3D Shooting Technology

Clark's concern for Levi seemed casual, but Levi knew very well that what he said was definitely not polite.

Levi wants to shoot a 3D movie. This decision has been subject to a lot of discussion. How to shoot 3D movies, how to shoot 3D movies to make them look good? People don't know all these issues - after all, 3D cartoons are still a new thing, and 3D versions of live-action movies are still shown on IMAX. How should such a movie be shot? No one knows.

Of course, the audience does not understand these issues. From their perspective, the 3D version of the movie is just a film shot the same as the 2D version.

However, from the perspective of industry insiders, this is something completely different. In Levi's opinion, there are a lot of things that need to be paid attention to when shooting this movie.

For example, one of the characteristics of IMAX is that its screen is wider, and its field of view will be broader. Such lens characteristics, in a sense, determine that IMAX movies are not suitable for shooting close-up shots.

After all, showing a huge face on a giant screen is not something that makes people feel overwhelmed. As the joke goes, the size of a wart on top of one nostril certainly doesn't look very comfortable.

This issue is something that many people in Levi's memory grapple with. In numerous 3D movies, the necessity of focusing on people's faces during shooting makes viewers uncomfortable, regardless of their appearance. However, these filmmakers originally relied on 3D to generate revenue and may not have given much thought to these aspects.

To meet this need, what IMAX movies need is more long shots. Present a big scene. Through the lens, images of dozens of floors of buildings, towering mountains, and the starry sky take precedence. Compared with the scenes where human faces appear, it's much better.

The use of long-range shots in 3D movies is very different from that in 2D movies. When shooting 3D movies, you need to pay attention to the depth of field. 

After all, only with sufficient depth of field can the sense of spatial fragmentation be highlighted and the 3D effect be highlighted. And you want to create enough depth of field. 

Then, a big problem is highlighting more obvious characters and scenery in the center of the picture to attract the audience and create depth of field. How do you create depth of field in long shots? 

After all, some movies rely solely on the star power effect for sales. If there aren't sufficient shots of movie stars in the film, and close-ups of these stars are omitted, how can the movie be successful?

If this problem is solved, then the next problem will arise accordingly. Once the depth of field is created, the core image in the middle of the movie will be more prominent, and people will pay more attention to it. 

When people notice the core picture of the 3D movie, naturally, they won't take in other backgrounds and the overall picture. This creates a new problem: people only focus on the scenery in the middle, regardless of the overall picture. 

Further, the audience's eyes will be more tired. If the movie switches very frequently and the depth of field changes constantly, the fatigue of the human eye will further increase - no matter how good-looking a movie is, if the audience feels tired after watching it for a while, then the movie is considered hopeless.

Over the years, with the maturity of digital editing technology, more and more people in Hollywood have adopted short shots and quick cuts. Quite a few directors have become famous for their sharp editing. 

[E/N: Bourne and Taken series are prominent examples of sharp editing.]

People also love this method - after all, compared with long lenses that are difficult to shoot, short lenses are used more often, which can reduce the difficulty of shooting and speed up the shooting progress.

However, 3D movies have completely subverted the development rules of Hollywood movies. When shooting a 3D movie, the last thing you need is sharp and fast editing. 

Watching fast editing in 3D mode is one aspect that makes the human eye very tired. 

Moreover, because the IMAX screen is very large, it can easily cause another problem: the large screen provides a greater amount of information. This means that the human brain is slower to accept it. 

If the camera is switched quickly, the human brain may not be able to adapt. It is easy for the audience to not see the picture clearly and jump to another picture, which will bring strong discomfort to the audience.

Such characteristics also determine the shooting techniques of many directors, who are simply unable to adapt to 3D movies. 

For example, in Levi's memory, Christopher Nolan was determined not to shoot 3D movies. To a certain extent, it was because he knew very well that one of the great advantages of his movies was excellent editing. 

When it comes to shooting 3D movies, it's a matter of choosing the shortcomings at the expense of the strong points, which is not something a wise person would do.

Every director has his own shooting style. It's not a problem if the shooting style is not suitable for a certain technique. It's really a problem if you don't have this kind of self-knowledge and try it for the sake of trying it.

Therefore, when 3D and IMAX are used at the same time, the first big trouble is that there are many long shots, and the second trouble is that more long-duration shots are needed.

It is not over yet. Because after noticing this, a question that showed off immediately came up. Compared with ordinary movies, in 3D films, long shots need to pay attention to a lot of things. 

