3D - 2

Are 3D movies actually 3D or just the film equivalent of pop-up books?

My impression of a lot of these 3D movies I've seen is that they basically consist of two-dimensional objects placed three-dimensionally. EG, an actors nose does not protrude from their face three dimensionally, their face and body is flat, the 3D aspect of these films is that the 'flat' actor may appear in front or behind another object. Is my impression correct, or am I not seeing things properly?

Public Comments

1. What you are seeing is real 3D. They use 2 cameras and you see these 2 pictures one in each eye. So you are effectively seeing what you would see if you were at the film set. i.e 3D.
2. Depends if it has been CONVERTED into 3D. If its been Converted, its like a pop-up book, or a one of those 3D photos that some times are on a DVD cover, if its been recorded in 3D, the nose should pop out.
3. Sort of. In most cases that is what you are seeing because movies are often converted to 3D. But if a movie is shot in 3D than you can get a true 3D effect. Shooting in 3D involves 2 lenses for a camera and as the object gets closer together, the distance between the two images, recorded by the lenses, gets farther apart. This is why you get that weird effect when you don't have your 3D glasses on. If it is truly shot in 3D than as an arm for example got closer to the lense, the arm would gradually stick out and not have that "pop-up" book style effect. This effect happens because a movie is shot in 2D and the arm is then masked out and every part of the arm is made 3D at the same depth.
4. The correct name for 3D is stereo-graphics. I imagine this type of film or picture is called 3D because it is thought to be easy to understand. Stereo-graphics is well worth researching as there is a lot of science and mathematics involved in producing such a picture. The films are created by using two cameras in a fixed position which does not work the way the eyes operate. That is, as either we move towards an object or an object moves towards us so our eyes move towards our nose and the object stays in focus and the objects in the background double up. This does not happen in films as the cameras are not design to bend and emulate the movement of our eyes. I have actually done some research into this and found that human depth perception and our own stereo vision only works for a very short distance. I think it is something like 20 yards (or metres if you wish), it was a long time ago that I did this research, if I can find it I'll send you what I can. I have in my computer a NVidia GT 8500 which can be used with stereo-graphic drivers and when playing a game that has been programmed using x,y,z co-ordinates through Microsoft Directx then the picture produced is much closer to the way the human eye actually works. When I look at the picture without the red/cyan glasses on the red in the picture is on the left hand side and the cyan on the right hand side. When I zoom in on a character the red and cyan merge together and eventually overlap so the red is on the right and the cyan is on the left but the back ground object still show as red on the left and cyan on the right. This will never happen with a 3D film. Whether the film is done using two cameras or one camera and translated to 3D doesn't make much of a difference (ignoring how badly it has been done) you can not focus in on any one object or person, they will appear to be flat. Some people might disagree with me here, I have played games in stereo-graphics mode and suggest that others do the same then watch a 3D film, you will notice the difference.
5. The only movie that ive seen so far that pulled off 3D like the way it was suppose to be, was Tron @ IMAX 3D. The movie looked freaking amazing. It looks like current 3D will "pull" a whole object out of the picture without really "pulling" small things like hair, a belt buckle, clothing, etc. Instead will pull a whole object like a spear pointing at you, a character, a car, debris from an explosion, etc. Facial features like a nose and contours of someone's face is till a tech years away. We would need a holographic or a really high resolution display to show that kind of 3D detail. Today's 3D still looks great when done properly.
6. Watch my 3D Movies then Decide Drum Music Simulation 3D Animation http://www.vimeo.com/20583824 Drum Music Simulation 3D Animation http://www.vimeo.com/20629806 Talking Fish Underwater 3D Animation http://www.vimeo.com/18187982 Underwater Environment Fish Animation http://www.vimeo.com/17520680 Water Sucking Plants Underwater Animation http://www.vimeo.com/16789738