People Don’t Want 3D Movies

Posted January 3, 2010, under Opinion
Comments
PhotonQ-AVATAR
Image by PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE via Flickr

3D is the future of cinema apparently. I’m not clear exactly when that decision was made, but it seems that Hollywood has made up its mind. In the last couple of years we’ve had more and more movies coming out in 3D, a trend which has culminated with Avatar.

And now there is news that Blu-Ray movies will start coming out in 3D as well so we can experience this in the comfort of our own homes. My question is why?

I don’t mean to dismiss the technical achievement of Avatar, which is clearly substantial, but I can’t help feeling that the move to 3D is driven entirely by money, not storytelling or artistic merit.

There are several reasons why 3D movies are not a good idea currently:

  1. There are at least 4 competing 3D standards
  2. Most cinemas are not capable of playing 3D movies
  3. Shooting a movie in 3D requires special techniques or it is more distracting than anything else
  4. Not everyone is capable of viewing movies in 3D

So with all those problems, why is Hollywood (and the rest of the entertainment industry) pushing so hard for 3D? Well it comes down to money of course. A large part of the entertainment dollar has been siphoned away from cinemas by DVDs, TV and the internet. 3D was something that these outlets couldn’t offer. It gave people a reason to spend $15 or so on the movie ticket and associated snacks. It fed into the idea of movie going as an experience.

Money is also the reason you can now by 3D enabled television sets. People have spent thousands of dollars on big screen TVs and the electronics companies need a big feature in order to persuade them to upgrade again. 3D is the feature they’ve picked.

We are repeatedly told that this is what the viewers want. But do they? In 2008 only 1,400 of the 30,000 screens in the US could actually show 3D movies. In June 2009 there were estimated to be only 5,000 3D screens worldwide.

Avatar is held up as the pinnacle of 3D movie making and it’s been a huge financial success despite the considerable cost. But is that because of the 3D? Well look at the numbers. In the US Avatar has raked in $352,111,000.00 with an average of 3,461 theaters. But most of those theaters will have shown it on multiple screens. Wikipedia reports that it played on some 2,200 3D screens for its midnight showing, and made only $3,537,000.00. The majority of Avatar’s box office came from people viewing this “3D” movie on non-3D screens.

It seems to me that the 3D trend is being driven entirely by companies, not by consumer demand. People don’t hate 3D, but they don’t really want it either. Am I wrong?

Related articles by Zemanta
Comments

Doctor Who: The End of Time, The End of an Era

Posted January 2, 2010, under Uncategorized
Comments
David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor
Image via Wikipedia

You know I was planning on writing a normal review of David Tennant’s Doctor Who swansong, but ultimately that’s pointless. The End of Time really sums up the Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who perfectly. Within the 135 minutes of story is everything that was great and everything not so great about his version of Doctor Who. You can pick apart the details from End of Time Part 1 and Part 2. There are certainly flaws, some of them quite big, but that’s really not the point.

When Davies returned the show to television after it’s long absence, he had a very particular vision in mind. While I really liked Christopher Eccleston’s 9th Doctor, really it’s clear that David Tennant embodies how Davies sees Doctor Who. So their departure really is the end of an era even more than a regular regeneration is.

The End of Time isn’t the best Doctor Who story. It’s not the best regeneration story. It’s not even the best 10th Doctor story. But it is a very fitting send off for Tennant and Davies.

What we get is an epic, mainstream, Doctor Who story with John Simms playing a wonderfully insane Master and Timothy Dalton as an equally manic Rassillon. The scale was huge, the big action sequences were interspersed with some great one on one acting between Tennant’s Doctor and Bernard Cribbin’s Wilf. Action, pathos and explosions. That’s Davies’ approach to Doctor Who in a nutshell. And if you don’t like his vision, you won’t like this story.

There were of course also some unanswered questions (which I can forgive) and some rather large plot holes. There was also an overlong send off to all the Doctor’s companions. But in the end the flaw’s don’t really matter because the emotion of the regeneration is hard to ignore. It’s a formula that works judging by the viewing figures and audience ratings. But it’s not to everyone’s taste of course. It’s not 100% to mine.

That’s one of the great things about Doctor Who though. It changes. We’ve seen radical changes in style over the years. Pertwee’s “James Bond” era followed by Tom Baker’s “Gothic Horror” era, followed by his increasingly comic era. It’s not just the actor that changes Doctor Who, it’s the producers too.

And for those who didn’t like The End of Time, take heart. Something different is coming. Steven Moffat’s vision of Doctor Who is not Russell T Davies. We got the briefest of tasters of Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor. Not enough to judge the man (though I’m sure it won’t stop people), but enough to see that he will be different to David Tennant.

So appreciate the Tennant / Davies’ era for what it is an enjoy The End of Time on that level, then wait impatiently for the beginning of the Matt Smith / Steven Moffat era.

Related articles by Zemanta
Comments

In The Year 2010

Posted January 1, 2010, under Personal
Comments

Do you ever feel like you’re living in the future? Maybe it’s just a sign that I’m getting old, but I see the year 2010 and I think of science fiction. So what will happen to me in the year 2010?

Stronger, Leaner, Fitter

It seems I’ve put on around 10lbs over the course of the year, so now I have to lose them again. I’m also going to make yet another attempt at the elusive 170lb target weight (now around 20lbs away). The best I’ve ever done was to lose 14lbs so it’s a major target.

I’m looking at a combination of diet and exercise to do it. So I guess I need to finish up those candies sitting on my desk!

I’m still figuring out the details for this one, but regular breakfasts, controlling portion sizes and a regular exercise routine are at the core of it. I’m also toying with the idea of walking a mile a day. If I buy a pedometer I might just do it, because I do love my gadgets.

Mental Strength

Last year was rough and it’s taken it’s toll on me. I’ve had problems with depression in the past and I can feel similar patterns emerging again. I don’t plan on letting it develop any further. I’ll be taking the necessary steps to get my mind back on track in early January. The clarity of thought and confidence that should come with that will hopefully feed into all aspects of my life.

Photography

I’ve gotten really into photography in the last couple of years and I feel that in the last 12 months I’ve got noticeably better at taking pictures. I’m an amateur snapper and nothing more but I have taken a few pictures that I’m really pleased with.

I now have a tripod that I’m looking forward to using as the weather gets better and maybe this will be the year I get a camera with a bigger zoom. Or maybe not. Either way I look forward to taking lots of pictures of my family any anything else that catches my interest.

Disney World

It has been decided that we are going to Disney World in September this year which will no doubt cause a lot of excitement for my sons as we get closer. My priority at the moment is getting the money together for it. It may also mean that for the first time since I moved here, we won’t take a trip to Ocean City, MD. Not sure how I feel about that.

Organization, Networking and the Internets

I’ve had an online presence for over a decade, but my websites have become stagnant in the last few years and my online presence is fractured and sporadic. Somehow or other I want to tie that all together so I am interacting with people on a regular basis again and updating at least this blog with interesting new content.

Sadly I think that my science fiction site Solar Flare may have run its course. There are better and faster ways to gather sci-fi news and I cant produce sufficient in depth articles to because of my other commitments. I’m reluctant to take it offline though so it will probably stay as it is.

Yard Work

Last year I had a lot of plans to improve the yard around my house. Most of them didn’t get very far. I did start, but enthusiasm waned. More important things came up and finally time ran out. So I’m going to take that same list and work on it again this year. They’re all good projects. I just need to complete some of them.

Writing

This is a perennial on my to do lists. I’d really like to spend more time on my writing and maybe actually finish something. One can always hope.

Comments
◀ Older Entries