Superman 3-D Issues
Now Playing‘s Scott Collura had some problems with the IMAX 3-D portions of Superman Returns, and here’s a summary: “The technology still leaves something to be desired…there was some blurriness and darkness… folks sitting near me had the same take… perhaps the theater we were in was not calibrated correctly? Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that we were sitting on the side of the theater and not directly in the middle? But at other times one could garner an idea of what the technology can offer.”
I hear what Scott’s saying. For me, the issue is mainly one of “ghosting“, a kind of cigarette-smoke, double-image effect that kicks in very faintly from time to time. Superman Returns wasn’t shot in 3D. What you’re seeing in IMAX theatres is a new-generation 3D that’s been artificially created in post. I presume it will get better as the process moves along, but the Superman 3D is somewhere between pretty good and not bad. It seemed just as satisfying as the 3D in that James Cameron underater-exploration IMAX thing, or even a touch better. And all tech concerns are out the window when it comes to that scene in which Superman saves the jet plane from crashing into terra firma, which is knock-your-socks-off fantastic.
Wow, if this is even slightly better than Aliens of the Deep (the Cameron 3D Imax, saw it in DC last month), I’m really looking forward to it.
If that’s a real theatre image — and even though it’s only a partial shot — it looks to me as if this isn’t being projected 2.35:1 in IMAX…unless that is the widest theatre ever built. Say it aint so.
Wells to Sanfred: The IMAX 3D aspect ratio is about 2 to 1. They chop off the sides of the normal 2.35 to 1 Scope aspect ratio. The illustration above is bogus and fanciful.
Ha! I thought so! The yacht sequence was NOT in 3D at the IMAX in Louisville. The glasses flashed for momentarily at that point, but the image didn’t do that ‘doubling’ thing and it remained 2D. I knew something was bogus… should have asked for my money back!!
Grr….
How did the “bulge” appear on an IMAX screen? Real
or a Tom Cruise in Magnolia-like fake?
Funny, I went to see the IMAX presentation, and they had a slide running with your quote about the look of the IMAX 3-D!
Brian Orndorf of Hollywood Bitchslap has some nitpicks about the IMAX experience too:
http://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=14733&reviewer=404
“After viewing both the standard screen and IMAX 3-D versions of ‘Superman Returns,’ I heartily recommend a first-time viewing at your local neighborhood multiplex. The IMAX presentation is an expectedly robust, slap-yo-momma, monster screen experience that brings incredible depth to certain scenes and locations. But only 20 minutes of the film have been converted to 3-D, and after an appealing start, the selections tend to get annoyingly random. It√¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s also a bit of a frustration to hurriedly put on your glasses during critical, dramatically taut sequences that deserve undivided attention. The IMAX 3-D experience certainly delivers on spectacle, but save it for a more forgiving second viewing.”