One of the big dangers to the whole future of 3D is the 3D quality of the retro conversion of movies shot in 2D and converted to 3D just to cash in on the higher ticket price;
Here is Jeffrey Katzenberg's take on it;
Variety; Katzenberg: Biz at 3D crossroadsQuote:
"snippets!"- more in the article.
The issue for Jeffrey Katzenberg is what he calls the "cheeseball" conversion of "Clash," with results that have been almost universally panned by critics. Warners insiders conceded to Variety that some at the studio were unhappy with the look of "Clash 3D" as it was seen at some screenings. But in public, Warner execs have defended the movie and argued that its strong box office performance proved that moviegoers are satisfied.
So the issue of "Clash of the Titans" is actually not about theater (capacity) and theater access, it is about (what) that movie represents -- a different experience. And in my opinion, one that, if replicated, and becomes the standard, is the end of 3D.
We've seen the highest end of (3D) in "Avatar" and you have now witnessed the lowest end of it (in "Titans"). You cannot do anything that is of a lower grade and a lower quality than what has just been done on "Clash of the Titans." It literally is "OK, congratulations! You just snookered the movie audience."
The act of doing it was disingenuous. We may get away with it a few times but in the long run, (moviegoers) will wake up. And the day they wake up is the day they walk away from us and we blew it.
Does it take the moviegoing public one movie, three movies, five movies to get to the point where they are discerning the difference between good and terrible? By the time that happens, there will be another 20 or 30 or 40 movies in the pipeline but we (will already have) killed that goose that is delivering us golden eggs.
Every company right now is sitting, assessing what approach and what process and what economics to invest in the 3D platform. There are dozens of decisions literally that are about to be made or have just been made in the last 30 or 60 days and in the next 30 or 60 days, the sum of which will determine what happens to 3D.
So you have movies that are authored in 3D. You have movies that are conceived and post-produced in 3D and you have 2D movies that are converted. I say with absolute confidence that right now, today, for this year, there is no technology that exists that can take a 2D film and post produce it into a 3D premium offering.
And if we as an industry choose this 2D to 3D post-production conversion, it's the end. As quickly as it got here, that's how fast it will go away.
We have seen post-production conversion of 2D movies to 3D which actually play pretty sensationally on a television. On a smaller monitor, the images hold up in a much more compelling way. So I think there is (going to be) a market for 2D conversion (for the home). I think it's a disaster for movie theaters.
V: Do you think once homevideo starts going to 3D, that will be significant enough to change the economics of the studios?
JK: You mean to convert their library into 3D? It's a couple of years away. And maybe it's why I am just sort of apoplectic about this because the revenue (today) from a successful 3D release net to the studios is greater than the erosion in the DVD market over the last two years. Look, for the last 40 years, every time we've reached this (economic downturn), something's come along to save the movie business. Home television, pay television, VHS, DVD. Now 3D comes out of the blue, out of nowhere. Nobody expected this.
V: Why will these post-conversions kill 3D? In the early days of sound, there were quick-and-dirty conversions of silent movies to sound, and that didn't kill talkies.
JK: Here's the difference: We are asking the moviegoers to pay a 50 percent premium to come see these films.
So I think (there will be a) backlash. It will be a whiplash. They will walk away from this so fast.
V: It seems you're talking about two different things. You're not talking about 3D itself going away. You're talking about 3D as a premium experience, as an opportunity for the industry being so undermined that it collapses.
JK: Well, de facto, (3D) will go away, because with no premium being paid for it, and the cost (to) exhibition in terms of what they have to invest in it, I think it all does collapse.
V: But what if TV goes 3D? Don't movies have to keep up?
JK: It's bigger than this. We have been waiting now for 10 years for the rollout of digital cinema, literally one decade. For years and years and years, it's gone nowhere. Talk about the savings of that to Hollywood, it's billions. Once you've reached a full digital platform, you've (eliminated the cost of) prints.
So for the last four or five years, the raging debate here has been the inability of Hollywood to convince exhibition, because there's really nothing in it for exhibition. It doesn't change the economics of their business. They can't charge more for a digital experience. The thing that finally got everybody off the dime was when there was something in it for exhibition, which was 3D.
So now take that 3D out of the equation and you derail that (digital) train. And who's the biggest beneficiary of digital, of a full digital platform? Hollywood. So when you want to talk about the effect of actually blowing this, it's unbelievable.
