The 3D Bandwagon

May 20th, 2011  |   By Rono   |   181 views  |   1 Comment »

Most Hollywood studios caught the virus now (or should I say “again”); everybody wants to shoot in 3D, or so it would seem. A lot of the big budget movies of the coming summer have a 3D moniker attached to them. While it often brings good entertainment value, one should wonder is it worth the admission price hike?

Because, after all, 3D is exciting now that it is new (sort of); people always crave what they haven’t seen before. But what happens later, after the audience has seen most monsters/aliens/giant transforming robots/cowboys/pirates/superheroes and villains in 3D?

The “new stuff” factor

This renewed interest in stereoscopic 3D films started with James Cameron’s excellent Avatar. The movie’s computer generated images took great advantage of the new spatial dimension. Audiences flocked to see it.

Avatar is now the highest grossing movie of all time. It only took it about 2 months to beat the record, previously own by Titanic (another Cameron film). The 3D ticket price increase is attributed to part of its financial success; but even at a 2D price, Avatar would have conquered the title.

Since then, it seems every filmmaker wants to have their baby in 3D. The technology is new for today’s audience. An obvious drawback: the quality of storytelling is suffering as studios try to profit from the trend.

The “new” factor is even exploited for old movies, reprocessed for 3D projection. For example, the entire Star Wars saga is scheduled for 3D projection in 2012, as well as Titanic.

Some history: remember sound?

Footsteps in the dark when a character is scared, a lover’s short breath, nature’s many happy sounds; these sound effects tell something that images alone do not. This is proper use of a movie soundtrack.

There are a million effects that can be achieved with sound today. But when sound first appeared, movies were mostly wordy theater pieces projected on the big screen. It took a while for the technology to be used properly.

Most young people in today’s audience will not be aware that 3D glasses technology dates as far back as the 20s. The Great Depression quickly killed the movement, which reemerged more successfully in the early 50s and lasted about 3 or 4 years. Early technical issues slowed down and ultimately slowed its adoption.

Since the 50s, 3D vegetated until iMax in 1980, where mostly non-fiction films were shot in 3D treatment. But this can be considered a novelty that did not really pick up.

Where are the early 3D old movies now? You’ve probably never heard of any of them. One of the most successful of those films is Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial “M” for Murder. But, aside from the 50s, most of the movie’s success comes from subsequent 2D projection.

What’s next?

Right now, filmmakers are, once again, playing with the “new” technology. We should give them a year or two to figure it out. By then, something will need to be done, or 3D will disappear once again. Unless maybe ticket prices go down.

There are still some technical issues to consider. For example Roger Ebert’s main objection to the technology is the fact that the filters currently used to separate the left and right images causes a significant loss in color saturation. The resulting images are too dim; they even cause nausea for some viewers.

Another factor is the fact that 2D filmmaking has been around for so long that the audiences (even very young kids) mastered its language. We understand depth, focus, and perspective so well that some advocates object to the name “2D”.

We are waiting for a NEW piece of art to come sometime within a couple of years to launch the real 3D trend for good, a movie that will use the technology and show other filmmakers and studios how to properly use 3D to tell a story.

What can 3D do?

I mean really. There are certainly numerous new ways to tell stories that can profit from the added dimension, not just merely playing with space and distances.

For example, a masterpiece like Citizen Kane is renowned for its extensive use of the movie language in camera angles, character placements, props and environment, etc. Like I said, we are awaiting the next 3D Citizen Kane.

Just like sound, the day this new technology is properly conquered, we will wonder how we ever did without it. But we still have to get there. It is going to be a long journey.

The future

I’m convinced that the future of this technology rests in the hands of a talented student. He/she is somewhere in a film school classroom, with a brilliant idea that is meant to be told in 3D only.

He/she will reinvent storytelling and give us, the audience, a real reason to go to the movies and wear clunky glasses for 2 hours.

But this time we will come out of the theater with a renewed thirst for more of those kind of 3D stories.

Maybe an older, more experienced writer or director will come up with such a story. You know, a master storyteller.

But until someone does, 3D is just one of those trends that will quickly pass once the novelty factor wears off or we get wise about our wallets.

 

 

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Tags: 3d, action, camera angle, citizen kane, classic, drama, family movie, fantasy, filmmaker, filmmaking, future, james cameron, movies, pixar, roger ebert, scene, sci-fi, science fiction, sound, special effects, stereoscopic, story, student, superhero, villain

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