Well Avatar is a hit with just about everyone you ask raving about how good the movie is and how it is going to change how we watch them. The only problem is that there is a nasty side-effect to these 3D type movies.

Some people get really nasty headaches when they watch Avatar. Not just minor ones but the real down and dirty nasty types of headaches.

Mark Anderson at the ShadowLocked blog has a great explanation of why it happens for those that are curious but more important he also has a suggestion that will help alleviate or do away with the headaches that can come from watching 3D movies like Avatar. It all has to do with avoiding what is referred to as  the “circle of confusion” which is the ‘Don’t Look At This’ part in the image at the top of this post.

Checking out the ‘circle of confusion’ in Avatar is literally quite a headache, and counterintuitive to our enjoyment of the ‘baked and locked’ 3D planes that we are being presented with. Knowing that depth-of-field is all he has to play with if he’s not going to shoot rocks directly at us, Cameron doesn’t hold back – herelentlessly racks focus in scene after scene.

So the trick to avoiding a headache when watching this movie is to be obedient, and concentrate on the parts of the shot that the focus tells you are ‘important’. Once I understood this at the preview screenings last week, my headache began to clear up, but I was conscious too of the effort of having to ‘zip over’ to the next point of rapid-focus in order to keep up and preserve the 3D illusion.

【相关阅读】

  好莱坞3D巨制《阿凡达》自去年12月18日全球公映以来,已在欧美网络上引发关于“Avatar h3dache(《阿凡达》3D晕眩症)”的热烈讨论,国内网友索性将其称为“晕3菜”。

  不过,“3D晕眩症”的病原并非《阿凡达》,而是3D技术。事实上,此前的《冰川时代3》、《飞屋环游记》等3D长片都曾给观众带来类似不适感,但由于其上座率不及《阿凡达》,因此引发的“病情”未能引起足够关注。

   为何3D影片会导致晕眩?协和医院眼科副教授曹阳解释,3D电影除了大量实焦画面外,还有丰富的虚焦布景画面。在观看3D电影的时候,画面切换频繁,观 众眼球须反复聚焦,导致眼睛睫状肌过劳引发调节性视疲劳,从而产生眼睛酸胀、头晕甚至恶心呕吐等不适感。“影迷在眼睛比较疲劳的状态下,不宜观看3D影 片。”曹阳提醒,观影过程中,若感觉眼睛酸胀不适,应取下专用眼镜闭眼休息片刻,回家后可用温热毛巾局部热敷眼睛,症状严重者则要及时就医。