'Avatar':3D effects and brain confusion, headaches?
January 11th 2010 10:36
Signature Tune
"Avatar" may be dazzling people with its immersive technology, but if you’re one of those people who gets a headache after seeing it or any other 3-D film, there’s hope — or, at least, an explanation.
According to Steven Nusinowitz, associate professor at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute, roughly 20% of the population can get eye strain or headaches from watching movies in 3-D. That's because the new 3-D technology can't completely simulate the complex visual system in our brains.
Here’s the basic breakdown: The new 3-D technology works by presenting a different image to each eye and rapidly switching between the two, as frequently as 140 times per second. "The two eyes are getting separate images,which are then integrated in the brain into three-dimensions," Nusinowitz says.
The problem with that is that in real life, he says, "you're also getting information about depth from the way your eyes converge on a point, how your eyes are pointed at the target. In the movie theater, while they're simulating 3-D, they're not compensating for that by modifying the convergence of the eye. If you don't have that information, your brain gets confused on what it's looking at, and in some cases, that can produce discomfort."
Director James Cameron did try to mitigate the eyestrain factor when making "Avatar" by working with the new Fusion Camera System, which controls for convergence. "If you're looking at Neyteri [the blue alien inhabited by Zoe Saldana], our convergence will be set on Neyteri. If our focus is on the tree behind Neyteri, our convergence will be on the tree behind Neyteri," says producer Jon Landau, adding that their approach to 3-D was different than the traditional approach. "We didn't want gags coming off the screen. We wanted to create a window into the world for the audience."
But it only goes so far, as the unfortunate few who wander out of Pandora's visually stunning world with fatigue or headache soon learn. So while Cameron might be king of the world, he's not an ophthalmological pioneer — at least not yet.
"It's not perfect," acknowledges Landau, noting that there are also "limitations in exhibition. And not everybody sees 3-D. It's above 5% of the population that does not. It's a little bit like when people go to a concert. One person wants it louder, and one thinks it's too loud. It's a little subjective."
— Rachel Abramowitz
From: The Los Angeles Times
| 96 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
Comment by AmyHuang
Project Job Search
Travel Debate
Travel String
Love Adventures
Unfortunately I get motion sickness badly so I can't do these type of 3D films, nor any films with elements of fast paced activity such as car chases and flight chases etc
Comment by Wilson Pon
Health 2 Know
Adventure Toes
Techno Stuffs
boxing sound
Business Rope
Thank you for sharing this fact with us
Comment by Spring-Heeled Jack
Over.Exposure
I go into it a little in my most recent post, and it's good to hear confirmation that the effect only works if you're looking at the object the director intended you to look at. I never realised what a rebellious viewer I must be, because I always seemed to be looking at something else, which ruined the effect.
Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
It's information that everyone of those film goers needs to know, it helps to know you are not the only ones affected and Jack, you're one of my kindred sinners, I rarely see things the way others do.