"In some ways, 3D is like real life. It's the way we see the world normally."
-3D Guy, Al Caudullo
Putting on those funny glasses and watching the proof of our 3D martial arts fight on a video monitor was incredible. It was weird to see an image of myself, leaping out of the screen and jumping back into the fight. It was sort of like the first time you ever saw yourself on a movie screen or on TV, but with 3D it was really unique because you just aren't used to seeing 3D images at all.
Digital 3D in 2010, is what TV was in 1950 or radio in the 1900's. It is a brand new, wide open opportunity, a chance to get in on the ground floor of the new new-thing. If you kicked yourself for not buying stock in Yahoo or Microsoft in the early 1990s, cashing in on Digital 3D will give you a shot at redemption.
In July of 2010, director Al Cadullo of 3D Guy TV and Explore World TV filmed a one minute martial arts fight in 3D, with me and Ulysses Chan, a Muay Thai fighter from Taiwan. The one minute clip was to be used as a proof for his new concept of a martial arts travel show in 3D.
Since then, he has begun producing a number of 3D travel shows, mostly for the Wealth TV network in America, which will be going to a 3D format 24/7 in January 2011.
Having worked with Al on several 2D fight scenes last year, and now, several 3D shoots, this year, I asked him what the primary difference was in shooting 3D vs. 2D action.
"In general, 3D gives you different tools to use." Said Al. "In 2D, if you want the audience to focus on the main character, you focus on him and blur out the background. But in 3D, everything is in focus because non-focus doesn't work. Your eyes don't have blur, unless you need glasses. So in 3D, you need to use lighting more effectively and place the characters in the 3D plane, where maybe they are coming off the screen more, to set them apart. Someone made the point that setting up 3D is more like setting up a live play, because you don't have blurred backgrounds. You use lighting to accentuate your characters more."
"Plus there are the gimmicks, which are fantastic. You can have a punch come off the screen, and it makes the audience duck. It makes the movie more fun."
"In some ways, 3D is real life. It's the way we see life normally."
That first 3D fight scene was shot in a park in Bangkok. I quickly learned that shooting 3D is a whole new art and presents a lot of different problems, compared to regular 2D movies. First off, movie sets which work in 2D will not work in 3D because they will look flat. You would be able to see that half of the background was painted on the wall, and that the parts that stuck out were only inches deep. Remember 3D gives real perspective. 2D only gives the illusion of perspective.
