We saw Beowulf this past weekend in the Digital 3D version. (There are three versions right now — Digital 3D, IMAX 3D and plain old movie theatre digital. Seems like an embarrassment of riches, and I wonder if they're tracking all three combined to get the movies box office each weekend.) We saw trailers for a couple of new 3D films for next year (including the new live action Journey to the Center of the Earth). James Cameron's directing Avatar and Dreamworks has Monsters vs. Aliens, both for 2009. 3D is obviously the "next big thing". As I was watching Beowulf, I had some thoughts on this.
Overall, we both enjoyed the movie. It's a big, fun, loud action/adventure with a strong fantasy element… right up our alley. It doesn't hurt that it's based on a piece of classical literature so there's a strong story to work from. (Let's face it, if you're talking archetypes, Beowulf's gotta top the list. In fact, during the climactic battle, Dani asked "why do they always have to kill the dragon?," and all I could think was "because Beowulf killed the dragon!") I managed to dodge the poem throughout my college career, but the movie has almost piqued my curiosity sufficiently to search out the latest translation and give it a shot. Maybe.
Technically, the movie's quite impressive, with striking visuals and motion-captured animation combining with the digital 3D to make it a real feast for the eyes. Beowulf's final battle scene is well worth the price of admission on its own. You could almost forget that you were watching a 3D movie. Almost. And, while the digital animation never gets so lifelike that you forget you're watching an animated film, the motion capture movement does give the characters a more realistic range of motion.
But therein lies one of the movie's problems. Motion capture is great for capturing the movements of the actors and translating them into action. But this is the big movements we're talking about… the fighting and swimming and riding horses and such. When you get to the face, the emotional range of these character models seems stunted. Partly, I think, because no matter how lifelike your animation may be, it's still animation and carries with it the expectation for the more stylized look and feel of animated features. Watch Shrek, or The Incredibles or any of the several dozen digital features that have come out in recent years and you can't help but see the emotions of these characters. But they're stylized — more animated, as it were, than real life. Maybe the reason the characters in Beowulf seem less lifelike when you get in close is because they're mimicking the stillness and subtlety of human features too closely. Or maybe it's just that mo-cap simply isn't there yet when it comes to capturing those expressions. Whatever the case, much as with last year's Polar Express, there was a distance between you and the movie's characters that I don't feel with a more traditional animation style.
The other problem, and the one I allude to in my intro, seems to be common to 3D movies in general. As I mention above, there were times when the movie was so impressive you could almost forget you were watching 3D. And that's usually about the time they'd feel the need to remind you. Early on, Beowulf and his men arrive on shore and are confronted by a sentry, who shoves his lance out toward the audience so we can get the full effect of the 3D. You'd never see that kind of shot in a traditional 2D movie, I don't care how stylized. (And this is, TRUST ME, only one of many such shots throughout the film.) This is the same shtick they were pulling in the 50's in House of Wax and countless other 3D horror and sci-fi flicks. Fifty years later, directors and producers apparently still feel the need to shove the movie at you and say "look how cool this 3D is!." I guess if I were spending the kind of money they obviously must be on these effects, I'd want to show them off as well. But frankly, until movies stop treating 3D as a cheap effect, it's not going to be anything more than a mildly amusing (and often annoying) fad.
I don't see that happening any time soon. Journey to the Center of the Earth had many of these moments in the trailer, so we can assume it's not going to lead the charge for a more "realistic" use of 3D. I think we'll just have to hope for better from Cameron and Dreamworks.
Overall, we both enjoyed the movie. It's a big, fun, loud action/adventure with a strong fantasy element… right up our alley. It doesn't hurt that it's based on a piece of classical literature so there's a strong story to work from. (Let's face it, if you're talking archetypes, Beowulf's gotta top the list. In fact, during the climactic battle, Dani asked "why do they always have to kill the dragon?," and all I could think was "because Beowulf killed the dragon!") I managed to dodge the poem throughout my college career, but the movie has almost piqued my curiosity sufficiently to search out the latest translation and give it a shot. Maybe.
Technically, the movie's quite impressive, with striking visuals and motion-captured animation combining with the digital 3D to make it a real feast for the eyes. Beowulf's final battle scene is well worth the price of admission on its own. You could almost forget that you were watching a 3D movie. Almost. And, while the digital animation never gets so lifelike that you forget you're watching an animated film, the motion capture movement does give the characters a more realistic range of motion.
But therein lies one of the movie's problems. Motion capture is great for capturing the movements of the actors and translating them into action. But this is the big movements we're talking about… the fighting and swimming and riding horses and such. When you get to the face, the emotional range of these character models seems stunted. Partly, I think, because no matter how lifelike your animation may be, it's still animation and carries with it the expectation for the more stylized look and feel of animated features. Watch Shrek, or The Incredibles or any of the several dozen digital features that have come out in recent years and you can't help but see the emotions of these characters. But they're stylized — more animated, as it were, than real life. Maybe the reason the characters in Beowulf seem less lifelike when you get in close is because they're mimicking the stillness and subtlety of human features too closely. Or maybe it's just that mo-cap simply isn't there yet when it comes to capturing those expressions. Whatever the case, much as with last year's Polar Express, there was a distance between you and the movie's characters that I don't feel with a more traditional animation style.
The other problem, and the one I allude to in my intro, seems to be common to 3D movies in general. As I mention above, there were times when the movie was so impressive you could almost forget you were watching 3D. And that's usually about the time they'd feel the need to remind you. Early on, Beowulf and his men arrive on shore and are confronted by a sentry, who shoves his lance out toward the audience so we can get the full effect of the 3D. You'd never see that kind of shot in a traditional 2D movie, I don't care how stylized. (And this is, TRUST ME, only one of many such shots throughout the film.) This is the same shtick they were pulling in the 50's in House of Wax and countless other 3D horror and sci-fi flicks. Fifty years later, directors and producers apparently still feel the need to shove the movie at you and say "look how cool this 3D is!." I guess if I were spending the kind of money they obviously must be on these effects, I'd want to show them off as well. But frankly, until movies stop treating 3D as a cheap effect, it's not going to be anything more than a mildly amusing (and often annoying) fad.
I don't see that happening any time soon. Journey to the Center of the Earth had many of these moments in the trailer, so we can assume it's not going to lead the charge for a more "realistic" use of 3D. I think we'll just have to hope for better from Cameron and Dreamworks.
Comments
Actually, my favorite 3D shots in Beowulf were typically the shots that pulled BACK, as the scenery enveloped you. Very nice.
As for the face...they have issues. The eyes are a LITTLE better here than in Polar Express. But, still problematic. 2 reasons for this: 1)they are fake - no motion capture for the eyeballs! 2) no motion capture for the muscles/skin immediately surrounding the eyes. Someone in Zemeckis' group seems woefully unaware that the eyes 'speak' with the muscles around them.
The other problem which is just as bad here as in Polar Express is the mouth. It doesn't move properly with the dialogue and there are simply not enough motion capture sensors on the actors face. The mouth/cheeks/lips seem too stiff. They need about 5x the amount of mini-sensors in this area, and they need to focus on getting the lip-sync correct.
Q