Over the last few years 3D films have been seen in the box office. From major 3D films like James Cameron 2009 hit Avatar to 3D versions of older films like Titanic, the majority of films are being produced in some form of three dimensional viewing. But just because there are so many 3D versions of films released every year doesn’t mean that 3D films are actually doing well in the box offices. Major films like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 and Captain America: The First Avenger did very well for their regular theatrical releases, but their three dimensional versions suffered. The problem is that the majority of movies that are released now are not really made for 3D. They are available three dimensional versions of two dimensional films. The appeal of Avatar was the fact that it was truly filmed in 3D. James Cameron used 3D techniques and a 3D camera that he created in order to give the film the appropriate amount of depth, thus creating a spectacular 3D experience. It earned the majority of it’s earnings, 80% to be exact, from its 3D movie sales while other films can barely manage to earn 50%. The problem is the fact that when you take a 2D film and convert it to 3D during post production, you are stripping it of some of it’s color and image quality which ultimately makes the images blurry and difficult to see. This and the higher prices for 3D movie tickets ultimately shy viewers away especially when there is a 2D version of the same film available at a lower price and with less hassle.
3D has not only impacted the film industry but has also worked its way into households. With the help of 3D TVs and Nintendo’s 3DS, people are surrounded with 3D in their every day lives. The only problem is that, just like with 3D films, 3D devices are not appealing to the public like one would believe. The truth is people are tired of 3D and they don’t really want it. Nintendo has already decided that they will continue to sell their 3DS but they will no longer make the three dimensional gaming aspect their selling point. At the same time 3D televisions have not lived up to what people expected. Without captivating effects it can be assumed that overtime the idea of three dimensional viewing will disappear. 3D has already failed once in the 1950s and it seems to be failing again. Unless we can produce more amazing 3D films like Avatar 3D media might not make it in this society.
I agree that 3-D movies are on the decline. 3-D movies have started to lose their novelty and people are beginning to realize that, if not done extremely well, then the 3-D aspect tends to lessen the entore movie experience. However, I feel that you neglected to mention the great success 3-D has in the animation field of movies. Because it is much easier to take a movie made in a 2 dimensional space and turn it into a 3 dimensional movie, the movie itself looks better. In that respect, one could make the argument that 3-D is quite successful. One could also say how 3-D is successful in the fact that it has begun reaching into households through TV, gaming systems, DVD players, etc. The success in these fields individually varies as you said with Nintendo ceasing the advertising of their 3DS as their main selling point. However, when comparing 3-D movies to 2-D movies, I feel that you should compare more than one 3-D movie to 2-D movies in order to give more perspective.
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