Thursday, July 19, 2012
4-D movies: Next big thing for U.S. theaters?
latimes.com: As the giant spaceship crashes into the mysterious planet, the seats inside the movie theater heave back and forth and rumble like an earthquake.
"Back ticklers" in the seats thump as an astronaut dodges fireballs and rolls on the ground. A strobe light flashes and huge fans expel gusts of air reeking of smoke and gunpowder.
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8 comments:
There is a certain art in film that directors, writers and producers try to expose when making a film. Movies are made from the directors interpretation from a script while little innuendos are left to the imagination of the audience. This is why a movie has a different meaning for every person. If "back-ticklers" or fog sprayers or wind was added to the movie theatre experience there would be very little for the audience themselves to interpretate and thus create meaning. Watching a movie would be almost a nonprovacative. Also, if these special effects were added into the theatre to attract movie-goers away from their couches, when the final product is put on the market the effect will not be the same and movie sales will probably drop significantly.
For me when I go to the theater its more about the movie, than these sprays and 'back ticklers." The idea of having the theater, in a way, interpret what is going on in the movie by assigning 'feels' to each scene. If the director choose these feels it would make more sense, and if it goes that way I might like it, so I'll keep an open mind.
Aside from the fact that the term 4-D movie makes absolutely no sense just as High-Def is a completely vague and near worthless term, 4-D movies seem like a pretty interesting concept. I am curious to see if the movement will gain traction with moviegoers. It certainly sounds like it falls in the category of cheap thrills and I feel like it would be more at home in amusement parks, not general theaters.
However, if it takes off, more power to CJ Group and the other companies leading the way. Nobody thought 3-D movies would become mainstream, but that format is also here to stay, so perhaps 4-D will follow the same route.
The prospect of 4-d movies in theater complexes locally is quite an interesting one. 4-d theaters already exist in the united stats, but mostly in theme parks. With the troubled economy and the struggle to produce even 3d movies, it will definitely be a test of the investors to see if 4d movies become widespread in america.
A major variable is the willingness of the public to pay more or less 20 dollars to see a movie. At least in miami, going to the movies is an activity done mostly by children under 18, so will parents be willing to jack up allowances to allow children to see movies that will "tickle" the senses?
As a moviegoer who has been adamantly against 3-D production since Avatar came out, this is not my favorite development. It's a pretty logical next step from the three dimensional phenomenon to go for more, but is more really...more? Directors have started relying on 3-D to carry the plot, and to draw the audience to the show. 4-D just seems like an extension of the gimmick. If the movie was truly well done, would one need to be sprayed with mater? Or rocked back and forth? It doesn't seem like it. My mind keeps going back to the Disney Parks, where a Bug's Life and Honey I shrunk the Kids were converted into 4-D show experiences for the kids. That's all a 4-D movie sounds like. Just a fun ride, no real substance.
The idea of creating a “4D” environment is fascinating to me and I think it will be extremely successful. Audiences are always looking for a more and more immersive experience in entertainment and I think this will help. Like with 3D, I’m sure there will be some people who don’t like it for various reasons, but I think the population as a whole will be intrigued. One thing that this article doesn’t mention, but I think is worth bringing up, is the possible applications for theatre. Theatre by definition, is more real feeling than a movie, but I think the future of design could include special effects like smell, moving seats, and especially atmospheric effects for the audience that would heighten the reality of what is going on onstage as well as drawing the audience in. As a designer, I try to make the environment I’m designing as immersive as possible for the audience and I think this could be a cool new frontier in that area.
I personally have not been able to stand the 4D movies that I have seen in my past, and do not plan on seeing any in the near or distant future. While I can appreciate the efforts to make a more realistic cinematic experience through 3D glasses, the expulsion of air and water through seats to create pressure and spraying effects is frankly, startling and a bit disgusting. One does not go the the movies to be doused with water and poked in the back. In addition, I think that the 4D effects would detract from the plot of the movie because the audience would be too focused on when the next effect would attack them.
When I go to the movies, sometimes I go to enjoy a movie, and sometimes I go to get immersed in a movie. I'm sure implementing "4-D" movies into movietheatres will have its ups and its downs. Similar to 3-D and IMAX movies, there would probably be an option to see the movie normally and see the enhanced 4-D movie, however people will still argue that the 4-D qualities are both intrusive and take away from the movie, creating too much of a thrill-ride feeling. Contrarily, the business seems to be doing very well, so audiences will probably treat this advanced technology with a lot of respect!
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