There's a common misconception that 3-D films offer a more emotional and thrilling movie-watching experience than their 2-D counterparts. However, a study by a team of psychologists from the University of Utah, discovered that 3-D films offer no more emotional impact than 2-D films.
3-D films offer a visual treat. Their effects happen right in front of you as a simulation of real life. However, at least according to this study, that illusion doesn't make the film any better, at least from an emotional standpoint.
Researchers worked with over 400 participants in their study. These volunteers watched clips from films that elicit intense emotion. Researchers chose four specific films for their emotional impact: "My Bloody Valentine" (fear), "Tangled" (sadness), "Despicable Me" (humor) and "The Polar Express" (excitement).
Researchers chose each clip based on its ability to portray emotion, as well as it being understood without participants knowing the context of the full film.
Volunteers were randomly chosen to view specific film clips, both in 2-D and 3-D formats. While viewing, psychologists measured their physical responses, those associated with emotions, such as palm sweat, heart rate and breathing.
The results showed few differences of these physiological responses when participants viewed the two film formats. This suggests that 3-D films offer no real emotional benefit over the 2-D film format.
There was one anomaly in their findings. One particular film, "The Polar Express," showed a slight difference in emotional response. Researchers believe that this is due to that film using a higher quality 3-D technology than the other films.
In a day and age when Hollywood blockbusters almost force the use and additional cost of 3-D on consumers, this is good news for those who prefer not to don the 3-D glasses.
"Both 2-D and 3-D are equally effective at eliciting emotional responses, which also may mean that the expense involved in producing 3-D films is not creating much more than novelty," says Sheila Crowell, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Utah. "Further studies are of course warranted, but our findings should be encouraging to researchers who cannot now afford 3-D technologies."
However, 3-D could be here to stay. The increased ticket price for 3-D films is keeping profits high for the film industry, even when viewership is falling. This year, the movie industry suffered from one of the worst summer movie seasons since 1997. Ticket sales during that time in the U.S. and Canada were only $3.9 billion, down 15 percent from the same period last year.
