Three-dimensional (3D)A B C D E F G H IJKL M N O P R S T U VXYZWdivorced from connection with the original
until, arguably, they become primary texts in
their own right. Where texts interact, intercon-
nect and are interdependent we have what is
termed intertextuality.
Theatre censorship See lord chamberlain.
Theories and concepts of communication
See topic guides under audiences/consump-
tion & reception of media; communica-
tion theory; communication models;
language/discourse/narrative; media:
power, effects, influence; media: values &
ideology; representation.
38 Degrees See online campaigning.
Three-dimensional (3D) For the early days
of three-dimensional technology, see stere-
oscopy. We associate 3D with the cinema
and television, and specifi cally with the 1950s
onwards. Th e aim of creating for audience an
experience that springs, three-dimensionally,
from the screen to add to the thrill and wonder
of cinema has had surges and recessions caused
by technical problems, expense brought about
by the need to either convert cinemas to 3D or,
in the case of imax cinemas, to purpose-build
them, and the volatility of audience interest. Not
the least of 3D’s problems has been the need for
audiences to wear special tinted-lens glasses,
and reports that prolonged use of these to view
the pyrotechnics of 3D has health hazards.
The anaglyph method of 3D projection
employed two projection systems angled
towards the screen. The polarized method
projects images at right-angles to each other.
Th e active-shutter method exposes each eye to
alternating images; in this case the 3D glasses,
linked to hardware, open and close the shut-
ters over the eyes, enabling each eye to see the
correct image. Autostereoscopy, still largely at a
stage of experiment and development, avoids the
use of glasses altogether.
Synchronization of images proved a major
headache, less so once a single-strip format
was introduced, giving 3D cinema popular
momentum from the 1970s. Th e imax company,
projecting on 70mm fi lm, carried the fl ag of 3D
during the 1980s. Polaroid glasses were intro-
duced in 1986, but the biggest boost to 3D came
with the introduction of computer animation,
digital projection and digital video capture (see
special effects).
James Cameron’s fi lmless Ghosts of the Abyss
(2003) anticipated his highly innovative 3D
feature Avatar (2009), which illustrated the
wonders of modern cinema technology but
also exemplifi ed a longstanding criticism of 3Dof source; indeed texts often soar through
cyberspace with little or no acknowledgement
of source. Released from the tie of ownership,
possibly doctored in whole or in part for what-
ever reason, are texts reliable any more? Does
authorship continue to have any meaning?
The moral rights of paternity and integrity
are enshrined in the Berne Convention. Th ey
are central to the UK’s Copyright Designs and
Patents Act (1988). Th e right of paternity is the
right to be identifi ed as the author of a copyright
work, and that includes adaptations, fi lm rights,
etc. Th e major exception in the Berne Conven-
tion is authorship of the ‘news of the day’. Th e
UK Copyright Act also excludes from protec-
tion all work made for the reporting of current
events, and this includes articles in newspapers
and journals.
A major legal curtailment of the ‘free’ use (and
sometimes abuse) of texts online was passed
into law in 2010, in the form of the digital
economy act (uk); a measure deemed by many
to be in its turn an abuse of freedom by permit-
ting surveillance methods not altogether
diff erent from stalking. See topic guide under
media issues & debates.
Texts See open, closed texts.
Text: tertiary text The primary text is that
which is produced and transmitted –the paint-
ing, the poem, the poster, the fi lm, what Roland
Barthes terms the ‘work’; the secondary text is
that which members of an audience receive,
what is perceived as the text. Th e tertiary text
results when the fi rst two texts are translated
into conversation between members of the audi-
ence, their families and friends. John Fiske uses
the term in Television Culture (Methuen, 1987)
to denote the many uses media messages can be
put to – interpretative, analytical, affi rmative or
rejective.
Th e existence of the tertiary text indicates that
audience has within its capacity the potential
to be independent of the preferred reading
residing in the primary text or work (see audi-
ence: active audience; empowerment;
response codes).
A more general use of the terms primary and
secondary is current. The primary text is that
which is produced; the secondary text, arising out
of the fi rst, may take many forms – publicity, trail-
ers, critiques, interviews with the author or direc-
tor, documentaries, translations into other creative
forms (a novel into a movie or a TV series).
Secondary texts at least begin as dependants
upon the primary text; they are its satellites.
However, these may become more and more