vestibular system = MADE OF FAIL

[ivyfic]

I went to see District 9 with a friend this afternoon. I would like to tell you how it was, but I can't, because about twenty minutes into the movie I had to leave.

Not because of the insectoid aliens, or the butchered meat, or anything that my friends predicted might disturb me. No, from a storytelling point of view, I was quite engaged. What everyone failed to warn me about was the shaky cam. After a few minutes of the quick-cutting handheld camera style, I started feeling a little off, and thinking oh, this does not bode well. I tried staring at the fire alarm on the wall for a bit, but that didn't help since I could still see the screen out of the corner of my eye. I tried closing my eyes, but I could still see the quick moving shadows through the lids. Pretty soon, I had my head down, my eyes closed, and my hands shading them, and was convincing myself that I could totally get through the movie this way, I was still paying attention (which--this movie has a ton of subtitles, so no, I was not), when my companion suggested I step out for a minute.

I left the auditorium, and needing some air, left the theater. Then I walked a few blocks until I found someplace to sit and contemplate my fail. I mean--I haven't walked out of a movie since Jurassic Park, and I was twelve at the time. I've watched all the Bourne movies in theaters and not had a problem with the camerawork (beyond annoyance). This took me completely by surprise.

After texting apologies to my friend (who I think still feels guilty), I decided that I didn't feel well enough to hop on the subway. Nausea + subway = very bad--I've been down that road before. Since I was on 34th Street, I figured I'd just walk down 6th Ave until I felt better and get on the subway then. I walked all the way to the World Trade Center.

So...that was a disaster. Maybe I'll rent District 9 at some point and watch it on a very small screen from a very great distance, but I'm not so sure.

Comments

[gryphonrose.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear that. It is a really good movie, but yes, I know at least one other friend who had trouble because of the camera movements.

[sydni-64.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sorry, Ivy, that is sucky. I had to leave Dancer in the Dark for the same reason. I remember feeling so nauseated. Ugh.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I think I was so blinded by tears in that movie I didn't notice the shakeycam. Now there's a movie I should have walked out of... It was for a class, though, so I stayed.

[dotfic.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. I'd heard about the shaky cam issue and decided to skip it -- this just confirms it for me!

Hope you're feeling better.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Reasons why I will never see the Blair Witch Project. The last time I felt like this from watching something was the Cops episode of X-Files.

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

Shakeycam is a tough one, especially on the big screen.

I've found that part of the key to not getting barfy is a certain sort of conscious... unfocusing, kind of like when you play around w/ the magic-eye pictures and focus a little behind the page. As long as your eye keeps trying to pick a static spot and/or focus (which is, I think, the natural response, and works fine for normal-cam), it's working the whole damn time and will never succeed.

Once you get the trick of not *trying* to focus and instead sort of sitting back and absorbing rather than keeping up, (it's more than that, and hard to explain, kind of like those Magic Eye pics don't work until *poof* they do) it all becomes a lot less barf inducing. But it's not an easy shift to make, and convincing your eye/brain to stop trying to *be* the camera isn't easy - especially if you haven't made that click before.

And I don't always manage it, but a big part of it (at least for me) is somehow convincing your eye to stop trying to focus on any one subject and following its wobbly ass all over the screen, and instead forcing it to stay front and center and process without trying to follow. Which is *hard* because your eye is trained to find and follow subjects rather than process the field holistically. And with stuff like District 9, it ends up working overtime and never succeeding.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I think we were sitting too close to the screen, too. I'm not sure anything could've gotten me through that movie on the big screen. Probably not even dramamine. I think if there had been steadier scenes interspersed, it would have been fine (as in the Bourne films) but it was just constant. Every time I think back, I don't really remember much of this film, just this impression of being in a dark place with these images tormenting me. Fun times.

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

The too close is probably a big part of it, because then - because you can't actually get the whole movie in your line of vision at once - you've got no chance to absorb the movie as a whole. And I think you're right about interspersing the steadier scenes - it gives your eyes a break.

There's a definite art to Steadicam shooting, it can totally be done where it jostles around *logically* so your mind has a chance to keep up (and there's a real art to having it *seem* wobbly while actually keeping the subject relatively stable), but other times it's more like someone gave a sugar jacked five year old a camcorder... :(

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Well, in this, it's faux documentary style, so the camera's being knocked around and dropped and is whipping back and forth between things...

I understand the stylistic choice, but ugh.

I actually had an interesting conversation with a guy who works for the animation house that does the Ice Age movies (the other other house) about 3D. He was talking about how the mistake most film makers make with 3D is constantly changing the focal length, not just with gags of things coming at you, but between shots and scenes. So you're always refocusing your eyes, and that gives you the headache. But Pixar actual pays attention to that so the focal length is always the same and it's comfortable to watch.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Sorry the movie gave you so much trouble! Weirdly, the only movie with shaky cam that has given me the slightest discomfort was Monsoon Wedding.

[edgehopper.livejournal.com]

Funny, I also saw it today. Didn't have any nausea related problems from the camera, but the fingernails falling off were a little overboard for me.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I'm so prone to nausea with shakycam (stupid Cloverfield), but I managed this one. I saw it at a drive-in, though, so maybe that helped. But yeah, the one time I saw a shakycam movie up too close to the front, I nearly threw up, too. From now on, seats at the back of the theater for both of us!