The 3D Dilemma

Below is an Arri 3D rig…….., not mine I must admit, but one of the rigs we used a four day workshop I was at in Sweden. Is 3D the way to go…..I don’t think so, it is a gimmick, a nice gimmick, but the added cost of filming in 3D will mean it will be used only as..well a gimmick. Dont get me wrong, this is a great rig set up, and the pictures were amazing, but for me it seems the extra cost would be better spent on a better script/better actors/more time filming. When making 3D it is fantastic to have fists or arrows flying out the screen, but a lot of 3D seems to have over 50% on the wrong side of the (virtual)screen, everything is “In your face”, a bit like the introduction of stereo, the music would bounce around your head like a pingpong ball, come on guys ‘n’ gals….be gental, a little goes a long way. But it is still a gimmick.

We can all wrapped up on having the latest and best equipment, I find it an over kill to shoot on, for example, a REDONE camera, if it is only for DVD or web distribution, and no special postproduction is needed. But we are in the business of gadgets, and Norway is probably the country with the latest and best.