Up next in 10
Ever since the dawn of motion pictures, filmmakers have been thinking of new gimmicks and tricks to get audiences to go see movies. 3-D movies are far from the first gimmick audiences got tired of quickly. Though movies like James Cameron's Avatar show signs that 3-D can work in cinema, most movies that utilize 3-D to tell stories don't work quite as well. But how did 3-D become so popular, only to fade as quickly as it did?
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Every subject matter can encompass this medium, really. Any subject can
0:04
Shakespeare in 3D. Imagine Citizen Kane in 3D. I'm serious. I'm not saying do it
0:08
Raising the idea of converting Citizen Kane into 3D sounds like something a villainous studio executive says in a movie
0:15
so the audience understands how soulless he is. But after the release of 2009's Avatar, Scorsese was promoting his own 3D film, Hugo
0:24
And at the time, it seemed like 3D was the future. It wasn't, though
0:29
Marty just got a little too excited. Turns out, everyone did. The idea of 3D images actually predates the medium of cinema
0:37
and the most primitive versions date back to the early 19th century
0:41
But the effect we generally think of today as 3D goes back to the development of the stereoscope in the early 1830s
0:48
Stereoscopes allow a person to simultaneously look at two distinct pictures of a scene
0:53
one from a left-eye perspective and one from a right-eye perspective. The brain unifies the two and sees them as a single three-dimensional image
1:01
The stereoscope, though, wasn't designed with cinema in mind. But even among the early pioneers of moving pictures, there were those that saw its commercial potential
1:09
The first 3D feature was 1922's The Power of Love. Viewers had to wear red and green glasses to see the 3D and could even choose between two different endings
1:18
one happy, one sad, by watching through either the red or green lens alone
1:22
Despite this fairly interesting use of the technology and rave reviews, the film was unsuccessful. Over the next several decades, 3D was generally confined to short films
1:32
But then, in 1952, Arch Obler's action-adventure B-movie Buana Devil hit theaters. Filmed with a
1:39
3D process called Natural Vision, its posters trumpeted the tagline, The Miracle of the Age, A Lion in Your Lap, A Lover in Your Arms. Despite terrible reviews
1:50
Buana Devil was one of the most successful movies of the year. At the time, the movie business
1:55
was in a state of paranoia over the emerging medium of television
2:00
Looking for any edge to help keep the public interested in the theatrical experience
2:04
studios took note of the reaction to Buona Devil and the ensuing 3D craze
2:09
Buoyed by the implication that the effect could get people to like an otherwise mediocre film
2:15
the studios would make 57 3D movies over the next two years including The Creature from the Black Lagoon House of Wax and the 3D musical extravaganza Kiss Me Kate
2:26
Even Alfred Hitchcock tried to get in on the action with the 3D film Dial M for Murder
2:32
But unfortunately for the director, Dial M was DOA, and desperate theater owners begged Warner Brothers
2:37
for permission to show the 2D version. Business picked up after the switch
2:42
and with that, the 3D craze was pretty much over. Hitchcock himself later reflected on his brief flirtation with 3D
2:48
including, It's a nine-day wonder, and I came in on the ninth day. In the early 1960s, use of 3D declined and was generally limited to exploitation films
2:58
But then, Arch Obler, who was apparently something of a proto-James Cameron
3:01
when it came to boosting 3D movies, released the 1966 sci-fi film The Bubble
3:07
Like his earlier Buona Devil, The Bubble was a flop with critics, but a hit with audiences
3:11
and it opened the door for a second wave of 3D films that lasted into the 1970s
3:17
In the early 1980s, 3D made a more high-profile comeback, and between 1981 and 1983, audiences were treated to movies like Friday the 13th Part 3
3:27
Jaws 3D, and Amityville 3D. Ultimately, this 1980s mainstream resurgence of the effect was as brief as it was memorable
3:35
and 3D continued to be regarded by most people as a cheap gimmick used to sell lousy movies
3:40
Over the next decade and a half, 3D would increasingly be put to more specialized use
3:46
turning up mostly in IMAX movies and theme park attractions. But then, in 2003, James Cameron released Ghosts of the Abyss
3:54
a 3D IMAX documentary about the wreckage of the Titanic. Coming on the heels of his cinematic blockbuster about the doomed ship
4:00
the documentary brought 3D back into the public eye. Only this time the effect was associated with a high-quality film made by a legendary director
4:09
The world didn't know it yet, but Cameron was actually laying the groundwork for a massive public re-evaluation of 3D
