Abstract
Departing from the problem of cutting and depth-of-focus in stereoscopic films, a range of contemporary digital 3D films have created impressive long shots. They need to be considered in direct relation to technical and aesthetic developments of the Hollywood style, e.g. the general use of long shots, extremely flexible cameras and the establishment of CGI. Long takes in 3D films arrange the diegetic world and thus contribute to “world-building”. This chapter argues that along these lines and due to their technical conditions 3D films have an affinity for such long takes. They create an “illusion of reality” which will be argued in applying Bazin’s understanding of “realism” as well as a phenomenological approach to the notion of index.
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Notes
- 1.
The long take as a formalist, narrative device used to highlight narrative events can be found for example in the Marvel film The Avengers (Joss Whedon, 2012). The shot lasts about 40 s. It consists of an aerial tracking shot, in which the first half of the shot follows the character Iron Man, who has the ability to fly thanks to a technical device built into his suit. Midway through the sequence, however, Iron Man disappears and the camera follows two other characters riding on some type of futuristic airplane. The five most important characters are involved in this sequence, although in very different locations that are only combined through a high-speed tracking shot. To this extent, the sequence is a turning point, because one of the main threats is defeated in a massive battle sequence at the end of the shot. Another example is a sequence from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves, 2014). This scene can be regarded as a narrative exclamation mark, because the apes take over some weaponry from the humans and learn to use military trucks and equipment. The sequence last about 40 s as well. It is partially filmed from the point-of-view of one of the apes (over-the-shoulder). The development in the sequence essentially threatens the main characters, apes and humans. I propose that these sequences should be interpreted as narrative exclamation marks.
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Jockenhövel, J. (2016). A Three-Dimensional Checkerboard: The Long Take in 3D Films. In: Spöhrer, M. (eds) Die ästhetisch-narrativen Dimensionen des 3D-Films. Neue Perspektiven der Medienästhetik. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-09422-5_4
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