Old 3D vs. new 3D

[RD in Kennesaw]

There's been a lot of discussion about whether the latest 3D
incarnation is going to be permanent, or just a fad like the spurt in
the 1950s. Ignoring the quality of the product, whether some people
just don't like it, and some people don't get anything out of it at
all (there are almost always 2D versions of movies also available),
consider the following:

Duration of old 3D: 2-1/2 years (1953-1955)
Duration of new 3D: 7 years so far (started around 2005)

Number of movies presented in old 3D: approximately 52
Number of movies presented in new 3D: 63 in the last two years alone.
This doesn't take into account the smattering of 3D movies between
1955 and 2005, or the horrible anaglyphic presentations.

So it's still too early to say if it's just a passing fad, but here's
a history of some fads:
Cinerama 1952 - 1963 (or 1973 if you count single-lens titles).
Lesson: picture quality doesn't guarantee success.
Sound 1927 - present. Lesson: if you speak it, they will come,
especially if you speak through more than one channel. It's here to
stay.
Color 1935 - present (with many good pictures still produced in B&W
until the late 1950s). Lesson: if your competition is in B&W (TV),
go for color. It's here to stay.
Wide screen 1952 - present (Cinerama started it), Lesson: if your
competition is square (TV), go for wide. It's here to stay.
35mm (or 70mm) film 1896 - 2015 (or earlier). Lesson: if it's
cheaper to make, to hell with quality (see Cinerama).

Prediction: if 3D makes it to 2020, it's here to stay.

[grand...@hotmail.com]

Your facts above are wrong.: Wide screen did not start in 1952
with cinerama. Wide screen films have been around since the silent
days (NAPOLEAN,for example) and there were several films in the
55/70mm formats from 1929 to 1931.(THE BIG TRAIL for example). The
first motion picture ever made in the 1890's was in 70mm. ( probably
a test film) .Colour has also been around since early last
century.Sound films were around long before 1927. It was only then
that they started to become popular. .3D was also around many
decades before the fifties.You mentioned 1955 but what about about
the many 3D films produced between 1953 and 1954?.Cinerama
phototography began in 1949 (the church scene in This Is Cinerama
was filmed in black and white and was used it the film ) but we had
to wait until 1952 before it reached the public.Most of your list of
early film fads are still here today. Films are stiil being
photographed in 70mm but rarely released in that medium.I understand
that vista - vision filming is also still being used for special
effects.How dare you criticise picture quality with cinerama. No doubt
you never saw Cinerama in the fifties. If you only saw it at one of
the 3 existing cinerama cinemas today then you have never seen
Cinerama as it was meant to be seen . All of the 3 cinemas have bad
flaws that would not never have been allowed in the good old
days.OMNIMAX was also a fad. that is rarely seen today. Even the
original IMAX is seldom the same as it was before they shrunk the
screeens to fit your local multiplex (FAKE IMAX as it is know
today by film buffs). Cinema in the round (circlorama) is still here
today and it was also a fad (not mentioned by you). There are only a
handful of places where one can still see films in this medium.
( Disneyland for example). I recently saw films at 2 circlorama
cinemas in Shanghai,China and one was even in 3D.Now that was
amazing. . I agree with you that 3D will probably be around in 2020
and later but it will be acompletely different medium from that
experienced today..The first manned landing on Mars will put you in
the picture in your living room like no film can today and it will be
in 3D.

[TVDAVE]

On Feb 3, 8:32 pm, "grandeu...@HOTMAIL.COM" <grandeu...@HOTMAIL.COM>
wrote:

> in 3D.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

While your technical chronology is correct, what RD was pointing out
were the watershed events that jump started trends. Yes, Cinerama was
not the first widescreen process, but THIS IS CINERAMA did bring wide
screen exhibition from the experimental stage into general usage. It
forever changed the shape of all movies. 3-D in the fifties was
technically daunting and often no less gratuitous than some of today's
offerings. Subsequent reincarnations were shorter-lived and often far
less gratifying as cinema art. Digital technology has made the current
wave easier to produce and exhibit. Every film buff knows that THE
JAZZ SINGER was neither the first film to use synchronized sound, nor
the first all talking movie. That mostly silent movie did, however,
ring down the curtain on the silent era. If 3-D does survive as
exhibition option, fine and dandy. I embrace all forms of
technological experimentation; that is always good in the long run. I
fear only shortsighted film executives who usually want the tail to
wag the dog.

[RD in Kennesaw]

I was not trying to make a comprehensive list of cinema technology;
that would require a lengthy book. The dates listed were simply the
points at which certain things were widely available. For instance,
many silent films were shot in 2-color Technicolor, but 1935's "Becky
Sharp" is generally regarded as the start of the 3-color process for
live action (1932's "Flowers and Trees" short was even before that).
And when I said quality doesn't guarantee success, I was praising
Cinerama, not bashing it. I did see "Cinerama Holiday" and HTWWW when
they were in initial release.
I forgot about IMAX. Is anything actually filmed in 15-perf 70mm
anymore (other than nature films for museums)? Aren't the really big
screens just being filled with digitized enlargements of popular
releases? I think that makes it a fad, too.

I agree that when we land on Mars, we'll probably be treated to an
experience unlike we can presently imagine. I just wish I could live
that long.

[Derek Gee]

> On Feb 4, 9:42 am, RD in Kennesaw <2ndle...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
> > Duration of old 3D: 2-1/2 years (1953-1955)
> > Duration of new 3D: 7 years so far (started around 2005)

I date the current 3D fad to 2003, with the wide theatrical release of "Spy
Kids 3D - Game Over". Prior to that, the last 3D film in wide release was
1991's "Freddy's Dead - The Final Nightmare" which was only partial 3D.

2004's "Polar Express 3D" is what got the attention of everybody and their
brother when the 3D grosses at the IMAX theaters outgrossed the 2D theaters
14 to 1. After that, everybody rushed to start producing 3D films...

So we're nine years into this "fad" with about two years worth of 3D films
still in the pipeline. I'd say it's probably permanent at this point.
Producers are realizing that not everything should be in 3D and customers
are being more selective too, but they're still willing to pay extra for 3D
if the film is good.

Derek