viewing experience. Some could say that this is when the idea of “films,” pieces of art carefully crafted through every shot, was pushed aside by the invention of “movies,” whose sole purpose was to rake in the big bucks. That being said, filmmakers are, in a way, entertainers. As Alfred Hitchcock said, “I don’t direct films, I direct audiences.” It was the industry’s job to give the people what they wanted: bang for their buck, and a “wow-factor.” The 3-D effect could produce that reaction. The Future As the process of making things in 3-D advances, so does the way it is distributed. Society is slowly becoming more and more exposed to different types of 3-D media. Not only do we have access to it at the local move theater, but the invention of televisions capable of showing 3-D content is provides a whole new avenue for 3-D entertainment. There is one sticking point in the expansion of 3-D compatible products: the need for eyewear. This is why scientists are striving to find a way that 3-D can be projected so that there is no need to wear the glasses (sorry, Ryan Vayo). If this were achieved, it would make the production of 3-D far more practical for cinema screenings as well as at-home viewing.
Take Avatar, for example. This is a movie with a huge budget and incredible effects, but ultimately, the story, acting, and script just isn’t that good. What happens when technology advances to the point where all movies can look like Avatar? What is it about that movie that will make it stand out? Nothing. And yet it cost 500 million dollars to produce (it did make four times that at the box office, but not all movies have been so lucky). I am not completely against 3-D; there are certain places I think it belongs. I would say that I hope it’s just going to be a fad, and some have said that, but then I remember that Charlie Chaplin, the most influential silent film star ever, said that talking pictures were going to be just a fad. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
A Few Upcoming 3-D Films 2011 The Smurfs 2011 The Three Musketeers 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 2012 The re-release of Titanic in 3-D 2012 Men in Black III 2014 Avatar 2 2015 Avatar 3 I, for one, take a more philosophical stance when it comes to the future of 3-D. Sure, it really is quite something to look at. It’s a visual marvel. Just like the way music can be a festival for the ears, certain constituents of cinema can be festivals for the eyes. This is known as video art, and 3-D would fit into that world quite nicely. However, in terms of modern cinema and the film industry, 3-D poses a threat to the essence of storytelling. As soon as filmmakers decide to concentrate all of their efforts towards the actual visual production of a project, they can lose all sense of story, theme, and larger meaning. When these movies come out, they are popular because of the experience they give the audience as they watch it on the big screen, but, in 20 years when the technology catches up, they are simply “good-for-their-time” movies. Something like 3-D could strip cinema of what is really important.
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