CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, March 30, 2016

What It’s Like to See Batman v Superman in Butt-Punishing 4DX

WIRED: The sign outside of the just-installed 4DX theater in New York City warns of “motion enabled chairs” with “strong vibrations”; some “lightning, rain, [and] flashing (strobe) lights”; and a dash of “fog and strong scents.” But after sitting through a recent screening of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in the immersive, audience-rattling moviegoing format—which promises the chance to experience firsthand nearly every punch, jostle, and chin-jut of Zack Snyder’s new superhero showdown—I might add the following heads-up: And by the way, once the movie’s through, your upper butt will feel as though it’s been massaged by a coked-up gibbon.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I had occasionally seen movies in D-box back when I had time to see movies, which moved the seats with the action taking place on screen for the sake of immersion. Oftentimes, it just felt like you were in a brookstone, but instead of someone hawking a cookie dough catapult at you, people were shooting each other. 4DX pushes this to a whole new level, by using atmospheric effects to make you feel as if you are not only with the characters, but you are with the characters in their world. 4DX also seems to be more specific than D-box, as if directed with that action to follow to draw your perspective to a specific action in that particular scene. The technology obviously has flaws, since there can't be a 1:1 connection between the chairs and the data being transmitted to them, so everything seemed at least a second behind for the reviewer except for the pre-show roller coaster, tailor made to sell you on the seat you've already bought. Intuitive, no? I do think it is interesting that the author suggests it ushers in an older quality of movies, in which we wouldn't look at our phones, because whether or not the chair moves does not mean you won't get distracted. In face, getting punched by my seat would be more likely to take me out of the experience, I feel.