[Tezster]

DreamWorks' CEO says you'll see everything in 3D from animation to drama within five years

Dec 10, 2008 04:30 AM
Peter Howell
Movie Critic

Moviegoers will soon fully enter the third dimension in a technical revolution equal to the advent of sound and colour, says Hollywood power player Jeffrey Katzenberg.

The innovation begins in earnest next spring, but it comes with a price: about $5 more per ticket, or roughly 60 per cent more than the current North American average of $7 per ticket.

Katzenberg, the CEO of DreamWorks Animation and Hollywood's unofficial 3D evangelist, says the latest digital advances offer not just physical depth but "emotional dimensionality," and he predicts all movies and theatres will have it within the next five to eight years.

"There is that old cliché that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, a 3D picture is worth 3,000 words," Katzenberg said in an interview yesterday.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/551229

 

[eljay]

Katzenberg ... says the latest digital advances offer not just physical depth but "emotional dimensionality" ...

"There is that old cliché that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, a 3D picture is worth 3,000 words," Katzenberg said in an interview yesterday.

If the old cliché is that a picture is worth a thousand words, I guess the new cliché is that 3D movies offer "emotional dimensionality". And for a premium of only 60%!

 

[Tezster]

Well, the movie prices for the big theatre chains in the GTA are already quite high (much much higher than that $7 average quoted on that article), and IMAX theatres are about $3 higher than conventional theatres. I don't really expect that to change - or at least I hope it doesn't.

 

[SensualPoet]

Talk about back to the future. 3D. Humbug.

This movie technology has been "coming soon" since around 1953's Vincent Price horror House of Wax. I get the concept has been showcased for a very long time -- still "stereoscopy" images date to the 1840s -- but the claim, again, that "everything will be 3D in five years" is laughable. An oddly, quaintly charming view ... but laughable nonetheless. Perhaps Katzenberg has been into too much holiday studio punch recently.

 

[mason]

I second the humbug from SensualPoet. It would have to be pretty special 3 D effect that would come off as a transparent, essential part of the viewing experience. One of the integral part of movie viewing is becoming so drawn by the image that you lose yourself into the story.
Any 3D effect I have ever seen is gimmicky... basically "Whooo.... somethings floating in front of my face!". Fun of course, but not part of any serious filmmaking.
Leave the 3D fun stuff to a Disneyworld rides and "Dr.Tongue's 3D House of Stewardesses" I say.

http://www.videosift.com/video/Dr-Tongue-s-3D-House-of-Stewardesses-SCTV

 

[Frameboy]

Have any of you been to a 3D movie in the last couple of years? It is VERY cool... it's not the old Red and Green 3D of Jaws.

I saw Beowolf in 3D and I was shocked at how good it was. The movie was okay at best, but the 3D made it a real experience.

I'd love to see some of the big action movies in 3D.

Something like Star Trek would be really neat in 3D.

 

[reidw]

I'm with SensualPoet on this one. I love 3D especially Imax 3D but when I look back on the movies I've seen in 3D I have to admit that it is just a gimmick and probably will always be so. It can't make a bad movie into a good one.

 

[stump14]

That is one way to turn people away from the theatres.

 

[Frameboy]

I have to disagree with you guys...

Obviously not ALL movies will be in 3D. It doesn't make a lot of sense to have something like PS - I Love You in 3D.

But think about some of the great movies... how cool would it be to see Braveheart's battle scenes in 3D... Or that feather in Forrest Gump... or Star Wars!

Yes... 3D has been kind of a gimmick to date, and they'll need to change that, but it won't be long before Hollywood catches on to that.

That being said... they need to make it available at home too. We picked up Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D on Blu Ray and it was an okay movie, but my kids LOVED it in 3D. But it was the old Red / Green 3D.

I've seen a few 3D movies over the last couple of years... one at Cape Kennedy actually made my stomach turn. With some money in it, they could do some cool things.

Would be good for IMAX too... a Canadian company.

I would probably go to see more movies in the theatre... since I like big action flicks.

 

[reidw]

As long as you have to wear clunky glasses to view a 3D picture, 3D will never be in mainstream. It looks too much like a gimmick and a geeky one at that.

 

[chowa7]

I watched Coraline in 3D in the Richmond Hill SilverCity last weekend and was surprise to see the quality of projector/display looks much improved compare to my last visit. It was showing in Cinema 2, and the clarity and details of the movie is comparable to a IMAX version, I would say this is one of the movie that is worth to watch in theatre

Most of the preview are Animation movies from DreamWorks and Pixar, and they will all come with a 3D version in the summer

I have seen prototype 3D TV (without the need wearing glasses) in an electronic show. It does a ok job of providing some sense of "DEPTH" of the movie. But it is quite different from those movies who "POPS" right in front of you with the glasses.

 

[Dioneo]

Call me a cynic but here's what I think are the real reasons why studios want to push 3D into the mainstream:

1) Harder to pirate new releases.

2) 3D makes the movie going experience different than what people can get from a home theater. Studios are hoping that helps keep people paying to go to the movies.

 

[MarcP]

That won't be enough to get my back into the theatres. I'll stay at home, thanks.

 

[WestCDA]

I have seen prototype 3D TV (without the need wearing glasses) in an electronic show.

And I think therein lies the key - recreating a 3D image (movie or TV) without the need for external paraphernalia required by the viewer. People buy into 3D for the same reason color took over from B/W, and that High Definition is a marketable commodity - the image is closer to what is seen in real life. 3D has in the past been a gimmick, but so were talking movies and every other advance when they were introduced.

 

[SideShowCecil]

My wife and I saw Coraline in 3D at Chinook Sunday night. We found the effects pretty impressive but we both left the theater with a bit of a headache. I also had some trouble wearing the glasses over my prescription glasses. Minor irritations really but added to the less than comfortable seats, not so courteous staff, broken escalators and the empty paper towel dispensers in the bathrooms it certainly isn’t worth the $30 we paid to get in. It will take more than a few visual gimmicks to get us into the theater more than once every 12 to 18 months.

 

[MrGrinch]

We've seen a couple of these 3D movies lately -- "Coraline" and "Monster vs Aliens". The technology was great... not like the old 3D. The bummer was that Cineplex charged a price premium of $2 ($12 versus $10) to see the 3D version vis-a-vis the regular version. I can afford the $2... but they also restrict these movies to "no passes" which for me is a bummer becuase I see most of my movies using airmiles.

 

[rfielder]

Saw Monsters vs Aliens at Collosus last Sunday, in 3D IMAX.

I was impressed - after the start of the movie, when they did the stunts that make the audience duck, etc. When they got into the story itself, the 3D just make it a bit nicer to watch.

Kind of like going from a tube TV to an LCD bigscreen in hidef. When used well, the difference is just as dramatic.

What will really be interesting is when Avatar is released. Seeing that in 3D will make or break this trent, IMHO.

 

[Tezster]

I didn't think Monsters vs. Aliens in itself was that great of a movie when compared to the better CG animation films that have been released i.e. The Incredibles, Ratatouille. The only 'monster' character I really cared about was Susan, so the IMAX 3D in essence came to the rescue, making an average movie a little more entertaining to watch.

 

[jgatly]

3d movies are cool and all but it's just going to became so mainstream again that no one will care about them but we will still have to pay more for those damn glasses. I wish there was a affordable solution to 3D for home users.

 

[reidw]

Those Glasses!

As long as you have to wear special glasses 3D will never become a mainstream product. The glasses are clunky, awkward and for some peope very uncomfortable. If 3D ever comes to the home how many pairs would you need to have on hand for your friends who have come over to watch Hockey Night in Canada in 3D? Just not practical.