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Q-VU Mounting Instructions
WHAT IS A STEREO WINDOW?
Working in stereo requires you grasp the concept of the stereo window. You
must understand that you can control the stereo window (that is,
the way your image is going to appear when mounted in the Q-VU.) How it appears,
in other words, to the audience who will view it through the stereoscope
Imagine you are sitting in an armchair ten or fifteen feet in front of a big
glass picture window. You see a deer in the yard. He looks up at you. (A)
Presto, you push the zoom button on your hand-held remote deer controller,
and the deer is miraculously moved up to the edge of the glass. (B).
Amazing. You push another button, and the glass of the window slides down
into the wall. "Now then! Let's take a closer look," you say. You push
the zoom button again, and the deer’s head comes "through the
window." (C).
The analogy applies to stereo viewcards. You can have your stereo picture
appear behind the window, as in 'A'; at the window, as in 'B'; or through the
window, as in 'C'. "Through the window", or type 'C' scenes, are
usually used only for special effects, like a menacing bayonet, the head of a
giraffe, or something similar.
You can, of course, have any degree in between, but it is generally agreed
that the stereo viewcard has best appeal when the closest object is "at the
stereo window."
Hopefully, you now understand the principle of the "stereo window"
and can proceed with your mounting.
Quick Instructions
These are quick instructions for people who hate to read instructions.
(If you are using Grand Photo monoliths you can skip steps 3 through
5. However, even monoliths need a little trimming of the top and
bottom of the prints.)
- Use an old toothbrush to brush paper slivers off Q-VU edges.
- Fold Q-VU and crease the fold with smooth object.
- Draw a pencil line around the inside of the windows. Draw
a vertical "centerline" midway between the windows.
- Take a pair of properly processed prints,
which you have identified as to right and left, and whack off excess
photo area with scissors.
- Use razor blade or X-Acto knife to slice off 1/16 inch off
the inside edge of each print, using dark frame lines as points of
reference.
- Mount prints up to centerline; check for square and
alignment, and press down on strategically placed, pieces of
double-sided tape pre-positioned to straddle the centerline.
- Fold Q-VU and stick shut with more double-sided tape
around the edges. (0r other glue of your choice).
- Place In stereoscope and view.
- Marvel at your own genius!
If it looks great, you can now read the detailed instructions to
perfect your craft. If it doesn't took great, you can now read the
detailed instructions to perfect your craft.
Detailed Instructions
The Q-VU system described here is a good way to get
acquainted with stereo mounting terms and techniques. It is not
intended to substitute for more precise or perfectionist
techniques.
The work can be divided into three stages: Preparation of the Mount;
Preparation of the Prints; Assembly and Gluing. Each step can be done
at different sittings, if you wish. You may prefer to work 'assembly
line' style and do several mounts at step 1 before proceeding to step
2, etc. Or you may follow through all the steps with just one mount
and pair of stereo views before starting a new one.
However, any mounting technique requires an understanding of the
concept of "stereo window". This is the single most difficult concept
for beginning stereo photographers to grasp.
Preparation of the Mount
- Pre-organize the mounts. Fold
them - put window half flat on table, then crease. Use an old toothbrush to dust off ay paper fibers on the
edges of the mounts and the edges of the die-cut windows. Close the
Q-VU. Draw a pencil line around the inside of both cut-outs on the back
(solid) part of the Q-VU. Open the Q-VU and draw a vertical line down
the full depth In the middle of the just-drawn septum lines between
the two die-cut windows.
- Using 3-M double-sided tape, put a couple of strips about 3/4" x
3/16" across the Septum, about 1" from top and 1" from bottom of
mount.
- Any mounting technique requires an understanding of the "stereo
window". This is the single most difficult concept for beginning
stereo photographers to grasp.
Preparation of the Prints
- Get your stereo prints ready by locating left and right prints (a
lorgnette viewer is helpful).
- Mark them lightly "L" or "R" on the back - use a soft pencil, not a ball-point
pen. Check to make sure that when the prints arrived back from the
processor that every negative was printed, so you have a left and a
right print of each scene. It is easy for processors not familiar with
making stereo prints to double-print one side and skip the next -
especially If they messed up one frame and had to reprint It. Some
processors will give you 'frame lines.' If they do, you know your
prints show the entire negative area, a real help in identifying
prints and providing a reference line for trimming.
- Now, trim tops and bottoms of the prints, ensuring that they are
square to each other and 31/4" high.
Assembling and mounting
- Put prints in Q-VU, overlapping them in the middle by about
1/16". Press lightly on the tape area to hold the prints in position
and fold up the Q-VU so you can view the card in your
stereoscope. (Aim to have about 1/8" more to be visible on the inside
than on the outside when the Q-VU is folded up.)
- Fine tuning. How does it look? (ignore the edge of the right-hand
picture hanging into the left-hand frame for a minute.)
You can, depending on the composition of the picture and the distance
you actually were away from the closest object when you took the picture, move the two prints closer together. This moves the scene
closer to (and through) the window.
Yours is the judgment call as to what looks artistically the best.
The cardinal rule of mounting is that there must be more In the
middle. That is, more of the right side of the LH picture visible than
there is at the right side of the RH picture.
Example: A wall, fence, flower-pot or whatever that is on the right
frame edge will have more showing on the left hand print than on the
right hand print when viewed without the stereoscope in the closed-up
Q-VU.
- When you are satisfied that everything is OK, check that both horizons
are level, using a transparent grid if necessary, and ensure that the
two images are not 'rotated' with respect to each other.
- The mounting doesn't have to be perfect, as most pairs of eyes can
adjust to some minor errors.
- Satisfied? If so, use your X-Acto knife to jab a mark on the centerline through both the prints, top and bottom. This gives you
marks to use as a guide to accurately cut the inside edge of each of
the prints.
- Peel the prints off the tack-tape and make the cut, preferably using a
steel rule and an X-Acto knife. The ultimate is a base-illuminated
rolling Genesys cutter.
- Re-assemble mount. Run a thin bead of Duro cement
around the edges and seal closed. Weigh down until the glue sets.
© 1997 The Quellen Company
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