Do you care more about "Depth" or "Popout" - Page 2

It's true that depth is immersive and gives the extra dimensionality to the movie, but it's the pop out effects that give you the wow factor. Without pop out effects (I'm not saying they need to always be there but at least enough to notice) I do wonder at times whether it's worth the tradeoff to wear glasses and lose brightness versus the 2D versions.

Though I appreciate the depth, a more casual watcher like my wife thinks it's totally underwhelming. For her, depth is nice, but totally unimpressive.

Depth. I don't need a "wow factor" because that just takes you out of the movie.

Some pop-outs are fun, but overall, you're supposed to enjoy the story, and if you're marveling at the pop-out effects, you're clearly not focusing entirely on the story.

I prefer not to differentiate between depth and pop out. If you're immersed in a 3D image, you're not aware of the screen or your surroundings. (Or at least, you're not paying attention to them.) You're not aware of what's behind the screen or what's in front of the screen, because you're not aware of any screen. Things are either far from your eyes, close to your eyes, are somewhere in between. Just like real life.

EDIT: Here's some additional reading that was recently posted on the 3D Source Components section. http://3dcinecast.blogspot.com/2009/...ain-shear.html Particularly the first part I think echoes how I see 3D:

I voted pop-out.

A good 3D movie needs to have consistent depth as a baseline, but it also has to have a variety of pop-out moments. Disney World definitely does it right - they get very creative with it. There is a good mixture of in-your-face and also out of the screen, but not in your face. And it's all done in a way that absolutely changes your experience and appreciation of what is being shown.

People are too concerned with pop-out being labed as a gimmick. Pop out is what makes the movie fun. It's why we go through the trouble of putting on the 3D glasses in the first place. And don't give me the crap about depth being more "life-like." You can get great depth in 2D. Life is 3D - objects really do come toward you. I don't want to look at a fish-tank. I want to scuba dive with the fish.

It doesn't all have to be in-your-face pop-out. Objects floating out of the screen are just as effective. It's really damn cool when it looks like some bee or butterfly or astronaut is flying in your living room! Nothing is more frustrating than watching a 3D movie and seeing a scene that is screaming for pop-out but doesn't deliver.

Don't get me started about the wife and kids - "I don't think this movie is 3D." or "I can't tell if my glasses are working."

I spent thousands of dollars on a new 3DTV, new 3D blu-ray player and new 3D blu-rays, new 3D-compatible receiver, multiple pairs of 3D glasses. Now, I want my 3D!

If you put it that way; watching a movie in 2D without the glasses allows me to focus more on the story.

Imagine if Disney World removed the pop outs from their 3D shows and had nothing but great depth. Lines for the shows would disappear overnight.

I like both, but even my kids watch and if nothings coming out they get bored quick with it.

Are you color blind by any chance? Have you tried active-shutter 3D glasses to see if you can perceive pop outs? I believe passive 3D glasses require your eyes to have color sensitivity.

For many 3D movies made today, that would be an improvement. Less attention paid to gimmicks and more attention paid to making a better story. 3D should enhance the story, not replace it.

There are some that get it right. There are many that don't... but they pad the bottom line for the studios, so we get a LOT of 3D movies that had no reason to be 3D other than gimmicks that justify a higher ticket price. (and higher BR price)

I agree, but in general I don't think the people working on the 3D are responsible for the story. The director, sure, but the script writers aren't working on the 3D and the cinematographers aren't going to work on the script. Sometimes I hear opponents of 3D complain that time should be spent on making a better story rather than 3D, and it annoys me for this reason. The two are mostly independent.


I'm with tfoltz in that I don't really see pop-out. If I specifically ask myself, "Is this popping out of the screen?" I can look at the edges of the screen and compare to determine if it's pop-out or not. Technically I can see pop-out, I just don't identify it as popping out of the screen. There's nothing wrong with my eyes or my setup, I'm simply immersed in the 3D. When you're immersed, there is no screen.

One caveat, I can identify pop-out when it's obviously being used as a pop-out gimmick. For example, in Pirates of the Caribbean 4 when they stick swords in your face. The problem isn't pop-out itself though, the problem is the misuse of it.

Since we will or should always get depth, I'm going for pop-out. I hope someone from the studios see this thread. We are getting depth but are sorely lacking in pop. I want pop outs and I want it now!

I'm guessing that everyone really wants to have both, I love depth, but the point of 3D is to be immersed and if things are floating around in front of you, you feel like you are there. If you watch something on a big enough screen depth is very immersive and it seems like the action is happening in the next room, but for most people watching on average TV screens popout is what is going to make them feel like they are there.

I loved the swords in Pirates! Those wow moments are what people are going to remember about watching something in 3D and most of those wow moments will be created by popout rather than depth. Depth gets taken for granted. Popout is so essential for the horror genre, where something is going to scare you a lot more, if for a second you think it's actually in the room with you. 3D and a good 7.1 system can create that illusion ...and that's what I want. I want movies to actually scare me, that's a very rare thing.

Bottom line, the average viewer of 3D is impressed by popout and feels disappointed if they don't experience a few cool popout effects when they pay extra money to watch something in 3D. If movie producers don't spend the time to create those effects, they're risking the general public not embracing 3D.

Agreed. But I'm still waiting for a horror movie that combines a scene like the dead girl coming out of the TV in The Ring with the 3D "potato cod" effect from Under The Sea.

How scary would that be?

Does something like this exist? I haven't seen it...

Exactly!!! Bring to 3D Bluray some of the 3D content they've been showing at amusement parks! My face if they ever actually listened and did it:

In Monsters vs. Aliens, there is a scene where Susan (giant lady) puts her hand through the tv station window to pick up her husband. The view shifts to her husbands POV and her hand extend out of the screen. I too would like to see a body extend out of the screen. I'd like to see movies where they experimented with the pop outs. I'm sure there is someone out there that has great ideas as to what can be done with pop outs.

I want both.

Basically I want it to look like the solar system scene in Ultimate Wave Tahiti