It is necessary to reduce the shaking of the lens: the shooting method of 3D movies determines that if the shaking of the lens is strong, image ghosting will easily occur, which will also cause discomfort to the audience.

How to deal with these long shots so that the audience can be more adaptable? This is also a problem.

These problems are all the differences between 3D movies and ordinary 2D blockbusters. 

If 2D blockbusters rely on the characteristics of many action scenes and fast scene switching to win, then the advantage of 3D movies is that the scenes are large and have a strong sense of layering, which can better highlight the picture.

On the one hand, technological progress has promoted the development of movies, but on the other hand, it also requires better shooting skills to promote catering.

A good movie is not only a product of technology but also a product of shooting skills. When shooting a movie, you need to pay attention to the actors, but you also need to pay enough attention to the shooting techniques of emerging technologies to shoot a good movie. 

There are many 3D movies in Levi's memory, but only a few have been actually filmed using 3D because such movies cannot be shot casually, and if you don't have enough understanding of technology, it will just make a mess.

These kinds of questions flashed through Levi's mind, one after another. Not many people can sum up these problems now except Levi - after all, Levi has watched many 3D movies. He doesn't know how many he watched, but he has a general idea and understanding of these movies.

This is already very rare because these current directors are still at the stage of crossing the river by feeling the stones. 

Certainly, some people are more talented and can summarize some shooting rules of 3D movies from the characteristics of 3D and IMAX. However, no matter how excellent the inference is, it is just an inference. Compared with Levi, who already has a deep understanding of their grasp of details, there are still some gaps.

Although the films Levi shot in the past were relatively good in terms of lens editing, they paid great attention to the use of close-up shots in terms of character creation and shooting. 

Now, he suddenly has to shoot a movie with mainly long shots. How should he shoot it? In the eyes of others, this is a big problem.

But because he had a better understanding of these things in his mind, Levi made his choice early for filming the movie. 

"First of all, what I want to say is that all shots must be shot with film IMAX, and when shooting, we use full screen when changing sides, not ultra-widescreen. This aspect is what we should pay attention to first."

Levi talked to Michael about this issue. After all, Michael had to put a lot of effort into preparing the movie.

Levi naturally has his own reasons for these thoughts: film shooting is to reflect the IMAX effect better. In this aspect, Levi has to learn from Nolan: Although Nolan has never shot 3D movies, the approach he insists on in 2D movies also greatly enhances the viewing effect.

In terms of screen width, Levi naturally chose the full screen - he knew very well that in an IMAX movie, there are two black bars at the top and bottom, which is an uncomfortable viewing experience. 

If you want to shoot a good 3D movie, you have to use the full screen. In this regard, he believes that James Cameron must also agree because, in his memory, not only was Avatar shot with the full screen, but also the original 2D version of Titanic, which was shot in ultra-widescreen, after it was converted to 3D mode, it also became full screen. This aspect is something that must be paid attention to technically.

After taking care of issues with Michael, he discussed with Bob.

"As soon as the movie starts, it's best to start with a picture of the universe. The IMAX screen is wider, and from the audience's perspective, they will be closer to the movie. If you start the movie with a long shot, if the lens shows depth, it can easily draw the audience into the movie and immerse them in it. This is the first thing to pay attention to."

In 3D movie shooting, how to make the audience feel like they are involved is very important. Therefore, Levi had to give Bob special instructions in this regard. After all, Bob has only written scripts for 2D movies before, and there are some issues that he needs to pay attention to.

This method of immersing yourself in the scene has been used in some documentaries. This time, Levi also hopes that his crew will use it.

In addition to this, lens switching is also another example.

"When switching shots, try to use gradients instead of sudden changes. Don't pursue suddenness, don't pursue excitement, use more rendering, and use a gradually increasing sense of oppression to make the audience feel being in the scene. This aspect also needs to be paid attention to."

Compared with the first part, the lens switching in this part naturally needs to be changed: in the first part, Levi deliberately used quick switching to present the lives of three people continuously, but in this movie, such quick switching is no longer practical.

In contrast, Levi hopes to use a gradient lens to complete the switch - after all, in his memory, this is how "Life of Pi" did it, and it was also a great success.

There is no reason for him not to use these successful experiences. Only by drawing on the strengths of others can we make a good movie.

Movie shooting is a technology, and 3D movie shooting is a brand-new technology. Fortunately, Levi has mastered this technology better than others. In terms of this technology, he has an ability that no one can match.

*****

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