Golden Globe film of the year, top-grossing movie of all time, conversation piece at every dinner table \u2013 \u201cAvatar\u201d isn\u2019t just huge, it\u2019s a veritable 3D phenomenon. And now that 3D technology is at the forefront of public awareness, could it be that \u201cAvatar\u201d is only the beginning of a major technological revolution?<\/p>\n
Aside from boasting star power in alumnus Sigourney Weaver ‘72, \u201cAvatar\u201d is no exception to Stanford\u2019s proud tradition of innovation in both the artistic and technical aspects of film.<\/p>\n
Students and staff, whether personally involved or not, have strong opinions about the film and the future. Many were receptive to the film\u2019s new and improved technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found Avatar’s use of 3D surprisingly understated and very effective,\u201d said Tiffany Li \u201913. \u201cYou could tell it was intended from the very beginning to be 3D, as opposed to earlier efforts which were essentially 2D films with occasional monsters or flying objects launching themselves at the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Film buff Peri Unver \u201913, who has written for The Daily, gushed about the amazing visual experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cinematography was beautiful; it felt like you were actually in the beautiful forests and on the floating mountains of Pandora,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Film and Media Studies professor Scott Bukatman was similarly impressed with the aesthetically pleasing components in \u201cAvatar\u201d.
\n\u201c\u2018Avatar\u2019 was astounding \u2013 at least for the first hour,\u201d he said. \u201cI felt literally immersed in an environment, almost as though I was underwater. It was practically hallucinatory.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, he was also quick to point out some of the flaws of the 3D experience as it exists today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to say that I think it’s a bit less interactive \u2013 you’re kind of forced to sit with your head at a level angle, staring straight ahead,\u201d Bukatman said. \u201cI rarely talk to my partner \u2013 it’s even harder to eat Goobers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, 3D is by no means a new technology, but one that has been continually criticized and subsequently expanded for decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cFour years ago in 2006, Cameron was delaying \u2018Avatar,\u2019 waiting for technology to develop,\u201d revealed Computer Science Professor Ron Fedkiw, who received an Academy Award in 2008 for his work with fluid simulations and other technological breakthroughs. His work has been featured in films including \u201cPoseidon,\u201d \u201cStar Wars III,\u201d \u201cTerminator 3\u201d and the \u201cPirates of the Caribbean\u201d and \u201cHarry Potter\u201d series. He also consulted for some of the technical aspects involved in \u201cAvatar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo while \u2018Avatar\u2019 is a beautiful digital film, with 3D technology and great performance motion capture, these technological advances are only incremental on top of the pre-existing work,\u201d he explained. \u201c[The movie\u2019s] real contribution to filmmaking is the \u2018virtual camera\u2019 they designed for making the film \u2013 that allows one to see CG (computer generated) elements along with the footage being shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fedkiw is confident that 3D technology will become increasingly prominent not just in film, but in video games and even home entertainment.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Spy Kids 3D\u2019 shipped glasses in the DVD, [and] this phenomena will only increase with time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Timing, though, is always an issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy guess is that it is going to be a niche technology \u2013 although an important niche \u2013 for a fair amount of time,\u201d said Electrical Engineering professor Thomas Lee. \u201cThe need to wear glasses is enough of a bother by itself to inhibit widespread adoption of the technology in the home. On top of that, home 3D equipment will be expensive, and the limited availability of 3D titles for quite some time will further constrain the rate of adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Henry Lowood, Curator for History of Science & Technology Collections, agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am skeptical about the current push to move 3D televisions into the home,\u201d he said. \u201cI think there are some fundamental bottlenecks with regard to content and demand, partly because so many people have recently invested in large LCD or plasma sets, and partly because it is not entirely clear to me what people would do with these sets today.\u201d<\/p>\n
It seems that corporations are not interested in waiting, however. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held earlier this month in Las Vegas, 3D was the buzzword and everything from myriad types of 3D televisions to camcorders and Blu-Ray discs were introduced and promoted. ESPN has plans to broadcast the World Cup in 3D this summer, and will branch out into other sports soon after.<\/p>\n
Yet many who have had negative experiences with 3D films in the past still remain wary of the genre in general.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like 3D movies less than normal movies,\u201d said Ryan Staatz ‘11. \u201cI find the forced perspective annoying when I want to focus on other parts of the screen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hillary Lin ‘10 was even more unforgiving.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw [Avatar] in 3D, and it gave me an eyestrain for the rest of the day,\u201d she said. \u201cI think 3D movies need a huge improvement before I’m going to go see any more of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brendan Weinstein ‘13 felt that the 3D effects in Avatar were \u201cless obnoxious and more subtle than in other films,\u201d but still found the glasses an irritating detraction from the viewing experience.<\/p>\n
So is 3D here to stay or merely a fleeting phenomenon?<\/p>\n
\u201cI appreciate the use of 3D technology when it actually adds something to the movie and isn’t just a flashy novelty that production companies want to show off,\u201d said Eileen Wright \u201913. \u201cBut I don’t think 3D movies or TV will appeal to most people\u2026 until they get rid of those dorky glasses.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, as Freshman-Sophomore College Director Dr. Andrew Dimock observed, \u201cThere was a lot more emotional truth and weight in five minutes of George Frederickson’s grief in \u2018UP\u2019 than in two-and-a-half hours of \u2018Avatar.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Golden Globe film of the year, top-grossing movie of all time, conversation piece at every dinner table \u2013 \u201cAvatar\u201d isn\u2019t just huge, it\u2019s a veritable 3D phenomenon. And now that 3D technology is at the forefront of public awareness, could it be that \u201cAvatar\u201d is only the beginning of a major technological revolution? Aside from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4562,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-234926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4562"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234926\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}