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4. “Gimmicky” 3D is Bad
Most filmmakers maintain that 3D should serve the film’s story – resulting in the subtle use of 3D discussed in the last section. But what if your story is a tongue-in-cheek comedic misadventure or balls-to-the-wall action flick – i.e., a film that is fundamentally designed from the ground up to avoid subtlety? Answer: forget subtlety and have fun.
Many cinephiles are quick to dismiss in-your-face 3D as a shallow gimmick, but moviegoers have also championed plenty of theater experiences where 3D was intentionally not-so-subtle. In fact, toying with audience 3D expectations often delivers a smart riff on established gimmicks – such as a death scene in Final Destination 5 involving a sailing mast. 3D filmmaking has been around for a long time, but as it becomes more and more prevalent (see question #1), it’s encouraging to think that directors will find fresh ways to tweak the formula in order to surprise audiences. Of course, less-subtle uses of 3D can be disorienting (even nauseating) to watch – and going forward, filmmakers have a responsibility to ensure that more aggressive 3D isn’t just entertaining, it’s comfortable on the eyes.
Like “subtle” 3D, “gimmicky” 3D isn’t going to be tasteful to every single filmgoer. There is no one-size fits all, so defining pop-out 3D effects as “bad” isn’t exactly an accurate conclusion, either. In-your-face effects are responsible for crowd-pleasing moments in well-received films like Fright Night, Dredd, and Piranha 3D, among others – not to mention documentaries like Born to Be Wild 3D as well as the growing trend of 3D concert movies.
Different 3D experiences – just like different film genres – can peacefully co-exist in theaters. If your taste is limited to one approach more than another, the best thing to do is keep informed regarding how 3D is used in each film.
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NEXT: What About “Post-Converted” 3D?
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I’m not a 3D hater, and not a 3D fanboy either. I don’t think every movie needs to be in 3D, but some definitely benefit from it. I have two main complaints about 3D. One is that it seems to enhance the strobing/stutter of 24fps so it’s worse than 2D films in that regard (HFR 3D doesn’t have this limitation though – darn you Peter Jackson for spoiling me like that).
The second is that studios force 3D on us, and it can be hard to find 2D versions of a movie because theatres like to be able to charge extra too and will often only show the 3D version. One example was GI Joe Retaliation. It was delayed 8 months or so to be post-converted, so I did not want to support studio greed and refused to see it in 3D (I generally don’t want to support post conversions anyway). However, I had to really try hard to find a theatre that was showing it in 2D, and I live in a big city. I can only imagine what it’s like for people who can’t see 3D or get headaches from it.
It would be nice if there was a way to show 2D and 3D in the same theatre (e.g. glasses=3D, no glasses=2D), so people could have the best of both worlds, and wouldn’t have to complain any more. You could technically do it now by just putting 2 left frames in a set of glasses, but people would still complain about dimmed colours or having to wear them over prescription glasses.