Can you feel the 3D tonight?

Why I Like 3D Movies

I like 3D movies and given the choice, I will always see a movie in 3D if it was shot stereoscopically.  (Chances are high I will see a stereo-converted film, though not guaranteed.)  This is a bold statement, especially in light of the countless conversations I have had with everyone from friends to students to game executives to family who indicate strong opinions against 3D.

"But you have to wear the glasses."

"It's such a gimmick."

"3D doesn't add anything to a film."

"It hurts my eyes."

"They just want to charge more money."

Some of these complaints are merited.  When editing one of our shorts, Election Night 3D, the disparity between the left and right clips of a particular scene gave me such an intense headache that I had to stop work for the day and rest.  Poorly done 3D is painful.  And even well done 3D can cause a certain percentage of the population physical discomfort.  For this reason, 3D understandably may not be everyone's favorite.

Film critics often bemoan 3D as adding technological flair to a film without substantially contributing to the story.  The "gimmick" catch-22 is a fascinating debate to listen to.  In the same breath, I have heard several people say they don't like when things come flying out of the screen (cough cough, thanks a lot Pirates of the Caribbean 4).  However, the same individuals maintained that they didn't see the benefit of the 3D as subtly used in our short films.

My response?  While 3D has been around for decades, we are still young in our experimentation with the creative use of 3D in film.  Coraline is the singular go-to example for the use of 3D to serve the story of the film.  With director James Cameron's contagious passion for 3D, other directors like Michael Bay are rising to sing a different tune about 3D.  For now, yeah, 3D is gimmicky, but I say, give it time.  With films like The Invention of Hugo Cabret 3D and The Great Gatsby 3D floating out of the pipeline, more 3D critics may be flipping their tune as they flip on their 3D glasses.  With this in mind, I leave the gimmick debate behind for an entirely different platform of why I like 3D. 

I like 3D because of the sensory enhancement it brings to the experience of a film.  My favorite example comes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.  As I watched, I found myself wishing HP7:P1 was in 3D.  The actors were beautifully blocked within the volume of the scene.  In particular, I wanted the scene in the tent where Ron's jealousy erupts to be in 3D.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 tent screen grab via YouTube

I could see that Harry and Hermione were on the same plane as each other and a different plane than Ron, and I wanted to feel that distance.  The 3D serves the story by enhancing and contributing to the emotions already crafted by the visual and audio direction of the film.  Now, the film can be affective on a different level, beyond what we can see and hear.  

I hope studios continue to develop and produce films to be shot in 3D, not just because singing "Can you feel the 3D tonight?" is fun, but because I like the sensory experience of depth in a film and think audiences will continue appreciate the feel of 3D the more they see.