An appearance of solidity can be obtained in moving pictures by the simple expedient of slowly moving the camera laterally as the pictures are taken. As an illustration, if the moving picture camera is carried on a boat while structures on the shore are photographed, when these are projected on the screen they appear in relief, due to the relative motion of foreground and background. As relief of this sort is not dependent on the use of the two eyes, it demands no special viewing apparatus. This idea has been utilized to a limited extent in ordinary moving picture photography by introducing a slow to-and-fro motion of the camera, but this can hardly be considered satisfactory, since this motion is so obviously unnatural.

In moving pictures made from the aiplane the normal rapid motion of the point of view is ideal for the production of the impression of relief in the manner just described. For instance, in moving pictures of a city made from a low flying plane, the skyscrapers and spires as they sweep past stand forth from their more slowly moving background in bold and satisfying solidity. In fact, such pictures probably constitute the most satisfactory solution yet found of the vexing problem of "stereoscopic" projection. No better medium can be imagined for the travel lecturer to introduce his audience to a foreign city than to throw upon his screen a film made in a plane approaching from afar and then circling the architectural landmarks at low altitudes.