AV News 193 - August 2013
To understand the third image we need to look back in time to the days when
we took our original photographs on silver based transparency (slide) film.
Because those photographic images were projected from two or more
projectors the highlights and mid-tones of the second image showed through
into the darker or shadow areas of the first image, thereby creating a third
image consisting of elements of both originals. The skill of this process was
in choosing two compatible originals that would blend together to produce an
interesting and relevant artistically cohesive image when dissolving for an
appropriate time from one image to the other. It wasn't uncommon for
experienced workers to consider such compositions at the taking stage by
consulting their AV storyboards, thereby ensuring correct placement of light
and dark areas within their slides. Furthermore it was also common practice
during the realization process to spend considerable time with a single slide
projected on screen whilst testing dissolves by trial and error from other slides
loaded into a second projector to find the right combination. All this effort just
to move artistically and seamlessly from one image to the next! The onset of
digital AV using a single projector changed the way that third images are
achieved, however the basic requirement for two compatible original images
remain the same, although it is now possible to overlay darker areas onto
highlights, something quite difficult to achieve with slid \