 4.2 out of 5
Benefits/Advantages
- Hashtags for topic searching, reaching viewers, and connecting with others
- Active community—“generally warm and friendly,” “established audience,” “wide enthusiastic community,” “a core of enthusiasts are very productive and post inspiring work,” “very mutually supportive”
- Sharing advice—“you usually get a response (and advice) very quickly from fellow 3D people,” “you can find constructive criticism from people willing to help,” “ability to try a photo and get feedback,” “the people involved, specially the ones with more experience are very helpful, creative and enjoyable to comment with”
- Messaging: easy to contact others with built-in system
- Publicly viewable without being a registered user, generally
- Mobile-optimized—“you can use your viewer easily, if you cannot freeview”
- Overall: “You reach many people, you learn from others, and you gain friends!”
Drawbacks/Limitations
- Limited picture and video size, quality, and duration
- Multi-image posts limited to 10 images
- Specific ratio requirements require formatting (see below)—“it’s frustrating”
- Not ideal for landscape orientation (workaround: posting sideways)
- Character limit for post captions and comments
- Desktop version clunky / lacks features
- “The ‘social/emotional/personal’ aspects can sometimes be very dominant,” “There is a definite social subculture that is sometimes overwhelming and difficult to navigate”
Influence of Dr. Brian May
- “Dr. Brian May, of Queen fame, has generated a big following of fans who are also into stereoscopy.”
- “Large community of people posting images as #teamstereoscopy mainly as a result of Denis Pellerin and Brian May of London Stereoscopic Company”
- “I think currently the main demographic of the IG 3D community is women who are QUEEN and Brian May fans.”
- “We can find many new stereo friends who are inspired by Brian May on Instagram much more than on the other social media.”
- “Lots of 3D imagery on Instagram from people not involved with NSA or ISU. Really shows the influence Brian May has had promoting stereoscopy.”
- “As a non-Queen fan, the endless posts about Dr. May (for whom I have nothing but respect) can be tedious. But those Queen fans are also posting some really cool stereos.”
- “I enjoy the range of the history buffs and the other are the Queen fans…I’d like to start finding folks that are more in middle.”
Formatting Summary
- Photo posts: from 1080x608 px to 1080x1350 px, 300+ dpi best; sharpening helps with downsized images
*in multi-image posts, all photos must be exactly the same aspect ratio
- Video posts: 60s maximum, highest bitrate possible, 30 fps, MP4 with h.264 codec best
- Story photos: exactly 1080x1920 px; 300+ dpi best
- Story videos: exactly 1080x1920 px, 15s maximum, highest bitrate possible, 30 fps, MP4 with h.264 codec best
Example Hashtags
Tutorials
Best suited for: Stereopairs, Facebook 3D Photos (~33% say Anaglyphs)
Ease of viewing 3D: 4.5 out of 5
Ease of sharing 3D: 4.4 out of 5
How welcoming to beginners: 3.8 out of 5
Benefits/Advantages
- Active groups—“large ready-made audience, rather than having to build up a following,” “very active with specialist groups discussing topics of all aspects of 3D”
- Built-in ‘Facebook 3D Photo’ format—“more of our non-3D friends are getting interested in 3D”
- Multi-image posts and photo albums
- Suitable for lengthy posts/discussions—“users spend more time viewing the content; it’s more interesting”
- Built-in messaging on desktop (requires separate app on mobile)
Drawbacks/Limitations
- Some groups are closed / members-only
- Hard to view/navigate without being a registered user
- ‘Facebook 3D Photo’ format can only be posted single; is glitchy and not ‘real’ 3D—“too many artifacts from the AI algorithms”
Example Groups
Tutorials
Benefits/Advantages
- Optimized for photos—“a place to archive my best work,” “wonderful for viewing (I especially love being able to zoom in on and visually swim around anaglyphs)”
- Many public-viewable photos
- Large groups for specific subjects
- ‘Discussion’ feature (but largely inactive)
Drawbacks/Limitations
- Some features require paid membership
- “Tiny for phone viewing”
- “I haven’t found a community there.”
Example Groups
Benefits/Advantages
- Specifically for 3D, with built-in conversion: “made by stereographers for stereographers”
- Forum (but largely inactive)
- Many public-viewable photos
Drawbacks/Limitations
- Without a paid account, photos are deleted
- Some photos don’t load
- Platform not actively supported/developed
- Largely unusable on mobile *CORRECTION: there is a mobile app available.
- “Even when I can get Phereo to work for more than five minutes there doesn’t seem to be much happening.”
OTHERS
- Stereopix (see details in the 2021 video)
- Holopix
- FOR: 4V image format
- PRO: “supports a multiscopic 3D display”
- CON: “Doesn’t support viewing SBS (only uploading), and doesn’t have a web version,” only accessible through Hydrogen One phone?
- Closed Beta signup (Android only)
- ‘Lightfield Animations’: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
- YouTube
- “supports 3D imagery in a variety of formats”
- “YouTube offers a way to upload high resolution 3D side-by-side video. It then automatically makes an anaglyph version.”
- “great for sharing 3D, but the viewer needs a 3D TV, so it limits the audience significantly”
- “I don’t think there is much of a scene” / “Seems to be stale…for now.”
- Stereo Maker on YouTube (creator of StereoPhoto Maker)
- Orbix 360º
- FOR: VR180/360
- PRO: “lots of file formats available,” “parallel stereo pairs look amazing in VR”
- CON: “lots of non-3D images/videos,” “requires VR headset or cardboard viewer for phone”
- “There aren’t a whole lot of people posting stereos there but the viewing experience is so much better than free viewing stereo pairs on Instagram or Facebook 3D photos. It definitely has the 3D wow.”
- Twitter
- “Although you can share images and I do occasionally it is more a new channel for what is going on in the 3D world”
- “[Your images are] not likely to be seen until you build up a following”
- VSCO
- “can submit high resolution pics and easily download full size images”
- “no screen rotation (must rotate wide photos before uploading)”
- Pinterest
- Tumblr
