So, we set out with high hopes for the latest film, in ‘stunning’ 3D at the local cinema and what do we receive, really? Apart from paying extra money to get into the screen and buying the 3D glasses, not that much it seems. 
Ever since the release of the spectacular ‘Avatar‘ last December, it seems that all the cinema-goers want is the ‘3D Experience’. Yet i ask you, do we know what a real 3D film should look like? Many have been disappointed time and time again by the unconvincing conversions of 2D films into 3D. This is somewhat frustrating, having seen Toy Story 3 recently in 2D and then 3D, there was no defining moment, no 3D wonder anywhere. The process of converting a film is an expensive business, stumbling in at just over £64,000 a minute an so it begs the question, why is there 3D in the first place?
…And there is an answer to this, looking forward to the rest of the year and into 2011, there are some new releases that have been dreamed, developed, filmed and edited, all in 3D. Films that will come to define the 3D cinema experience and I guarantee you won’t look back at your 3D viewings in the same light. ‘Piranha 3D‘ for instance, could have been awful, seeing as one can summarise the plot from the title, yet you’re going to have sharp-toothed fish flying past your face and blood splattering onto your glasses and as a result, it’s new, it’s exciting and it’ll sell!
Something to bear in mind is the amount of flexibility that we have with the 3D cinema industry. Although many say the 3D era has no boundaries, how likely is it that we will be looking forward to the latest rom-com, in 3D? The genre works best with action in the midst, simply because of it’s nature. The idea of watching a hapless couple fall in love and have all that soppy melodrama right in my face isn’t at all appealing.
The UK Film Council reported that 3D films accounted for just 0.4% of UK box office revenues in 2008. Yet by the end of 2009, they had taken £176m, accounting to 16% of the UK film revenue. This dramatic rise can be expected to at least double for 2010, with more and more cinemas spending the extra to become fully equipped to handle ‘Imax’ and ‘Real’ 3D films. Over 300 UK venues now have 3D capabilities and this is set to rise into the new year. The long awaited final Harry Potter film, in it’s two parts, will be coming to us in 3D and it can be said that almost all of the major films of the next year will follow this trend. It shouldn’t be too long before a blockbuster is actually made in 3D and this exciting prospect, coupled with the 3D televisions that are starting to emerge onto the market, is fantastic news to be hearing.
Having started as an attraction thought to be best suited to theme parks, this new segment of cinema is transforming the entire industry. Next time that you go to the cinema and watch your favourite box office hit in 3D, consider how good 3D could actually be. Having had almost a year to mature, the new age of 3D films are on their way. Until this happens, it seems as if we will have to endure the rather inadequate representations of it’s purpose. 2D or not 2D, that is the question.
