3D-Consider This

I saw Scorsese's 3D film Hugo, shot by the very talented Robert Richardson with the finest digital cinematography camera made, the Alexa, and lensed with Cooke S4, and 5/i primes, at one of my favorite theaters, L.A.'s Rave, projected digitally. What I saw was very disappointing. Why? An all digital pipeline, from the camera to digital projection, aren't we seeing exactly what the cinematographer wants us to see? No, not even close. Despite all the money, talent, and technology, the one thing that separates the audience from the film's brilliance, is the 2 cent flimsy plastic lens between your eyes, and the screen. Half way through the film I had enough and pulled out my 100 lumen LED Surefire flashlight and took a close look at the 3D glasses. To my shock, they were coated with the soap used to "clean" them after a previous audience member wore them and threw them in the recycle bin on the way out of the theater. I used a cleaning cloth and the improvement was dramatic, however no where close to watching a 3D movie with optically correct lenses.

If 3D isn't going to remain a gimmick to fill seats, something must be done about the final step in the stereoscopic process, the 3D glasses handed out at the theater.