3D Cinema and Human Stereovision

Abstract

One of the modern entertainment industry spheres is three-dimensional (3D) cinema. In recent years it has experienced rapid development. However, the opinion about 3D cinema varies. Some people believe that 3D cinema has negative impact on their vision. It causes discomfort (headache, nausea) or even inability to see the 3D effect in movies and animations. The purpose of the research is to study the causes which lead to vision problems and complaints relating to 3D cinema. A significant part of the study was a questionnaire with an aim to find out the opinions about 3D cinema and the vision problems, which block the ability to see 3D. Three groups underwent a stereovision test-a group without complaints, a group with complaints and a group who do not see the 3D effect at all. The questionnaire also defined the reasons for the difficulties to see 3D effect. Findings of the questionnaire indicate that almost a half of all respondents-65%-prefer movies in 2D format due to the vision discomfort when watching 3D movies, namely, headache (7%), eye fatigue (41%) etc. However, 4% of all respondents confirmed that 2D movies cause some asthenopias as well. That leads to an assumption that complaints depend on the perception of 3D effect and vision problems (e.g., anisometropia, amblyopia etc.) by every individual. In comparison to research carried out in Great Britain by ‘The Eyecare Trust”, where the findings show that 10-12% of Great Britain’s population does not see 3D, we discovered in our research that 17% of respondents in Latvia have difficulties to see 3D effect.