Star Wars in 3D: What Happened?

[NakedMoleRat]

Avatar 3D is just dumb....actually Avatar in general is dumb...so there's that...

I’ve never seen Avatar. I’d already seen Dances with Wolves and figured I didn’t need to go see it.

 

[Darth Lars]

As I recall, The Phantom Menace got a pretty crappy conversion to 3D. It did not add anything. It only made it more difficult to see what was going on.

What I remember the most from the movie was actually an annoying blurry grey bar obscuring most of the action in one shot. Because the bar was in the foreground and not the interest of the scene it was made to look out of focus. But the blur radius was so large that it got all of the attention.

Conversions done afterwards seldom work. Shots have to be designed for 3D in the first place.

 

[Mottrex]

We need smell-o-vision!

Our IMAX in Plymouth actually does..
To sum it up the seats literally throw you around!
Smoke effects
Rain Effects
And yes Smell O Vision (although it all tends to smell metallic or vanilla essence to my nose)

It's essentially like the old Muppet theatre show in Disney.

The first one I saw was the Mario movie which had us bucked out our seats for the entire run length, I think the setting was too high. Mission Impossible was good and Dune 2 was just awesome with fine water spray and wind creating a sand effect without actually being sandblasted!

 

[Mottrex]

The 3D with “stuff coming at ya” is stupid. But the 3D that shows layers and depth is entirely different, that’s the one that I enjoy. I saw Avengers in that 3D and it was great. I have the Doctor Who 50th anniversary and one of the discs is in 3D. My buddy still had a 3D dvd player and tv so I watched it at his place. It was the same type.

I’ve never seen Avatar. I’d already seen Dances with Wolves and figured I didn’t need to go see it.

But have you seen Ferngully?

 

[Joek3rr]

What's interesting, is the 3D releases must have been planned for a while. In 2013 all the toy packaging was Episode II themed.

And the next year in 2014 it was Episode III themed. Meant to tie in with the 3D releases.

 

[drusselmeyer]

Yeah, 3d is stupid, 3d printing is stupid, people who collect 3d props are stupid, color movies are stupid! Everything should be flat, printed on paper and gray!

The perfect world! Zig heil!


Sheyah right. Whatever.

I don't see people blasting Star Wars as a whole because of a few bad productions. Why blast an entire medium because few know how to use it properly?

You may as well take the above position on everything. 3d is a medium like every other. How it is executed is as individual as any other technique.

"I saw a 3D thing I don't like so all movies are trash" is hardly a rational position.

It is unfortunate that after more than half a century, the technology is still in its infancy. More has to be done to make it appealing to the lowest common denominator, but it has been progressing.

The Luddites just need to get out of the way and stop whining.

The challenge with retrofitting an old film that was not built with 3D in mind is the engineering of the storytelling that has to be shoehorned into it.

It is a novel idea, but the story has to be converted as from a completely different medium. Every object in every single frame has to be considered and rethought.

This is a daunting task for any director. Imagine trying to retell someone-else's story in a new medium in a seamless way.

That would take some major talent to get right.

 

[joberg]

Yeah, 3d is stupid, 3d printing is stupid, people who collect 3d props are stupid, color movies are stupid! Everything should be flat, printed on paper and gray!

The perfect world! Zig heil!


Sheyah right. Whatever.

I don't see people blasting Star Wars as a whole because of a few bad productions. Why blast an entire medium because few know how to use it properly?

You may as well take the above position on everything. 3d is a medium like every other. How it is executed is as individual as any other technique.

"I saw a 3D thing I don't like so all movies are trash" is hardly a rational position.

It is unfortunate that after more than half a century, the technology is still in its infancy. More has to be done to make it appealing to the lowest common denominator, but it has been progressing.

The Luddites just need to get out of the way and stop whining.

The challenge with retrofitting an old film that was not built with 3D in mind is the engineering of the storytelling that has to be shoehorned into it.

It is a novel idea, but the story has to be converted as from a completely different medium. Every object in every single frame has to be considered and rethought.

This is a daunting task for any director. Imagine trying to retell someone-else's story in a new medium in a seamless way.

That would take some major talent to get right.

I wouldn't say that 3-D tech is in its "Infancy" but...I know that a lot of movie goers either are bothered by the effects on the screen (my wife gets a headache within 5min.), others "don't see" the effects and some (like me) love to see 3-D movies because we can see/appreciate every parts of it! So the spatial abilities (or lack thereof), of your brain plays a big role in liking the whole experience.

