Events
Some movie lovers will get some unpleasant surprises after watching 3D movies, such as Avatar. Less than a month after its official release, sci-fi blockbuster Avatar is already the fourth most successful movie of all time, grossing billions of dollars at the box office fees in record time. About 80 percent of all revenue was made possible by the new vibrant 3D technology.
The times when viewers had to watch 3D movies with glasses equipped with color filters, and at the same time, afraid to look around so as not to lose their glasses, are long ago have passed. Today, movie lovers pay in cinemas for glasses equipped with a polarizing filter that specifically imposes an image that is projected onto the screen and creates a 3D effect.
But, nevertheless, no matter how far advanced technologies go, a certain number of viewers can sit through the entire session without experiencing discomfort. For example, the eyes of more than three million people in the UK interfere with stereoscopic vision, making it difficult or even impossible for them to view 3D films.
Conditions that prevent the effect of strabismus or “wandering eyes” from occurring, as well as amblyopia, better known as “lazy eye” (a condition in which bad vision is unique to only one eye) are often the result of uncorrected childhood astigmatism, which is easy to treat. Astigmatism, in turn, prevents the eye from sharpening the image, thereby affecting the depth of perception.
The technology used to create the 3D illusion can also trigger extreme physical reactions. Prior to Avatar's release last month, an anonymous user on a Hollywood gossip site reported that he fell ill after watching a 3D screening. “The problem is the difference between real perception and 3D focus points,” the blogger writes. “Our minds can't adapt to this without a buffer, so I personally associate Avatar with a movie that makes us vomit.”
Other viewers also express concerns about the effects of 3D movie watching on the body. Adults who come to the session with children express extreme concern. For example, an American user reported that when they came to the movie with a 14-year-old, they were forced to leave the cinema 20 minutes after the start of the film, because the boy felt bad and I felt a sharp headache, dizziness and shakiness.
Also, many doctors say that many people feel bad after watching the 3D version of the film and do not get out of this condition for some time. Such body reactions after watching a movie are correlated with the unnatural eye movement that 3D viewing requires. As a rule, when we see an object closest to us, our eyes move independently to focus on it.
First, our pupils turn towards the nose, then optical lenses begin to work, which change the shape of the target and keep it in sight. This is a well-known picture perception structure.
When we see an image in 3D format, our pupil begins to rotate in the other direction, trying to randomly choose a position in which it is convenient to perceive this image. As a result, if this happens, the viewer should, by all means, focus only on the front of the screen, and not on the complex image.
But in this case, the brain is being misled. Instead, the eyes hesitate between performing the functions that were intended for them by nature and doing what 3D viewing requires them to do, which in turn can cause extreme eye strain, migraines and nausea.
“The problem is that 3D viewing creates a completely unnatural situation. It makes your eyes run at extremely heavy speeds. For many people, especially children, this causes eye strain, headaches and dizziness,” explains James Sutton, an ophthalmologist and manager of the Oxfordshire eye health company.
Moreover, the doctor has experienced what he is talking about. “I can't watch anything in 3D because I can't relax, after 15 minutes of watching I get migraines, and if I sit for about two hours, I'm sure it will lead to more serious ones consequences.”
Currently, film studios have begun to produce many more films in 3D format. George Lucas is currently working on remastering the Star Wars series in 3D, and Shrek's next episode will also use this technology.
It should also be noted that the time is just around the corner when 3D will invade our homes. The next generation of TVs are enhanced stereoscopic capabilities, and they are among the most anticipated products. Sony hopes that 3D TVs will account for about half of their sales by 2013.
As a result, the future of entertainment will be three-dimensional, but for a significant number of viewers, it will be a very pleasant vacation.