{"id":1156,"date":"2013-05-02T16:39:17","date_gmt":"2013-05-02T20:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/~reviewing\/?page_id=1156"},"modified":"2013-05-02T17:26:29","modified_gmt":"2013-05-02T21:26:29","slug":"3d-films","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reviewing\/?page_id=1156","title":{"rendered":"Are 3D films worth extra cost?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted May 2, 2013<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By MELISSA CASTILLO<\/p>\n

People are allured by theme parks because it gives them the opportunity to experience a world outside of reality. They embrace the illusions and they allow the surreal to fool their senses simply because it\u2019s fun. This is the same reason why 3D films have become so ubiquitous over the years.<\/p>\n

\"Oz<\/a>

Oz and Theodora, the Wicked Witch of the West, walk towards the Emerald City<\/p><\/div>\n

Feeling as though one has been immersed into a crowd of butterflies, such as in the ride, It\u2019s Tough To Be A Bug at Disney\u2019s Animal Kingdom, can happen in a local movie theatre.<\/p>\n

As can the breathtaking experience from the sensational scenes that seem as though they\u2019re in arms reach in Soarin\u2019 at Disney\u2019s EPCOT Park. When a viewing experience is in 3D or has the IMAX effect, it adds the thrill of interacting with the story as opposed to just watching it.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, 3D effects don\u2019t work for all movies. There are certain characteristics about a film that help determine whether paying the extra $5 for 3D glasses is worth it. For instance, Steven Spielberg\u2019s classic, \u201cJurassic Park,\u201d returned to the screen for its 20-year anniversary in 3D format. Whether somebody saw the movie in theater in 1993 when it first came out or simply on his or her television set at home, the chance to see it on the big screen two decades later probably should not be passed up. But simply because there\u2019s the option to watch it in 3D, doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it\u2019s a better choice.<\/p>\n

3D is simply a variation of the movie and it cannot be considered its own category. Therefore, a movie will not be enjoyable simply because it is in 3D. The film has to have quality to begin with. 3D is meant to add life to the film and the plot through added dimension. Similar to the way color can add life versus black and white.<\/p>\n

3D makes objects pop, it adds depth to scenery, and enhances details that may have otherwise been overlooked in the flat view of 2D. But unless it\u2019s a film worth watching, with a compelling plot, well-developed designs and convincing characters, 3D won\u2019t upgrade the quality. In other cases, the film can be worth watching but 3D won\u2019t upgrade it either. This is because unless the movie is made with the mentality of having key objects pop at the audience and imagining how it will look to the audience, it simply won\u2019t be effective.<\/p>\n

\u201cJurassic Park,\u201d unlike many movies that have been recently released in 3D, wasn\u2019t created with that predetermined vision. Because of this, the overall enhanced effects aren\u2019t as thrilling as one would hope. The exceptions may be in a few select scenes, such as the moment when the helicopter first flies over Jurassic Park. The memorable theme song in the background as John Hammond, played by Richard Attenborough, says, \u201cWelcome to Jurassic Park,\u201d is even better in 3D because when the camera pans over the lush, green mountains waiting to be explored, it feels as though the viewer is inside the helicopter.<\/p>\n

Since there are already so many layers of trees and plants in the film, the depth created with 3D does make a difference. And although this gives somewhat a feeling as though the viewer is in the park, it doesn\u2019t seem as though the viewer is interacting with the scene. Especially in comparison to the modern 3D movies, such as \u201cThe Croods\u201d and \u201cOz the Great in Powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

These two recent films not only have scenery that pops out, objects are also thrown towards the camera as though they\u2019re going to hit someone in the audience. The camera pans along side the action of the characters or of the camera displays action through the eyes of the character. Because of this, the intensity of speed is enhanced.<\/p>\n

\u201cJurassic Park\u201d only creates this particular sensation when Dr. Allen Grant, played by Sam Neill, is in an open field with the two kids Lex and Tim Murphy, played by Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello. A stampede of Gallimimus dinosaurs run towards them and the viewer can sense the speed because the camera faces directly at the dinosaurs from the characters\u2019 point of view. It feels as though the giant creatures are running straight at the audience, but only for a moment.<\/p>\n

If the animatronics had been recreated to add scenes where the animals actually snap at the audience, as is the case several times in \u201cOz the Great and Powerful,\u201d then the 3D aspect would contribute more to the new version.<\/p>\n

Essentially, 3D in \u201cJurassic Park\u201d is unnecessary. With or without the modern effects, it\u2019s one of the few movies that a theater audience will applaud at the end but the same cannot be said about \u201cOz the Great and Powerful\u201d or \u201cThe Croods.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, there is another kind of motivation to pay the extra $5 for \u201cJurassic Park\u201d 3D. This is considering just how much extra work was put into converting 2D to 3D, as opposed to using a modern camera with the intentions of releasing it in 3D.<\/p>\n

