For me, the “future” arrived when I realized that even I, an independent filmmaker with limited resources, could make a 3D film. After a childhood spent dreaming of holographic television, reading 3D anaglyph comics and drawing my own with red and blue colored pencils, the day has finally arrived when anyone can make a film in multiple dimensions – for almost no money at all.
As a filmmaker and artist I’ve always been interested in and excited by the ability to give the audience a unique experience. This current resurgence in the popularity of 3D cinema has afforded us amazing new opportunities for unique cinematic experiences that we have only just begun to explore. I have a pet theory about why this has happened: because television has gotten so much better.
Production values in modern narrative television have progressed to the point where viewers can invest long-term in characters through season after season of programming. Yet, television offers us little in the way of the short form visceral experience – most shows can be easily followed while distracted; making a sandwich, doing your homework, commuting on the subway. There is little room for the “subjective” experience that feature cinema has long been able to achieve – and is now free to explore and build upon. 3D has the capability to bring the audience directly into the world of the story – in a way that we experience our own world on a daily basis: in multiple dimensions. And what an incredible opportunity for exploration of the subjective – we will be able to see and experience the character’s world the same way they experience it – literally and emotionally.
Because the third dimension allows for this heightened level of realism, the door swings wide open for filmmakers to create believable worlds and events that don’t or can’t exist in real life.
The scale of big-budget films isn’t necessary to explore the capabilities of 3D. All that’s needed are some cheap borrowed or rented camera (in my case, 2 HVX200’s bolted to a wooden board), access to a computer and relatively inexpensive software (I used Adobe After Effects and Premiere) some technical ingenuity (the kind that leads to using red and blue colored pencils to draw anaglyph comics), and the desire to sculpt the unbelievable into a palpable, three dimensional reality.
In my 3D short film “The Viewer,” the story is not only seen through the eyes of the main character, but through his increasing psychological breakdown. Because of the 3D, we are able to experience this hallucinatory madness in an unprecedented manner – as if it were true and real happening to the viewer themselves.
Bolstered by the effect this technique has on viewers of the short, I’m excited to continue exploring it’s capabilities on a larger scale, and to see where others take it.
Where “The Viewer” is a brief, experimental piece, “The Teleport” will be a full-fledged narrative feature, based loosely on the short. The story follows a group of scientists who conduct dangerous experiments in teleportation, inadvertently punching a hole in space through which mind-controlling telepathic aliens invade.
This is the kind of surreal, subjective reality that I am ecstatic to bring to life in 3D.
–G.R.
Graham Reznick’s feature debut ‘I CAN SEE YOU’ and his incredible 3-D short film ‘THE VIEWER’ (which will be the first time seen in its newly polarized version), are experiencing a special screening and Q&A this Friday August 13th at the Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles with a filmmaker Q&A at the completion of the two films screening. Click here for tickets.
YES!
So into what you’re doing Graham.
Going at it the same way you are in this digital age; not doing 3d though.
I’m in pre prod. on a TRAILER for a project some investors are into.
And these people are used to budgets over 1 mil
I know we can do mine for 500 k.
But, I have other indie feature digital projects I know I can do for under 50 k.
And obviously there’s a lot of disagreeing with me on this, from people
in the industry. Because they’re used to padded budgets; accounting anomalies; etc.
But primarily, they don’t want to see artists like us..creating outside the box.
because it simply means…we don’t need big crews anymore.
We don’t need stars…because there are so many great character actors we can use.
We don’t have to deal with theatrical releases…because new distrib. routes are opening, and they’re all for the HD digital tv routes.
Especially overseas.
So…all these people present and former finances are on the line.
And instead of changing and transforming in this new digital age,
and creating outside the box…they’ll dump all over us.
That won’t stop me.
And it’s not stopping you.
Because we get to go directly to the audience.
Write on, right on bro.
MARK11
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