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3D Films Could Save Action Movies

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HyperZone<3

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Hey, you know what was a pretty good 3D flick, Drive Angry. Looking at its box office returns, hardly anybody went to see it, but I rather liked it.

I also really liked how the action scenes were for the most part, legible and clearly shot. The same could have been said of the latest Resident Evil, which also had surprisingly well done and not-shitty shaky cam action. And now there's word of Tsui Hark's latest kung fu opus starring Jet Li which appears to be fantastic.
Twitchfilm.com said:
The problem with doing action in 3D is doing it in a way that takes advantage of the depth of field while also being kind to the viewers' eyes. Hark has allowed for this by - twice during the promo - shooting action sequences in confined spaces with the camera rooted in one spot. Rather than constantly shifting and trying to find a focal point, this allows you to simply enjoy the action as it unfolds and moves within the scene - both from side to side and front to back. It's an elegant approach and its looks absolutely amazing. Because this is shot in 3D rather than post converted there is no planing of the different layers, instead the moves in and out of the screen are perfectly smooth and clear. Really impressive.
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Simply put, you can't do a Bourne-styled action scene in 3D without it becoming an even more indistinct mess. The trend towards damn near every upcoming tentpole action flick being in 3D might mean filmmakers might actually start framing and shooting action scenes with an eye towards visual clarity rather then a muddled frenzy.

I've not been on board the 3D bandwagon, but if there's a side effect of more frequent visual coherency in any sort of action film then I suppose it could be a necessary evil. Oh, and its also great news that Tsui Hark is now apparently back from his too long trip to Suckville.

What do you guys think?




-----Thesis Statement-----
Shaky cam sucks, 3D can't do shaky, 3D forces less dynamic camera moves = better action filmmaking.
 
No, and your examples for are terrible. Drive Angry and RE sucked.

Besides this shaky cam fad is dying down slowly. I think we'll be seeing less of it in the future.
 
Shooting in 3D even forced Micheal Bay to cut down on shaky cam, so yeah

On the other hand, shooting in 3D won't hide embarassingly bad fight choreography, like in Tron Legacy.
 
Shaky cam is better than 3D because shaky cam isn't a way to artificially bleed the consumer of money.
 
HyperZone<3 said:
Hey, you know what was a pretty good 3D flick, Drive Angry. Looking at its box office returns, hardly anybody went to see it, but I rather liked it.
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I stopped reading after this. I now assume you are a paid poster.
 
I agree OP, but all you needed to do was post optimusprime.gif to demonstrate your point.
 
HyperZone<3 said:
-----Thesis Statement-----
Shaky cam sucks, 3D can't do shaky, 3D forces less dynamic camera moves = better action filmmaking.
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This is the worst statement ever, and all the films described in the OP are terrible.
 
- R Ratings
- Get rid of Shaky Cams
- Get better action stars
- Less slow motion camera wankery
- Less CG stunts
- Real explosions, car crashes, stunts
- Fuck 3D

Do these and you're on the way to better action films.
 
Casino Royale proved action films with good choreography can be done with just the right amount of shaky cam. Martin Campbell will return
 
Messypandas said:
Casino Royale proved action films with good choreography can be done with just the right amount of shaky cam. Martin Campbell will return
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He won't be returning with Green Lantern :lol
 
Oldschoolgamer said:
But why pay for an action movie, if you can't see the action!
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I've never had a problem discerning what's going on during shaky cam sequences. There are GREATER EVILS in the movie industry to deal with.
 
Inventive choreography would help. Too often you got guys just throwin bows at each other, they oughta integrate the environment more into the sequences. That way, you have to pull the camera back to establish points of interest and where the chracters are in their environment. If 2 guys are just gonna be throwing fists, you might as well shake the cam to make it interesting.
 
Messypandas said:
Casino Royale proved action films with good choreography can be done with just the right amount of shaky cam. Martin Campbell will return
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On that note, was Quantum of Solace a bad movie, or a good movie ruined by bad cinematography and editing?
 
a Master Ninja said:
On that note, was Quantum of Solace a bad movie, or a good movie ruined by bad cinematography and editing?
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It was a good movie ruined by editing and a completely unnecessary female character. The movie would have really shined if they replaced Camille's screen time with more scenes of Bond infiltrating Quantum.
 
action movies are doing just fine... the real problem is that good ones just don't come along as often as they used to.
 
Commando-Matrix-Firing_Rocket_Launcher.png


this is what it needs .
 
a Master Ninja said:
On that note, was Quantum of Solace a bad movie, or a good movie ruined by bad cinematography and editing?
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Genuinely bad movie, but might have been a good no-brains popcorn flick with a better cinematographer on board.
Salvor.Hardin said:
It was a good movie ruined by editing and a completely unnecessary female character. The movie would have really shined if they replaced Camille's screen time with more scenes of Bond infiltrating Quantum.
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It was also ruined by the creators being determined to undermine everything Casino Royal did in reinvigorating Bond (toning down the technology, making him a more fallible human being).

Instead we got James Bond in a post-James-Bond-in-a-post-Bourne world. Ie. Bourne again.
 
Ong Bak 3 and Expendables fight scenes worked just fine without 3D. Action movies need hard R ratings and marketable stars, not 3D.
 
I would rather have shaky cam in every action scene than 3D.

Good straight up action movies are pretty much already dead, they died for me in the 80s-90s.
 
Good straight up action movies are pretty much already dead, they died for me in the 80s-90s.
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Broken Arrow seems to be my high-point in "acceptable action" from the 90's. And if it weren't for John Woo, I think you could skip most of the nineties. (We're not talking about martial arts, right? )
 
afternoon delight said:
Broken Arrow seems to be my high-point in "acceptable action" from the 90's. And if it weren't for John Woo, I think you could skip most of the nineties. (We're not talking about martial arts, right? )
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Yeah, I only included the 90s because of Terminator 2.
 
I understand the hate for 3d, but I don't agree with it.

3-d done for "shits and giggles" or "lets put the latest cachphrase in our adverts" is shit 3d and should be avoided at all costs.

3-d done right should be encouraged, because it's fuck awesome and could add lots to the action genre, but ONLY WHEN DONE RIGHT. If their whole intent is just to show some shitty monster-jaws snapping at your face, then they are doing it wrong.

AVATAR was probably the only example of worthwhile 3-d, unfortunately we will have to suffer through a glut of horrilble "me-too" films over the next few years.

And if 3d is required to kill shaky-cam then I am all for it. I loved the Bourne moves for example, but after the first one they went downhill. Couldn't tell what the fuck was happening.
 
DurielBlack said:
AVATAR was probably the only example of worthwhile 3-d, unfortunately we will have to suffer through a glut of horrilble "me-too" films over the next few years.
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Skimmed through your post to see if you liked Avatar, saw that you did, immediately knew that we have a fundamental disagreement.
 
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