Stereo D is the company responsible for creating this transition. It initially takes a full digital scan of the original negative, restores any scratches or grainy noise that could have developed over the years, then follows a process referred to as rotoscoping. This is when every single image, in every single frame of the entire movie is traced and isolated on the computer. This includes isolating the smallest of details, such as somebody\u2019s nose so that it can pop out for the 3D effect. It also includes isolating every tiny drop of rain. And it rains a lot in that movie.<\/p>\n

This is followed by assigning depth and then basically filling in the newly added volume, for example, the side of someone\u2019s head that didn\u2019t exist in 2D. This was the process for the thousands and thousands of frames in the 127-minute film. In comparison, \u201cThe Croods\u201d was completely computer generated and didn\u2019t have to follow those tedious steps. And \u201cOz the Great and Powerful\u201d was partly computer generated and the other part was filmed using Red Epic 3D cameras, which were recently released into the industry in 2011.<\/p>\n

Both these movies are ideal for 3D primarily because of their creativity. Both of them are filled with bright, bold colors, fast-pace movements, magical scenery, and nonsensical creatures that have the tendency to pop out at the camera. The creators of both films clearly placed emphasis on building an unforeseen fantasy world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Croods,\u201d directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders, is about a caveman family with the motto, \u201cnever not be afraid,\u201d instilled by the father, Grug Crood, played by Nicolas Cage. Eep Crood, played by Emma Stone, is the curious teenager who constantly defies her father\u2019s teachings and craves adventure. She finds this when she meets Guy, played by Ryan Reynolds. Guy is a more evolved human that refers to the Croods as \u201ccavies,\u201d wears shoes, traps his food with innovative contraptions as opposed to simply chasing after it, and uses a leaf to wipe his mouth when he\u2019s done eating.<\/p>\n

He introduces the Croods to fire, using their mind to form ideas, and the concept of having a pet. Guy\u2019s pet is an amusing pink sloth, Belt, which he uses to keep his pants up. This influences the son Thunk Crood, played by Clark Duke, to keep a blue crocodile with dog-like qualities with him as the family crosses unknown territory in search of safety. Because according to Guy, the end of the world is near.<\/p>\n

The Croods have no choice but to abandon their cave as earthquakes begin to cause rocks to collapse around them. In 3D, it feels as though the audience is running with the family trying to duck underneath the rocks as well. While \u201cJurassic Park\u201d also has depth effects adding more layers within the wildlife, those same effects add so much more in the jungle through which the Croods travel.<\/p>\n

The imaginative plants with over-sized leaves and hanging vines that the cavemen use to swing through make it seem like a playground. A somewhat frightening playground with a green and blue saber-tooth tiger that continually attempts to attack the family and the audience, as well as a swarm of small pink birds that can consume an entire mammoth within seconds, leaving nothing but the skeleton. Flying turtles, fireworks that turn into popcorn, and giant dandelions all jump out of the screen throughout the movie.<\/p>\n

Yet, \u201cThe Croods\u201d doesn\u2019t create a theme park ride illusion as much as \u201cOz the Great and Powerful\u201d does. It seems as though the director, Sam Raimi, imagined every scene to be in 3D. The extraordinary effects and magical scenery almost matches that of \u201cAvatar,\u201d likely due to the fact that Robert Stromberg was the production designer for both.<\/p>\n

Oscar, Oz for short, played by James Franco, is initially a selfish, con artist from Kansas, who eventually proves to be the sort of \u2018wizard\u2019 that the Land of Oz needed. Just as in \u201cThe Croods,\u201d the creatures in this world are as fictional as possible, such as tiny river fairies that squirt water when they\u2019re mad. When Oz first discovers this, the camera shows his point of view so that it seems that the viewer is getting squirted.<\/p>\n

Instead of friendly flying turtles like in \u201cThe Croods, Oz the Great and Powerful\u201d has evil flying monkeys that are constantly trying to attack Oz and his companions due to the evil witch\u2019s demands. His companions are Finley, a loyal flying monkey who wears bellhop suit, played by Zach Braff, and China Girl, a delicate, yet feisty 14-inch china doll from Chinatown, played by Joey King.<\/p>\n

Through their adventures, they encounter the Dark Forest filled with frightening plants with sharp teeth that try to bite at them. The plants snap at the camera in the way that one would want the dinosaurs in \u201cJurassic Park\u201d to snap, in order to feel within the story.<\/p>\n

At another point, they come across Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, played by Michelle Williams, who takes them across the pink sky as they travel in individual bubbles. Oz is having trouble balancing within his bubble and finds himself unable to slow the bubble down. The camera changes to show his perception, highlighting his inability to balance and the rapid speed he\u2019s moving, to the point where it\u2019s almost dizzying. This shows that the 3D effect is successfully bringing the audience into the action.<\/p>\n

Spending $5 extra for the 3D experience is almost necessary to fully appreciate films such as \u201cOz the Great and Powerful.\u201d Where there are fireballs, spears, gold coins, fence posts and other objects that fly towards the camera, as well as constant movement throughout the majority of the film. Just like in theme park rides, it\u2019s fun entering an illusion where you can be thrown into a twister, run from a lion, and fall down a waterfall, without getting hurt.<\/p>\n