3D movies

3D TV penetration to grow 50% in 2013

Spurred by rapid consumer acceptance, the 3D TV’s market penetration is projected to exceed 10 percent in 2011 and 50 percent in 2013, overtaking connected or Internet TVs. Consumer demand has also prompted local technology companies in Taiwan to develop and release new lines of 3D and Internet-enabled televisions in the second half of this year.

Leading these companies are Chimei Innolux (CMI), which announced plans to adopt active 3D TV panels for its large-size LED TVs, and BenQ, which will adopt passive 3D panel technology for its 3D TV product lines. Read more…

Is 3D in trouble… again?

With the disappointing box office results for the latest Pirates of the Caribbean and Kung Fu Panda installments, reports that 3D is in trouble have flooded a number of industry publications.

“Pirates of the Caribbean’s’ Low 3D Numbers in U.S. Could Be Wake-Up Call to Hollywood” read one Hollywood Reporter headline, with the story adding, “This summer will put 3D to the test…”

Variety also reported Pirates had the lowest 3D opening since Avatar brought the technology back strong in late 2009.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, who pushed 3D as the alleged salvation of the industry in the first place, told Hollywood Reporter that it’s “right smack in the terrible twos,” and that it’s “really heartbreaking to see what has been the single greatest opportunity that has happened to the film business in over a decade being harmed.”

Katzenberg said a year and a half ago “there was genuine excitement, enthusiasm and reward for the first group of 3D films that actually delivered a quality experience.”

Of course, converting a terrible movie to 3D isn’t going to make it any better, something audiences are wary of with movies like Clash of the Titans and The Last Airbender being converted to 3D, and both Pirates and Panda already felt played out, 3D or not. (Variety reported that according to the BO experts, Pirates probably wouldn’t have done better if it was completely released in 2D.)

Katzenberg also tap danced around the fact that 3D movie prices are very expensive in today’s economy.

“Quite frankly, there’s no industry in the world that doesn’t attempt to move the customer to a premium experience,” he told the Reporter. “I don’t care whether you make shoes or wine or iced tea or cars, everybody tries to create multiple price points. So why shouldn’t we be in the same business of offering our customer a premium experience at a premium price – as long as we deliver them a premium value?”

And even though DreamWorks is part of the problem with Kung Fu Panda 2, Katzenberg also insists, “We are not the problem,” claiming the technology is getting better every film, and the costs of the movies are much cheaper than three years ago as well.

Of course, nobody’s mentioning that 3D didn’t last long the first two times it was around in the fifties as well as in the brief two years or so it came back in the eighties, not to mention many haven’t bought the hype surrounding it this time around.

Both Hollywood Reporter stories also state that overseas 3D is still doing very well, the “appetite” for the technology being “virtually insatiable in such territories as Russia, China and Brazil.”

Variety reports that with 3D box office grosses fluctuating wildly, “it seems audiences haven’t been embracing the format to the extent they did when Avatar set the 3D gold standard,” but of course that’s a very tough benchmark to reach.

See the original report here>>

Home 3D Adoption Survey

FIRST-EVER 3DTV OWNERS STUDY DISPELS MYTHS ABOUT HOME 3D ENTERTAINMENT

Survey Offers a Promising Outlook for Home 3D Adoption
3DTV Owners Overwhelmingly Happy With Purchase, With Many Watching More TV As a Result

The Digital Entertainment Group today unveiled the findings of a groundbreaking study that provides an exclusive look at the first-hand experiences of nearly 3,100 3D-compatible television (3DTV) owners. Overwhelmingly, consumers reported a positive entertainment experience, minimal price premiums, and enthusiasm about the future of 3D content.

The report, titled “3DTV Owners: A Closer Look at The New World of Immersive Home Entertainment,” was based on a study conducted this spring by market research firm SmithGeiger. While previous research centered on consumers’ preconceptions about 3DTV, this study is the first to focus on the experience of actual 3DTV owners.

