Don’t Judge a Cover by its Book

By James Wood

Roger Ebert doesn’t like 3D movies, in fact he would go so far as to say that he “hates 3D” and he thinks you should too. Most of his critiques center on a technology that is often not executed well. Using projectors that are too dim and screens that don’t reflect enough light the produces a dark, detail poor movie or alternating the left and right-eye images on the screen, which causes eye fatigue and even head-aches. The good news is that Runco has addressed the technical issues associated with 3D projection. The D-73d 3D projector is so good that it was able to convince at least one vocal skeptic that 3D projection can be done right.

The problem isn’t always with the technology though. James Cameron’s Avatar broke the mold for 3D movies. Heck, he invented whole new technologies just to make the movie right. Every frame is fully immersive in three dimensions. He made a big deal about breaking the plane of the screen and drawing viewers into the world of the Na’vi. But then there’s a movie like Clash of the Titans that was never filmed in 3D, but had the effect added later through computer animation. The result is an altogether fake-looking product that is more of a distraction than enhancement to the story telling process. When 2D movies are up-converted to 3D it can look like a bunch of cardboard cut-outs suspended in front of the screen rather than full-bodied characters.

With any new technology it will take time for the artists to learn how to use it well. Some directors like Cameron will take the time to learn this new technology and master the craft of telling a story in three dimensions. Other times the studio will decide after a director is already done filming that a summer blockbuster should be done in 3D.

When you sit down with a bowl of freshly popped popcorn and fire up your D-73d 3D projector to show you a bright, fatigue free, eye-popping 3D movie, make sure you’re doing your projector justice with the movies you feed it. The top notch DHD video processor that accompanies the projector will show a beautiful representation of what the movie ought to look like, but if the best it gets is second rate, after-thought 3D imaging slapped on by the producers in post-production then it will give you the best looking version of a not-so-good looking movie.

Here are some quality 3D releases that we would suggest:

Alice in Wonderland
Grand Canyon Adventure, River at Risk
Monsters vs. Aliens
Bob’s Big Break
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
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