Does your brain adjust to the 3D-ness of a 3D film?

3D effects are meant to wow us, but by the end of an absorbing film you might forget they're even there.


Asked by: Anonymous

Whether a 3D screen image is generated by using polarising filters, active shutter glasses or a lenticular lens over each screen pixel, the effect works by sending a different image to your left and right eyes. That’s not something you can just tune out because it’s the way that we build a 3D image of the real world as well.

But unless a film is designed as a non-stop cavalcade of objects and people popping out of the screen, you might find that you stop noticing it so much after half an hour or so. That has more to do with how absorbed you are by the story or the characters than any neurological phenomenon. If you watch Casablanca, it’s quite easy to forget that it’s in black and white.

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