This is a film documentary in 3D stereoscopic format and is recommended to watch it in this form if possible. Created by Portuguese director Edgar Pêra, this documentary is called ‘KINORAMA – Beyond the Walls of the Real’ (Portuguese title: KINORAMA – Cinema Fora de Órbita) and it was intentionally produced in 3D as it is the main topic of discussion in this film. Released on October 2021 in Portugal, Edgar’s film has made its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), which takes place from January 26 to February 6, 2022.
‘KINORAMA’ is an extension of a previous special screening called ‘The Amazing Spectator’, which was also presented at IFFR back in 2019. Many of the feedback received from that screening was brought over to this feature and after years of investigating the stereoscopic format for Edgar’s closing chapter of his PhD film-dissertation.
This film is self-reflective on his research that focuses on 3D cinema’s past and future fictional films as well as the interviews of the artists, philosophers, and scientists that contribute to the art form of cinema. One of the discussions in the film is that when you see an image in 3D, you are seeing it in a new light, you see more of it than you usually see. A test is literally done in one of the scenes of the documentary by directing the viewer to take off their 3D glasses for a moment to soak in an image shown on screen, then putting their 3D glasses back on to see the difference.
Bruce Isaacs, Associate Professor of the University of Sydney and one of the interviewees in this film, has stated that “people who do 3D cinema should be sabotaging the narrative” in contemporary society. Author Olaf Möller made a similar statement. Think about those images that pop out in 3D. Olaf pointed out that if the viewer focuses on seeing the moving image the pop out, then the viewer is more likely interested in the interruption and disruption of something instead of the smooth development of things.
Some discussions embrace how 3D cinema affects the scenes are shot in a film in a positive light. For example, some 3D films create the pop-out effect that is often seen in the horror genre. This genre takes advantage of the scare factor, bringing the image close to the viewers eyes. In contrast, one interviewee watched a 3D film shot underwater with the original intention of making an ocean look realistic, but instead caused more of a distraction from the narrative as a special effect steals the show.
In a way, some interviewees say 3D filmmaking may seem new and exciting at first, but when it becomes saturated with movies using this effect without much purpose to the story, it becomes a gimmick. One interviewee does believe that there is still interest in the world of 3D filmmaking and that there are many unexplored avenues to discover and experiment as the technology evolves. They suggest that there may be a possibility where instead of having 3D images popping out, that the films can use 3D popping in, to bring depth to the scenes and hoping that it would rope the audience into the film itself.
The amount of knowledge from these experts really shines in this documentary and shows how much potential is still out there in experimenting with 3D filmmaking. There is a lot of untapped potential in the industry that has yet to be embraced in the mainstream as the next acceptable standard for 3D films. 3D effects have gone through many iterations of technology such as anaglyphs, stereoscopes, and VR. In 10 to 15 years, there might be another format introduced to the world of cinema that embraces the next 3D standard.
Time will only tell when 3D technology and cinema finds a true balance of embracing this format without compromising the idea of just “blowing up things” to justify the minimum requirement of why they use 3D for their films. This also ties to the frequent debate of what is considered a film versus a movie. For those who watches this documentary, make sure you watch it in the intended format and enjoy the discussions with these experts in their respective fields.