3D Update
3D movies are back. And indications are that, this time, they are here to stay. This week, we’ll be talking about what’s new and different, why theaters and studios need to push 3D, how 3D changes the job of the writer and director, and a little about the first 3D TVs.
The first two generations of 3D movies never caught on with the public. Then, the animated feature “Chicken Little” caught the industry by surprise. It played on 2D screens and 3D screens at the same time. The 3D version cost 25% more to see, yet it made almost 200% more money. What Hollywood learned is: If the 3D is good, the audience will not only flock to see it, they will pay a premium.
What made the difference this time around is the technology in projectors and glasses. The projectors no longer use film, and the glasses no longer use red and green lenses.
If you’re showing 3D in film, you need to position two projectors with two reels side-by-side. The left one projects what the left eye sees, and the right one projects what the right eye sees. Getting those two images to line up on the screen (called registration) was nigh impossible.
On the other hand, today’s digital projector uses a single lens to alternate between the left and right image. So registration is perfect. You still need special glasses, but those can be featherweight with no need for batteries, because a digital projector can play with polarization and colors.
Movie studios and movie exhibitors need 3D. As I’ve said before, and no less than film critic Roger Ebert agrees, the moviegoing experience today is better in a typical home theater than it is in a typical cineplex. For that, you can thank technologies such as large-screen plasmas and surround sound. And at home, you can talk during the movie, if you want. If you don’t, you can kick out the offender who does.
So the movie business is heeding the old business rule: Give your customers something they can’t get anywhere else. And you can’t get 3D at home. Not yet, anyway. We’ll take a look at 3D television in a future report.
But first, we’ll go behind the scenes of the movie business...
