From 3D to 5D and Beyond Cinema is a mainstay in the roster of entertainment activities. People flock to the movies to be entertained. Since the time of its invention, it held captive audience all over the world. As modern technology advanced, so did the movie technology. Decades ago, people went to the movies to see still pictures projected in series on a white sheet. Today, people get to experience the movie, in all its physical aspects. In the 90s, 3D cinema was introduced and made a total revolution of the cinematic experience. The movie seems to happen right in front of the viewers. They can just reach out and almost touch the things they are watching. That “almost� became the basis of a newer and more exciting movie experience- 5D cinema. The 5D cinema is basically an enhancement of the 3D and 4D. 3D cinema adds depth to the picture and 4D adds physical experience. Chairs in 4D are movable, to allow the viewers to feel the tilt, twist and roughness of the ride they see on the movie. In 5D action cinemas, viewers not only get to see, hear and move, they also get to touch and feel the movie. How is that possible? Strategically installed equipments simulate some of the events in the 3D movie. The chairs are improved into motion seats with more degrees of freedom of movement. The seats are not limited to sideways movement. They can be turned a full 360 degrees, depending in the movements in the movie. Newer seats in most 5D action cinemas move noiselessly and so smoothly that viewers easily forget that they are, in reality, sitting strapped to their seats the entire time. Air jets and water sprays are installed along the seats. They are programmed to blow air to make the viewer feel the rush of the wind and spray water when the movie hero passes through a waterfall or splashes into a stream. Not only do viewers get to see and hear the sound of rain, they also get to feel actual rain- from installed water sprays throughout the perimeter of the cinema. A hurricane movie? Viewers also get the feel of the storm’s wind fury from wind turbines, listen to the howl of the wind and feel the rain spray over their bodies. There is smoke and the actual smell of burning to make the experience even more realistic. These come from programmed smoke machines and fragrance sprays designed to function at preset times, in time with what is
happening in the movie. At the leg part of the seat, there are installed leg and back ticklers that mimic actually brushing of tall grasses or bugs crawling all over the viewer’s body. There are strobe lights to mimic the changing of lights, to make the viewer actually experience the emerging from a dark tunnel into a sunny vale. Today, one would hear of 9D cinema and a few other numbers. Experts and pioneers in the industry differentiate the Ds by numbers, which only indicates the uniqueness each setup offers the viewers. 5D action cinema simply mean viewers get to have more physical special effects compared to what a 3D cinema offers.