Adam Savage’s Tested recently interviewed James Cameron, director of some of the most important and successful films of all time, to talk about his passion for 3-D filmmaking, the future of watching movies, and the immersive content he’s creating in a partnership with Meta.
I think it’s a really interesting and insightful interview into how Cameron perceives 3-D cinema (pun intended), what technically makes a good quality and enjoyable 3-D viewing experience, and the possibilities of stereoscopy generally, especially with VR/AR technology.
If you’ve not already watched the interview, you can find it on YouTube:
It reflects 3-D Film Archive’s Jack Theakston’s earlier article about What Killed 1950s 3-D Films: how ultimately technical issues affected the viewing experience and in turn the popularity. It’s exciting they recognise this and are working on adapting content for the Meta Quest to optimise it. It also echos some of film editor Walter Murch’s 2012 comments on the technical and human physiology-limiting aspects of viewing 3-D films, but instead of Murch’s very short-sighted conclusion that 3-D doesn’t work and never will (again, pun intended), they see the potential and possibilities of binocular vision working with ever-advancing stereoscopic technology. Many thanks to Carlton Bright for sending me the article last year.
It’ll be interesting to see if viewing 3-D films in headsets takes off, especially as headset designs become more pleasant to wear for longer and more affordable, or if the prospect of solo-viewing films may put people off. 3-D TVs, whilst a different viewing experience, may be a good comparison, but time will tell.
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