I can't get it to open. It keeps telling me it can't find the page. If there's a vibrating effect, though, yeah, it was done to try to convey the 3D effect. I saw it done on television once and while it was a kind of neat effect, the vibrating look could get annoying fast.
The images vibrate because that’s the only way to produce the 3D effect of viewing the images together on a computer screen. Without the vibrating effect, the 3D images wouldn’t work. With the original photographs you would view them with a stereo-viewer, but this wouldn’t work on a screen. (It also has nothing to do with the age or otherwise of the video-maker. They did a great job with the technology they have at their disposal, as did the unknown French photographer all those years ago.)
These videos have been digitally restored and speed synchronized. I remembering seeing some old silent films on TV years ago before they had a way of digitizing. The films were poor quality and because they were made on hand-cranked cameras and being played on a projector with a constant speed motor they usually were played sped up. We kids would laugh at them. The date of these videos isn't listed but the "USA" (US Army) on the locomotives means these were made in 1917 and 1918. I wonder if the "former" me rode on any of these trains? There are other videos that show large railroad mounted artillery guns with "USN" (U.S. Navy). The railroad guns were taken off battleships and so were manned by Navy gunners.
Thank you for the info, Helz. Many of us used to play with stereo viewers when we were kids. They were called "ViewMasters". I thought there might be a "tech" reason for the vibrations. The point is that the images are compelling. Does anyone know the identity of the man who stands prominently in the front of some of the photos? I wondered if it was a picture of the French officer who owned the camera. He may have had someone include him in some of the shots for family members.
Not sure of the identity of the French soldier. Maybe he was an important commander for that sector of the Front, or like you say, the owner of the camera equipment? All very intriguing.