Read more…

3D Gaming Leaders Gather At OCE’s Discovery 11

Featuring top representation from Sony, AMD, Nvidia, Dynamic Digital Depth, Autodesk, Big Blue Bubble and more, The S-3D Gaming Alliance is pleased to announce the 3D gaming panel and presentations taking place at the upcoming Discovery 11 conference. Held at the Metro Toronto Convention Center on May 18th and 19th, OCE’s Discovery was named as Canada’s Best Trade Show and is the country’s leading innovation-to-commercialization conference. Hosted by Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), Discovery 11 brings together key players from industry, academia, government, the investment community as well as entrepreneurs and students to pursue collaboration opportunities. Read more…

3D Pioneers, DIRECTV And Panasonic, To Host Inaugural 3D Film Invitational

Accoridng to BusinessWire:

Six Filmmakers to Train with Technicolor and Panasonic; Films to be Showcased on DIRECTV and at Premiere Screening Event at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles

Winner of the 2011 DIRECTV n3D Film Invitational Presented by Panasonic will Take Home $25,000 Grand Prize

Furthering their commitment to the 3D category, DIRECTV and Panasonic will host the inaugural 2011 DIRECTV n3D™ Film Invitational Presented by Panasonic.

The Invitational will give six filmmakers the opportunity to train on the latest 3D equipment and create a short film that is funded by DIRECTV and Panasonic. All six films will premiere on DIRECTV’s 3D channel, n3D™, powered by Panasonic, and will be screened at a premiere event, which will be held at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles this summer. The winner of the Invitational’s n3D Excellence Award will receive a $25,000 grand prize. In addition, Technicolor will also present a 3D Technical Achievement Award and $5,000 prize. Read more…

3D Erotic Movie A Hit In Hong Kong

The erotic movie ’3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy’ has become a huge draw in Hong Kong, a media report said.

Shanghai Daily reported Thursday that the pioneering 3D movie, which is $3.5 million Cantonese-language production, has beaten the first-day record set by ‘Avatar’. Read more…

Next For 3D Movies: Better, Brighter Technology for the Screen and For Your Glasses

There is no doubt that 3D movies are here to stay. The people who do such things came to CinemaCon, the annual gathering of that National Association of Theater Owners, attended by exhibitors, studios and manufacturers of movie going accoutrements from seats to snacks, to tell those in attendance what others changes are being brought by 3D.

For example, back in the day, 3D movies were projected on any old screen that happened to be hanging in the theater. Now, however, screens are specialized for exhibiting digital and 3D film. Read more…

The Time for 3D is Here and Now

London, 2010 has proved the year of 3D, as eight out of the top 20 highest revenue making films at the box office had a 3D version compared to only 3 films in 2009. The market for 3D in television and video games has also made significant progress and is also proving to be extremely profitable.

According to a new report from PwC, “3D Here and Now… a goose that lays a golden egg” this trend will continue and by 2015 over 15 per cent of all films will be produced in 3D.
Vincent Teulade, director, PwC, and author of the report said:

“Twelve months ago the industry was grappling with some fairly major issues. However, some of these major issues have been resolved including standardisation with the definition of a 3D Blu-Ray standard and the progress on HDMI1.4. Also Avatar’s record breaking success has raised awareness of 3D and created an appetite by consumers for 3D movies.”

Read more…

Cameron: ‘Every film 3D in five years’

Hollywood heavyweight James Cameron has hit back at critics of 3D movies, claiming that the movement is far more than a flash in the pan. The Oscar-winning Titanic and Avatar director insists that a 3D revolution is in full swing, and even thinks that every film could be 3D within five years.

“When the consumer electronics manufacturers bring to market sets that don’t require glasses, at that point, it’s going to explode like crazy, the market is growing,” Cameron told the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. “The number of networks and terrestrial broadcast companies, cable companies and satellite companies that are investing in 3D is increasing all the time.

View the full article »

Overpriced tickets could kill 3D box office

“Avatar” and standardization of the technology represented “tipping points” for the acceptance of 3D movies, but Hollywood risks killing the golden goose if it overprices tickets and overly saturates the market, according to a study released to The Hollywood Reporter.

According to the study from PricewaterhouseCoopers, there are more than 40 3D movies already scheduled for release this year and — in what might be news to film producers — there’s no shortage of money to make them.

“So many people are keen — sometimes too eager — to finance 3D films,” according to the report.

“This supply of funds in a globally difficult film financing environment has led to a push for the conversion of some films originally envisioned as 2D into the 3D format. This often proves ill-advised.”

View the full report »