TITANIC director James Cameron waxed lyrical about the future of 3D in a recent BBC interview, stating it’s “absolutely inevitable that entertainment will all be 3D eventually”.
Cameron sees bright future for 3D
If he’s right, this bodes well for our British thriller SILENT FEAR, which is to be shot on location in London next year. It’s likely to be released in the three-dimensional format.
However, depending on who you talk to, it seems the jury’s still out on the future of 3D in movies.
In an interesting report in Indiewire.com’s The Playlist this week, columnist Kevin Jagernauth says the 3D format has been taking some blows at the box office, with North American crowds favoring regular old 2D for the majority of their viewing experience.
Here’s some excerpts (abridged) from that report:
To 3D or not to 3D, that is the question, and lately…the format has been taking some blows at the box office, with North American crowds favoring regular old 2D for the majority of their viewing experience. This summer, only 25% of total domestic ticket sales of Dreamworks’ animated film “Turbo” came from those uncomfortable glasses, with 31% of sales for “Monsters University” in 3D, and only 34% for Brad Pitt’s biggest grossing movie ever, “World War Z.”
World War Z’s 3D sales down
But don’t tell that to James Cameron, who sees only a bright, three-dimensional future for the format…
Chatting recently with the BBC, the director made it clear that 3D is here to stay. “For me it’s absolutely inevitable that entertainment will be 3D, it’ll all be 3D eventually, because that’s how we see the world,” he said, adding: “When it’s correct and convenient for us, we pre-select for that as the premium experience.”
Avatar an Oscar star
From an industry perspective, he (Cameron) points to the fact that three out of the last four Cinematography Oscars went to 3D movies (“Avatar,” “Hugo” and “Life Of Pi”). And though he acknowledges that “bad conversion” has “polluted” the experience for man—not to mention a handful of cable networks dropping channels broadcasting in 3D recently—Cameron ultimately believes the technology, product and consumer desire for 3D will all dovetail eventually into a perfectly synchronized harmony of success.
And while Cameron’s comments might seem wildly out of touch with what audiences are clearly voting for at the box office, it should be noted that overseas 3D is still huge, with 80-90% of tickets moviegoers in Russia and China choosing to put on the glasses. And as long as that’s the case, 3D isn’t going anywhere…
…There is probably no bigger cheerleader on the planet for 3D than James Cameron, but he’s also been the loudest voice when it comes to half-hearted, unartistic use of the format…
…”I do not think Hollywood is using the 3D properly…because it is automatic. For example, ‘The Man of Steel,’ ‘Iron Man’ and all those movies should not necessarily be in 3D. If you spend 150 million on visual effects, the film is already going to be spectacular, perfect.” You would think that the same logic would apply to Cameron’s already expensive “Avatar,” but it was shot in 3D, whereas the superhero flicks were conversion jobs, and that’s where the difference lies.
“One thing is shooting in 3D and another to convert to 3D. After ‘Avatar’ changed everything, good and bad movies, everything has to be in 3D since ‘Avatar.’ The problem I see now is that instead of it being a filmmaker issue is a matter of the studios to make money and are pushing 3D to directors who are not comfortable or do not like 3D,” Cameron elaborated.
For the full article go to: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/director/james-cameron
Footnote: SILENT FEAR’s New Zealand producers Brent Macpherson, of Stretch Productions, and Ronel Schodt, of Shotz Productions, welcome expressions of interest from A-List directors as well as from experienced British producers interested in collaborating on this highly commercial feature film project.
http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt1935228/
http://stretchproductions.co.nz/
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Morcan Books & Films 