Abstract
In contrast to the consistent focus on stereoscopic depth throughout the previous chapters, this chapter returns to the question of flatness. Here, I focus on deliberate deployments of flatness within the context of 3D imagery. I argue that such deployments of flatness in contemporary digital 3D cinema are primarily determined by narrative aims: they allow for the delineation and definition of characters, spaces and dramatic moments. Subsequently, I categorise the application of flatness in digital 3D cinema into four modes: remediation, juxtaposition, morph and synthesis. Each of these modes serves different narrative ends, working in different ways to complement or contrast with stereoscopic depth. Ultimately, I argue that the alternation or layering of flatness and depth enhances narrative by highlighting the dramatic and ontological qualities of characters and spaces.
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Notes
- 1.
Robert Neuman, Stereoscopic Supervisor of Bolt 3D (2008) and Big Hero 6 (2014), wrote: “ Chicken Little was done as a post conversion of the monoscopic film through an outside vendor… Little attempt was made to make creative use of the stereoscopic depth. The primary goal in this process was to provide a comfortable viewing experience for the audience, and toward this end, the dynamic range of the parallax was clamped at very conservative limits” (Neuman 2009, Section 1. Introduction).
- 2.
See ‘Perception and The Art of 3D Storytelling’ written by Brian Gardner n.d. Retrieved from https://library.creativecow.net/gardner_brian/magazine_3d_storytelling/1. The two illustrations of depth script example cited in this chapter are both derived from this article. Accessed on April 29, 2015.
- 3.
In the special feature on the DVD of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For : a 15-minute fast-forwarded version of the film, from about 13′17″ to 13′20″, shows that the scene is constructed by two actors dressed in detective coats and hats performing in the green room, with boom in the frame to pick up their dialogue shown from upon an analogue TV set, which is surrounded by alcohol bottles and Nancy’s personal belongings. The two actors look very much like Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, respectively, the film’s two directors.
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Liu, Y. (2018). Between Depth and Flatness: Shaping Stereoscopic Ontologies. In: 3D Cinematic Aesthetics and Storytelling. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72742-4_7
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