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The effect of natively-shot 3D versus post-converted 3D (which we’ll get to) is somewhat subjective, but it takes the general shape of more subtle depth and texture to the image. Individuals on-screen appear to reside within their own unique space, somehow both inside and outside the screen. The tradeoff involves spontaneity and movement. A movie planned and shot for 3D will not have much of an opportunity to build momentum via fast camera movements or fast cuts. This is partly due to the strobing or ghosting effect that fast movement can have on the audience, somewhat like seeing stuttering afterimages of movement), and in large part due to viewer perception due to the inherent oddness of a 3D picture. The editor Walter Murch wrote a letter to Roger Ebert in 2011 explaining the disparity between focus and convergence that 3D creates for the theater viewer; put very (very very) simply, it outlines an oddity where our species, which has evolved to focus and converge our eyes on the same point, is now being asked to focus at one point (the distance between us and the screen) and converge at another (the depth of the image). The extra concentration this requires is responsible, he argues, for some viewers getting headaches from attending 3D films. The other aspect of 3D that forces a filmmaker’s hand is shot length; our eyes take longer to figure out a 3D shot spatially than we do a 2D shot, which mandates longer shots in the movie. 3D in film has decreased in frequency; it would be sensible to assume that it’s partly due to the extra set of circumstances it places on the filmmaker and the audience. It would also be sensible to assume that the cost of the surcharge ended up outweighing the benefit of the manufactured extra dimension. There are a couple of major films yet to come this year that were shot in 3D: Ridley Scott’s The Martian is one, and Robert Zemeckis’ The Walk is another. Both of these are experienced technicians, though, adept in the mechanics of 3D and cognizant of how to use it in an effective way. I believe we will see fewer and fewer instances of directors picking up 3D as a new type of production choice.
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