Posted By
Mel Martin
February 17, 2012 at 7:22am
That’s a tough question. I can find all kinds of articles, pro and con, about the future of 3D. We do know that 3D TV sets have not been flying off the shelves, but more and more manufacturers are beginning to make 3D a standard feature. The TV part of the equation is important, because most of what people view will be 3D movies, either on a cable or satellite system, or higher-quality Blu-ray disc.
An article this week in the Daily Titan throws cold water on the future of 3D. Correctly citing the slim box office for Star Wars episode 1: The Phantom Menace and Journey 2, it seems like this months big releases haven’t done very well. If you add to that the fact that Martin Scorsese’s Hugo got good reviews, but bland box office, it’s not hard to agree with the conclusion.
On the other hand, there has never been so much 3D available as there is now. As has been pointed out here before, a large percentage of the best-selling Blu-ray disc have been 3D presentations.
Another factor that could be holding back 3D at the box office is a matter of conversions. When a conversion has been planned from the start of filming, it can be very convincing. A major part of Transformers: Dark of the Moon was converted. On the other hand Star Wars Episode 1 is getting rather tepid reviews. With 5 more films to be converted in the series, that may not be good for 3D, unless George Lucas steps up his game a bit.
It’s a sure thing that the 3D version of Titanic will get a lot of attention, but ultimately, it’s still a conversion. To stay alive, 3D movie producers are going to have to keep the quality high, both technically, and in terms of the overall production. 3D has been hot and cold over the years. People love the realism, and can respond to a story well told. We are still faced with theaters that put on a less than optimum showing, and studios who are treating 3D as an afterthought.
The price of the technology will come down. I can only hope that the ticket prices will get more reasonable, and stop giving people an excuse to skip the 3D version and go on to the 2D showing. 3D has a bright future, but only if every element in the chain performs at its best.