 

[cboath]

Our IMAX in Plymouth actually does..
To sum it up the seats literally throw you around!
Smoke effects
Rain Effects
And yes Smell O Vision (although it all tends to smell metallic or vanilla essence to my nose)

It's essentially like the old Muppet theatre show in Disney.

The first one I saw was the Mario movie which had us bucked out our seats for the entire run length, I think the setting was too high. Mission Impossible was good and Dune 2 was just awesome with fine water spray and wind creating a sand effect without actually being sandblasted!

We have some of those 'd-box' seats here. When the ST was coming out they had one out in the lobby as a test. I tried it out and after the 5 minute demo, i was like 'f this'. I was hurting from it throwing you around so hard. I'd like to think each person has a dial on their seat to adjust the intensity, but this didn't have that. Felt like it was at max and just hammered you.

I'd been on rides at disney that play with your seat for effect and those guys understood it. You don't slam people around, little things here and there do a ton to make you feel like part of the shot. That stuff was just massively overboard. If i hurt that much after 5 minutes. No way i'd make it 2 hours.

 

[cboath]

I wouldn't say that 3-D tech is in its "Infancy" but...I know that a lot of movie goers either are bothered by the effects on the screen (my wife gets a headache within 5min.), others "don't see" the effects and some (like me) love to see 3-D movies because we can see/appreciate every parts of it! So the spatial abilities (or lack thereof), of your brain plays a big role in liking the whole experience.

The problem is 3D is dependent upon your POV. Real 3D (not to be confused with the tech of the same name) for the guy on the front right of the theater is not the same as the guy dead center or in the back left or worse, front left.

I've seen good 3D and bad 3D. Avatar, was very good 3D, and it should've been being conceived for and shot in 3D. I've seen other 3D that looks more like a pop up book - where it looks like flat images pulled forward and pushed backwards to give a 3D effect. I'm for the former, but not the latter.

 

[Mottrex]

We have some of those 'd-box' seats here. When the ST was coming out they had one out in the lobby as a test. I tried it out and after the 5 minute demo, i was like 'f this'. I was hurting from it throwing you around so hard. I'd like to think each person has a dial on their seat to adjust the intensity, but this didn't have that. Felt like it was at max and just hammered you.

I'd been on rides at disney that play with your seat for effect and those guys understood it. You don't slam people around, little things here and there do a ton to make you feel like part of the shot. That stuff was just massively overboard. If i hurt that much after 5 minutes. No way i'd make it 2 hours.

It was an endurance that's for sure.
The Cineworld has certainly adjusted the ferocity, it has a weight limit and warnings for pregnant woman too.

I really enjoyed Friday the 13th in 3D and Jaws but that was a long time ago... Really anything you have to look through or wear takes you out the cinema experience as I am constantly fidgeting with them.
And pretty much every film I've seen reminds me of a View Master..

 

[JediMichael]

Speaking of 3D and what can work, or what doesn't work. Anyone remember this old cartoon from 1993 called, The Bots Master.
For just a cartoon from then, it used the cheap 3D trick of having a foreground that moved one way and background moving another way.
These were the glasses. I remember when my brother and I were finally able to get them. They used a yellow and purple type plastic for the effect.

For back then, as a kid, I thought it was pretty awesome. Of course, there were only a few mins at most per episode that had the actual 3D effect. Probably was expensive to produce. Heres the intro/outro to the show.

 

[JediMichael]

I just noticed the name of who directed it.
Xavier Picard, a French animator and director. But, just happens to be Patrick Stewart's two most famous characters. How odd.

 

[JediMichael]

Do any theaters still have the whole D-box seats anymore?
I haven't seen any in quite some time now.
I think it just works better for short theme park type rides or shows.

One of the best was the whole motion simulator ride.

Found this one of the original ride recreated in 3D, but where you can also move the mouse/phone around in 3D.

My first motion simulator ride was Body Wars at Epcot, early 90s. I wasn't even sure what it was we were getting on. But, human body stuff, at that age, plus all the moving around, made me feel a bit sick. I've read that the motion controls were perfected nearly as good as Star Tours was, and therefore a lot of people did end up sick feeling.

Of course, besides Star Tours, this was another of my favorites that SHOULD have got an update....but no....maybe Universal will one day realize their mistake and redo it....wishful at least.