If the Olympics and Christopher Nolan can’t kill 3D, then nothing will.
Let’s briefly look at the history of 3D.
In 1865 more than 1/3rd of the pictures taken were done in 3D.
World War 2 had 3D chronicles, even by Germany.
In the 50’s we were treated to 3D by Hitchcock. “Ghouled and paddle balled” with Vincent Price in House of Wax. The Duke himself appeared in the third dimension in Hondo.
Flesh for Frankenstein and The Stewardesses brought skin flicks to 3D in the 70’s. And who can forget Jaws 3D, even though many who witnessed it wish that they could.
Over and over again we have strived to bring more realism to our entertainment experience. We haven’t always succeeded. Many say these were all just gimmicks.
Finally, technology caught up with our imaginations with a yet another re-birth of 3D.
Since then we’ve met the Na’Vi on Pandora in Avatar. Been taken back in time to witness the history of film itself in Hugo. Bono has even personally serenaded us better than any live concert in the award-winning U23D.
With over $12,250,934,092.00 from 2003 up to present made from 3D movies, you’d think it was a no brainer to take 3D into the home.
But instead of working together to make a single 3D platform ( think… “Why can’t we all just get along?”), the manufacturers went for each other’s jugular!
With a dizzying array of different glasses, formats and with no uniform way to broadcast 3D, the American public was treated to an overpriced batch of 3DTVs that offered little in content and less in comfort.
DirecTV jumps onboard and we think, ah, ok here comes the content. But, economic times are hard and they want 3D content producers to foot the bill for creating content. Then, if they like it, they’ll buy it. Gone were the old ways of up front production money with only a pilot to get started.
With little content and without even waiting for the Olympics, DirecTV pulls the plug on 24 hour programming. Sure will miss seeing the same 3D shows over and over and over. And they wonder what went wrong???
Along comes the Olympics. Panasonic steps up its game with a true broadcast quality 3D camera, the AG3DP1. They invest millions in bringing 40 cameras and trained staff to London to cover the games in 3D.
Oh yeah, my 3D heart is really pumping now, right? We are finally going to get a dose of 3D that is worthy. This will be the jump-start that 3DTV needed all the long. I can see the lines of people running out after the stunning opening ceremony to buy a 3DTV to be able to watch the rest of the games.
Yeah, right! No way! Didn’t happen!
Why?
Well let’s try to put the list together of mistakes and goofs for the Olympics!
Three letters to start, N-B-C…
24 hour delay…
Poor or no listings…
Oh and my favorite, where was it on the internet?
The answer? NO WHERE!
The list goes on and on and on.
I heard rumors that Panasonic actually gave away the rights to broadcast the Olympics in 3-D to anybody who wanted it!
In London, where Panasonic set up a special pavilion for viewing the Olympics in 3D, the place was constantly packed to overflow and the lines never stopped.
3DTV is growing worldwide despite all the goofs, mistakes and just plain bad decisions by so many.
Chris Nolan keep Batman in 2D. You and the studios are the ones who lost the extra millions that would have been earned by a 3D version.
And NBC and all the other cable and satellite companies keep missing the boat with poor programming choices and non-existent customer service.
So what if the US comes in last place on earth for 3DTV!
Rest assured, 3D will not Die!
Have a question for the 3DGuy? Please leave a comment and we will reply to you.
Copyright ©2012 Al Caudullo All rights reserved. The content and photos within may not be distributed electronically or copied mechanically without specific written permission. The content within is based upon information provided to the editor, which is believed to be reliable. Data within is subject to change. Al Caudullo is not responsible for errors or omissions.
No, 3D isn’t going to die. Most everyone sees in 3D while the are awake ;^) But content producers need to expand their thinking about 3D. It isn’t just another visual effect. 3D, or S3D as some are trying to call it, provides a sense of immersion and sharing of space. It opens up the visual field with an exponential increase in visual information that takes orders of magnitude longer for the brain to process than flat referential imagery. S3D is experiential imagery that lights up the brain in new ways yet to be fully explored and understood.
Again, there is a huge difference between referential imagery (what we are all familiar with) and experiential imagery (S3D). It isn’t a trivial difference and it isn’t simply another visual effect. It is also processed in the brain with much greater diversity than referential imagery. Our life experience helps to dictate where we focus our attention and scan much differently with S3D content.
Of course, loads of this information exists for anyone taking the bother to do a bit of research.
Last I checked, people were still using both of their eyes to experience the world. As long as that is the case, there will always be room for multi perspective imagery.