OvP: 3D
THE OPTIMIST v.THE PESSIMIST
!! IN MIND BLOWING 3D !!
(Not really, but they do talk about 3D, though)
Brandon Everett, The Optimist
Jens Nielsen, The Pessimist
"3D
movies come in several flavors
and most of them taste like sewage."
-The Pessimist
If 3D is done really well then it can be a great thing, but
if it is not absolutely awesome then it falls straight into the garbage. 3D
conversions are a cash grab. Sensationalizing a film by adding 3D has been a
Hollywood trend for far too long. Cheap 3D looks like poorly placed layers of
paper landscapes have been inserted into your movie. Suddenly random objects
are out of focus and they keep taking attention away from what is important. I
don’t like this at all. Why is that pillow on the bed in the background given
so much contrasting soft-focus? STOP IT!
If it doesn’t look like a paper doll house then it usually
ends up looking really gimmicky and cheesy. “OMGOSH THAT DRAGON JUST SPEWED
FIRE ALL OVER THE AUDIENCE! IT WAS LIKE IT CAME RIGHT OUT OF THE SCREEN!” I
really dislike these scenarios. Good 3D lets the viewer feel like a more
intimate audience. We get to peer over the shoulder of character instead of
seeing things from a distance. Good 3D inserts us into the movie, not the other
way around, nothing need to come out of the screen.
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Also, crappy 3D causes screen flickering. The only proper
fix for this is higher frame rates. The reason that frame rate is the problem
is because there are twice as many images coming off the screen and into your
brain (one image for each eye, giving the sense of depth and separation) but
they are still coming at you at the same frequency as a 2D movie. This means
the gap in the image refresh cycle is more noticeable and that turns into
flicker and motion blur. This is fixed by doubling ( or more) the
speed/frequency at which the images are projected. Peter Jackson did this with
the Hobbit trilogy and it worked really well. There is a smoothness that seems
a little too real and it is hard to get used to and even a little unnerving,
but once you have acclimated, the higher frame rate is amazing.
And finally, because most 3D films are fakes/conversions,
they are just there to take more of your money. I don’t want to pay extra to
see a 2D movie turned into a diarrhea infested Icee which might just send me
into seizures. I will pay more money to have Dolby Atmos sound. I will pay more
to go to watch an IMAX film (and so should you) and I will pay more to watch a
movie shot in real 3D at a high frame rate. The rest is offensive and should be
banned.
Is 3D worth it? The correct answer is - Would you rather
hydrate with toilet water or diarrhea or Martinelli's Sparkling Cider?
"3D movies are fun and epic, but man they get a bad wrap!
Don't Hate! 3D's Great!"
- The Optimist
Remember when there was a time when IMAX screens didn’t
exist? How about digital film? Color movies? I don’t remember that far back,
however I’ve seen enough in my short span of existence on this big blue planet
to see the difference that evolution can make. As for the film industry, they’ve
made some huge leaps forward in their presentation value, meaning the movies
that are made are brought into a cinematic experience that movie theaters
thrive on. The biggest fad, if you will, that Hollywood seems to exploit the
most lately is the use of 3D.
To be completely honest, my good buddy The Pessimist shared
a lot of valid points about the 3D movie-going experience, points I tend to
agree with. However, when it comes to a 3D movie, I can’t help but feel
inclined to see it in that format, despite the stated flaws. Yes, most
production companies utilize 3D as a last resort in order to boost ticket
prices. I mean, who really wants to pay $15 to see a movie for cryin’ out loud!
But movies are meant to be experienced, and 3D movies are definitely an
experience.
I agree with The Pessimist that there are movies where the
3D doesn’t serve the film well, or looks crappy. That being said, I’ve seen
movies where the cinematography was garbage, or that the acting was flat, or
the sound mixing/editing was ear-bleeding-ly horrible; every movie has their
set of flaws. The 3D aspect is no different. Does that mean you should never
see a 3D movie again after having a bad experience? If I allowed the poor
acting of a film to affect my outlook on movies as a whole, The Optimist would
have never come into fruition. I would be living in a house instead of an apartment
with a wall full of movies, (maybe that’s a good thing?). 3D needs you to give
it a chance.
When it comes to the use of this awesome technology, despite
what you’ve heard or the flaws that they come with, I want to remind you that 3D
isn’t meant to replace great characters, stories or acting. It’s meant to
enhance. You can’t really argue that the introduction to color TV, or the addition
of epic wide-screen formats, or the overly-used CGI-fests we see nowadays were
intended to replace great stories, characters, and their emotional connectivity…can
you? I’m sure in some cases that has happened, but those are single situations.
The point I’m driving at here is that filmmakers are craftsmen with a slew of
tools and talents that they use to bring a level of cinematic surrealism that
we as audiences seek as a form of escapism. 3D is but one of those tools. We
now have the option of seeing new and incredible stories in a format that is
suited for these expanded ideas. And again I stress, that doesn’t mean they’re
all perfect.
Still not convinced? How about this little slab of info
bacon for ya: Did you know that 3D movies can actually be good for your brain?
In a recent study, researchers have found that watching a 3D movie can actually
stimulate the brain, improve cognitive processing, and increase verbal fluency
as well as emotional engagement. (To learn more, see link here). In other
words people, 3D MOVIES MAKE YOU SMARTER!!!!
Look, The Pessimist laid out a lot of very detailed, valid points. And he's not alone in his thinking. It's those points that have turned a large amount of movie-goers away from 3D all together. I can hype up 3D till I’m blue in the face, but the
only way you’ll know is if you go and experience it. Are there movies where the
3D was unnecessary? Sure. Are there movies where the 3D was done poorly?
Indeed. In the same vein, are there movies where the story sucked? Yup. Are
there movies that are poorly acted? Poorly written? Poorly directed?
Absolutely. Do these detour you from attending the cinema? Box office numbers would suggest not. 3D is merely a tool to enhance your movie-going experience. The only way you'll know which ones succeed in bringing you the best experience is to do just that: go and experience them. There are plenty of awesome 3D movies that I, as well as themselves, can attest
to their experience being strongly enhanced by their 3D: Gravity, Avatar, How
To Train Your Dragon, Big Hero 6, Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008),
Beowulf, Toy Story 3, The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D, The Polar Express,
Monsters vs. Aliens, My Bloody Valentine, Coraline…shall I keep going? Yes? OK,
Ghosts of the Abyss, Up (well, just about every Pixar movie), Alice in
Wonderland (2010), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Avengers, Avengers Age of
Ultron, Ant-Man…I can go for days people…
So, is 3D worth it? For an enhanced experience and enhanced
brain power…duh, of course it is.
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