Moving in stereo: by adopting the latest digital filmmaking technologies, Spy Kids 3-D sets a new course for stereoscopic effects. (backdrop).(Interview)

Q Why did you decide to use stereoscopic visual effects in Spy Kids 3-D?

A I wanted to bring stereo 3D effects back to theaters. And I thought doing a sci-fi movie for kids and setting it in a video game would be a great way to do it. The first thing I did was get Chris Olivia, a lead artist at Troublemaker Digital, to work up some test shots using footage from Spy Kids 2. It was astounding. We bad this rush of adrenaline. It worked so well that we ended up making 90 percent of the movie in stereo.

Q Stereoscopy in films seems to have been merely a novelty. Is it intended to be something more this time?

A If you look at stereo 3D movies from the past, you see why they didn't work: The stories weren't very good, the stereoscopic effect was not very good, and it wasn't used as a crucial element in the story. So I think people just assumed that the idea wasn't a good one. What I wanted to do was form the movie around the experience of being immersed in a virtual world. When you and the main characters put on the glasses, you enter the world of the game.

Q What was the best stereoscopic movie?

A Most people would say, House of Wax. But when I realized that, I knew we were home free. We all knew we could easily beat that, and be the best stereo movie ever made. That's one of the main reasons I wanted to do the movie. It's a genre we could redefine.

Q Why did filmmakers abandon stereo 3D effects?