A chance meeting at 35,000ft some three years ago between a movie studio executive and a Polaroid eyewear product development manager has resulted in the first Designer 3D collection of frames that are RealD approved and certified (RealD technology is used in most 3D applications). During an international flight, Rhett Adam from Look 3D Eyewear was given a “heads-up” by a studio exec about the impending 3D onslaught and quickly identified a new market. By the time he’d landed in his native Australia, the then 35-year-old had put in place plans to quit his job and embark on a new adventure. From those humble beginnings, Look 3D Eyewear was born and the company now has four series of passive 3D viewing glasses that come in a huge variety of styles. Say goodbye to looking like a nerd while viewing 3D content.
As if you haven’t realized, 3D eyewear is a huge market. At its height Avatar was giving away and selling 798,000 pairs of glasses per day and Adam says with 25 3D films slated for release in 2010, there could be the demand for twice as many frames to be produced to service the global market.
RealD licenses its Cinema Systems to motion picture exhibitors that show 3D motion pictures and alternative 3D content, as well as providing its RealD Format active and passive eyewear. The company also provides its display and gaming technologies to consumer electronics manufacturers and content producers and distributors to enable the delivery and viewing of 3D content on high definition televisions, laptops and other displays.
"We’re the only RealD premium eyewear company,” boasts Adam. “Our fashion glasses have 0.7mm thick lenses – the disposable ones you get given at the cinema are just 0.3mm. Our lenses deliver maximum durability and have a scratch-resistant coating, which means they’ll last for a very long time.
Look 3D Eyewear offers a number of collections of passive 3D glasses at various price points and are manufactured to RealD’s specific engineering specifications and carry the RealD certification badge to ensure quality is maintained.
The company’s series are based on different fashion designs and price points, they are: Movie, Designer, Director and Disposable.
As more and more consumers purchase 3D TVs and gaming products, having durable 3D eyewear is a must.
“Our biggest selling item is a clip-on product for people who wear prescription glasses – about 50 percent of the population. We sell these for only US$5 each so households can even keep a couple of spares for when family and friends drop in to watch the latest 3D movies,” says Adam.
Look 3D Eyewear’s major distributors are Cineworld and Greater Union but Adam says the company has plans to open champion stores in key locations.
He explains that the company purchased a sunglass manufacturing plant in China and converted it to solely producing 3D eyewear. “We retrained all the existing staff to the new products and put our own quality control processes in place.”
Adam’s company has some licensing agreements with Hollywood that enable them to produce some one-off “designer” glasses, on top of their extensive range, like Shrek 3D glasses.
Much cheaper than active shutter glasses, Adam believes there is plenty of scope for his products over the coming years to gain excellent market penetration as the world moves to 3D.
“At Look3D Eyewear, we strongly believe that everyone deserves to see and be seen in the best 3D glasses on the market. We’re proud of our collection and our unrivaled lens technology.”
Just remember, these 3D glasses can not double as sunglasses. But Adam's company has got that covered, too, with an environmental overtone to it.
“We’re also working on a corn-based sunglass range which are biodegrable.”
If inexpensive enough, these would be great if you arrive at the beach and realize you’ve forgotten or broken your good pair of glasses, or when you’re at the all-day sporting event looking into the sun. If someone was selling disposable sunglasses, I know I’d buy a pair.
Movie Collection glasses are priced between RRP US$15-$30, Designer Collection RRP US$20-$30, and Directors Collection are priced between RRP US$60-$80. All will be available online shortly.