Will the film industry die without Stereoscopic 3D?
By Joseph Tresca
Coraline, Beowulf, Monsters vs. Aliens, Journey to the Center of the Earth all incorporate it. Movie goers seem to love it. James Cameron is betting it’ll change the way movies are made the world over. I’m talking about stereoscopic 3D of course. This isn’t your parents 3D. Oh no, this approaches a whole new level of immersion where the viewer feels the need to cringe, or duck instinctively when objects or creatures seemingly burst from the silver screen and into their laps.
Did I sell it well enough? The movie industry is hoping so, because if you talk to just about anyone in cinema, this is the next big thing. You see the film industry absolutely needs this technology, and it needs it pronto. Sales are starting to slump at the box office. One only needs to see heavy hitter Paramount reducing the amount of films it will make to 20 per year to see how big of an issue this really is.
Why is this a problem all of the sudden? I mean we are in a global economic recession which traditionally would actually see films do better in sales, not worse. Cinema is escapism after all. So why aren’t people escaping as much today when there is so much to escape from?
Video Games Are Filling the Void
World of Warcraft or just about any other MMORPG is where people are escaping to these days. At least among 18-40 year old gamers. 10-15 dollars a month is a small price to pay for so many hours of entertainment. Not to mention all the PS3s, Xbox 360s and Wiis that people own. In the same way that video game consoles and computer have just about killed Arcades, people are substituting cinema with other forms of entertainment.
Piracy
Piracy has become much more prevalent. We live in a time where movies are released on torrent sites sometimes almost a month before opening in theaters. Sure boot leg movies have always existed, but terrible quality was always a limiting factor. Fast internet connections, technologies such as the a fore mentioned torrents and video compression codecs such as DivX and Xvid allow movies to download faster and with much better sound and video than ever before.
Home Theaters
7.1 Surround sound with hi-definition video (displayed at 1080P) on a 37-62 inch Flat Panel television can easily rival a trip to the movies. Also since film studios recognize the value of releasing films to home video formats while hype is fresh in consumer minds, we’re seeing movies translated to Blu-Ray and DVD formats in less than than four months after they have released in cinemas. For those who are patient enough, extras such as director commentary and alternate endings might well be worth the wait.
So why is now the time for stereoscopic 3D? Because it represents an experience that you cannot replicate at home. In advertising this is known as the USP or unique selling proposition. It’s what sets your product or service apart from your competition. Sure I’m aware that newer TVs sold support a 120Hz refresh rate and that this should eventually allow 3D to come to the home theater; but until a standard is decided on, it’ll be a long time coming.
So how are these films made? Well the simplest explanation is that a film is shot from two different cameras during the filming process. The two images are then offset properly to create the 3D illusion which can be viewed with polarized glasses. While it certainly costs more money to film using this technique, the movie industry is hoping it’ll get more viewers into cinemas.
So will 3D save the movies? Well I can’t say for sure but I think the idea and the concept make sense. Offer the customer something that they can’t get anywhere else and for at least a little while, people will continue to seek this unique experience in your theaters. In theory this makes sense but in practice this doesn’t always hold true. Arcades in America, the ones that still exist, have focused on gaming experience that one cannot easily experience from their home. I’m talking about hydrolic based car racing games or pistol screen shooters here. But in the case of Arcades, at least in America, I think it’s too little too late. Time will tell if cinema will experience the same fate.
