The Short Story
Robert Bloomberg is a stereo photographer, filmmaker, musician and graphic artist whose award-winning 3D shows have been presented worldwide. He has been honored with a lifetime fellowship "For Distinguished Scholarship and Extraordinary Knowledge of Stereoscopy" by the National Stereoscopic Association and served for many years as its Regional Director for Northern California. He also served as Stereo Technical Advisor for the Photographic Society of America. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, Marilyn Freund, and two cats (one of whom is famous).
The Long Story
1966: Received my BA in Art/Music at UC Berkeley, along with a teaching credential and an unexpected crash course in Political Science. (It was the year of the Free Speech Movement.)
1967: Created The Shooting Gallery, an extra-curricular workshop teaching animation and live action filmmaking to elementary through high school students. The program was based in a trailer that traveled from school to school. At the end of each year we held the Devil’s Mountain Film Festival to showcase the students’ work.
1967: Created The Shooting Gallery, an extra-curricular workshop teaching animation and live action filmmaking to elementary through high school students. The program was based in a trailer that traveled from school to school. At the end of each year we held the Devil’s Mountain Film Festival to showcase the students’ work.
1974: Received my MA in Cinematography from San Francisco State University. My first student film, "Naming of Parts" (based on the Henry Reed poem), was distributed by McGraw Hill's Contemporary Films. My Masters film, "Animation Pie," won numerous international awards, including Best Educational Film at the Zagreb International Animation Festival. It was also featured as part of the George Lucas television special, "The New Communicators."
1975: Together with partner Marilyn Freund, created All Night Media, the first rubber stamp gift company, as a way of supporting our other media habits. Over the next 24 years, until its sale in 1999, grew the business to include national distribution and export to a dozen countries.
1977: Produced the world's first Video Scavenger Hunt, in which five teams of five friends each were given a list of items, a Portapak (the most portable video recorder at the time) and six hours to record as many items as they could.
Some of the items were An Unnatural Act, A Chicken Laying An Egg, and Highway Robbery. There were also bonus points for A Police Car With Lights Flashing and Siren On, (must be shot through the rear window of your car). Two teams got that one!
Some of the items were An Unnatural Act, A Chicken Laying An Egg, and Highway Robbery. There were also bonus points for A Police Car With Lights Flashing and Siren On, (must be shot through the rear window of your car). Two teams got that one!
1980: Took my first stereo photograph with my $100 used Stereo Realist and have been acting as a 3D Johnny Appleseed ever since, spreading the binocular word across the flatlands of America. My work has been presented at the San Francisco Exploratorium, Oakland Museum, California Academy of Sciences, Marin County Fair, New York's LaMaMa theater, 3Dimensionale in Vienna, and numerous international 3D congresses.
2000: Produced the world's first 3D Dive-In Theater as part of the National Stereoscopic Association convention in Mesa, Arizona.
Throughout it all, music has been an important part of my life. I've been part of several blues and rock and roll bands and have shared the stage with such luminaries as Jan (one half of Jan and Dean), Bobby Freeman (the entire person), and Gary Lewis & the Playboys. (Unfortunately, Gary refused to perform that night, but I did get his autograph on a baloney wrapper.) Now I compose original soundtracks for my 3D shows and have written music for independent film and television.
25 True Facts About Me
(5 of which are not true)
1. Marcel Marceau spoke to me.
2. I used to jump off the roof to impress girls.
3. I am ambidextrous.
4. A monkey once fell in love with me.
5. I can always find a great parking space.
6. I can wiggle one ear at a time.
7. I had a fireman's pole installed in my living room.
8. Marisa Tomei kissed me.
9. I punched a shark in the nose, twice.
10. I walked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up in one day.
11. I got Elton John to autograph a bagel.
12. I sunbathed with elephant seals.
13. My mother was a stand-in for Simone Simone in the film "Curse of the Cat People."
14. I invented the Internet.
15. I can roller skate backwards.
16. I hitchhiked from Transylvania to Istanbul.
17. I had better seats at a Bruce Springsteen concert than his parents.
18. I have an uncanny ability to determine the perfect size container for leftovers.
19. My favorite color is blue.
20. I started a riot at the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
21. I was locked in the Sydney Botanical Garden one night with thousands of giant fruit bats. (Par-tay!)
22. I once took a sunset stroll with an unleashed lion.
23. I can recite the periodic table of elements by heart.
24. I made a record before I was three years old.
25. I need to lose five pounds.
2. I used to jump off the roof to impress girls.
3. I am ambidextrous.
4. A monkey once fell in love with me.
5. I can always find a great parking space.
6. I can wiggle one ear at a time.
7. I had a fireman's pole installed in my living room.
8. Marisa Tomei kissed me.
9. I punched a shark in the nose, twice.
10. I walked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up in one day.
11. I got Elton John to autograph a bagel.
12. I sunbathed with elephant seals.
13. My mother was a stand-in for Simone Simone in the film "Curse of the Cat People."
14. I invented the Internet.
15. I can roller skate backwards.
16. I hitchhiked from Transylvania to Istanbul.
17. I had better seats at a Bruce Springsteen concert than his parents.
18. I have an uncanny ability to determine the perfect size container for leftovers.
19. My favorite color is blue.
20. I started a riot at the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
21. I was locked in the Sydney Botanical Garden one night with thousands of giant fruit bats. (Par-tay!)
22. I once took a sunset stroll with an unleashed lion.
23. I can recite the periodic table of elements by heart.
24. I made a record before I was three years old.
25. I need to lose five pounds.