Monday, February 11, 2013

4D technology in entertainment needs some patience

 
“An attempt at visualizing the Fourth Dimension: Take a point, stretch it into a line, curl it into a circle, twist it into a sphere, and punch through the sphere.” –Albert Einstein

Einstein’s quote explains how we can visualize the fourth dimension geometrically, but when it comes to 4D digital media technology, it is much easier to experience it than explain it. Feeling wind blow through your hair, vibrations from your chair, drops of water on your skin, the smell of gunpowder…these are all possible effects that you might experience depending on what 4D movie that you are seeing. The effects are synchronized with the movie so your senses are stimulated to immerse you.

Adding a fourth dimension in entertainment includes anything from effects that we can physically feel and smell, to strobe lights which excite our senses. 4D technology is most often used in medical imaging devices and has not been popular among the masses when it comes to cinema entertainment.

One of the reasons for this may be that it is pretty darn expensive to build a theater that is capable of offering the 4D experience. The only 4D movie experience I have had was at the Shedd Aquarium. According to Wikipedia, 4D films are most often presented in custom-built theatres at special venues (e.g. Lego 4D Cinema) and there are “…some movie theaters have the ability to present 4D versions of wide-release 3D films.”

Although 4D technology is widely used in the medical field, it probably will not be as widely used in the entertainment industry for a pretty long while. The hype of 3D technology in advertising is only just the beginning, as advertisers realize the opportunities that will make their brands stand out. We have not even reached the peak of consumption of 3D technology in entertainment and advertising yet. 4D will have to wait a little while.

4d film. In (2013). Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4D_film

Quotationsbook. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://quotationsbook.com/quote/40865/

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