The 3-D Fad Is Back With A Vengeance!

There has been a 3-D craze about every 20-30 years since the 1950s when it was introduced.  As a child of the 80s, I remember how big 3-D became.  However, it was not as convenient and accessible as it is today and the technology left much to be desired.  3-D relied on those red and blue paper glasses to see movies and it was fairly entertaining once in a blue moon when you'd see something coming at you, but to watch an entire movie throughout those colored glasses was moderately if not extremely annoying.  However, the new 3-D is upon us and the technology has significantly improved, but the question still remains is this another fad that will fade out eventually or is 3-D here to stay?

In my opinion, 3-D should be faded out and as filmmakers we should return to our true goal, which is to tell a good story without having to use smoke and mirrors to attract audiences.  While many people enjoy the three-dimensional movies, not everyone thinks they are getting their money’s worth and many are complaining of dizziness and headaches after seeing a 3-D movie.  In fact this may be more common than you think.  According to a study from the UK charity The Eyecare Trust, “One in ten people have 3-D vision problems”.  It is physically impossible for these people to see the movie in 3-D even with the glasses they see the image as blurry and have no perception of depth.  Add onto that the percentage of the population that get motion sickness and now you are limiting your audience even further.

Overall, I think filmmakers should let go of the 3-D trend.  On top of the added cost of making a 3-D movie, viewers seem to be slowly losing interest as well.  According to Fox News, “It seems that 3D success stories are becoming a rarity in Hollywood, as more and more audience members have been opting to see the films sans glasses. Only 45 percent of the “Kung Fu Panda 2” box office was from 3D; 38 percent of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” installment came from 3D; 45 percent of “Green Lantern” earnings stemmed from 3D screenings; and 40 percent of the box office from “Cars 2” came from 3D viewings.  Those mark a significant drop from the last couple of year's big 3D releases. James Cameron’s 2009 hit “Avatar” accounted for 80 percent of its theater earnings in 3D. More than 60 percent of audiences watched “Shrek Ever After” in 3D, and “How to Train Your Dragon” earned 57 percent of its box office revenue from 3D.”

I believe we will soon see the end of this era of 3-D but I look forward to seeing the changes when the technology reemerges in 20 to 30 years!