Walter Murch

Film sound and editing legend, Walter Murch, recently expounded on the virtues, challenges and future of 3-D technology in the entertainment industry. Murch, who is respected for his Academy Award-winning work on “Apocalypse Now” and Oscar-winning editing and sound mixing work on “The English Patient,” recently wrote a letter to film critic Roger Ebert about the world of 3-D.

Murch’s own history with 3-D technology started back in 1986 when he edited the 3-D version of Michael Jackson’s “Captain Eo,” which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and shown at Disney theme parks. Many actually claim this film was “4-D” since it incorporated so many in-theater effects (lasers, smoke, etc.) synched to the film’s narrative.

In the letter he wrote to Ebert, Murch explains that the biggest obstacle in producing 3-D films is the “convergence/focus issue.” As a viewer watches a 3-D film, different “planes” are apparent to the viewer, and though the viewer him or herself is not changing their location

Film sound and editing legend, Walter Murch, recently expounded on the virtues, challenges and future of 3-D technology in the entertainment industry. Murch, who is respected for his Academy Award-winning work on “Apocalypse Now” and Oscar-winning editing and sound mixing work on “The English Patient,” recently wrote a letter to film critic Roger Ebert about the world of 3-D.

Murch’s own history with 3-D technology started back in 1986 when he edited the 3-D version of Michael Jackson’s “Captain Eo,” which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and shown at Disney theme parks. Many actually claim this film was “4-D” since it incorporated so many in-theater effects (lasers, smoke, etc.) synched to the film’s narrative.

In the letter he wrote to Ebert, Murch explains that the biggest obstacle in producing 3-D films is the “convergence/focus issue.” As a viewer watches a 3-D film, different “planes” are apparent to the viewer, and though the viewer him or herself is not changing their location