4:16
He was also using the film as a development platform for the technology he would need to make his next movie, the one that would change everything
4:23
And while Cameron was busy working on that, a new crop of 3D films hit the box office
4:28
Unlike previous 3D waves, these movies were mainstream titles like 2004's The Polar Express and 2008's Journey to the Center of the Earth
4:36
They met with varying degrees of success but their very existence helped to rehabilitate 3D in the public eye And then in 2009 James Cameron was finally ready
4:46
Whoa! By the number! Jake! Jake! Listen to me, you're not used to your avatar body
4:51
This is dangerous. This is great. Jake! Come on, they're gonna put you out
4:55
To say Avatar upped the game when it came to 3D would be a drastic understatement
5:00
And as the first real blockbuster to build high-quality 3D into its design
5:04
it forever changed the way the public saw 3D movies. And audiences rewarded Cameron by making Avatar the highest-grossing film of all time
5:13
surpassing his own Titanic. The message was clear. Audiences were hungry for good 3D movies
5:19
And once again, the movie industry took notice. But what they mostly took notice of was the inflated ticket prices they could charge for 3D movies
5:28
Formats like Dolby 3D, Master Image 3D, Real D 3D proliferated like no one's business
5:34
But James Cameron's dream of a world of movies thoughtfully conceived for and shot in 3D was not to be
5:41
Studios just saw what they always did, a gimmick to get people into theaters
5:45
Save its own sequel, few if any subsequent films had 3D that worked as well as it did in Avatar
5:51
In fact, few if any of those films were actually shot for 3D at all
5:55
Shooting in 3D can be considerably more complicated, time-consuming, and expensive, so most of the post-Avatar 3D releases were shot for 2D and then post-converted, often to less-than-impressive results
6:08
The inferior quality coupled with the fact that more films were making 3D options a standard part of their release
6:13
eventually took its toll on the public, and the gimmick began to see diminishing returns
6:18
The number of digital 3D screens in the United States, which had blown up exponentially after the release of Avatar
6:24
peaked in 2017 and has been slowly declining since. The general dip in theater attendance in recent years certainly hasn't helped matters
6:33
and studios and theater owners are perhaps more worried than they've ever been
6:37
about keeping people coming out for a uniquely theatrical experience. With 3D ticket sales on the decline
6:43
you can bet Hollywood is watching out for another gimmick to coax people
6:47
into coming away from their home theaters, and that's actually nothing new
6:51
Theater gimmicks have been around for decades. For example, some theaters showing 1954's House on Haunted
6:57
Hill were equipped with a pulley system called Emerge that would move a plastic skeleton across the length of the screen during a corresponding part of the film The movie was a huge success thanks partly to the gimmick which was conceived by director William Castle
7:10
innovator of several other movie theater gimmicks. The 1960 mystery comedy Scent of Mystery was
7:16
presented in an experience called Smell-O-Vision. The system would periodically release odors
7:21
intended to correspond with what was going on in the film's plot. For example, the smell of
7:27
a particular smoking pipe could tip the audience off as to the identity of the assassin. Unfortunately
7:33
the technology didn't work so well. In certain parts of the theater, the scents all blended
7:37
together, arrived late, or not at all, and the idea was quickly dropped. 1974's Earthquake and
7:43
a handful of other movies in the 1970s were exhibited to something called Sensoround. In
7:48
practical terms, this meant that the theaters were outfitted with enormous low-frequency speakers
7:53
that would literally shake the room. It sounds pretty cool, but turns out
7:57
Sensoround did structural damage to some of the theaters it was installed in, and that was pretty much the end of that
8:02
These gimmicks are just the tip of the iceberg, and while none of them have really survived into the modern era
8:08
their descendants are alive and kicking in the form of theater experiences like 4DX
8:12
a format that boasts over 20 environmental effects intended to enhance the movie-going experience
8:19
These include things like scent sprayers, wind machines, motion seats, strobe lights, and even simulated weather complete with lightning
8:27
rain, and fog. Theaters have also started offering movies in the ScreenX format
8:32
which adds digitally expanded screens to either side of the main screen, creating a panoramic view. ScreenX has sometimes been referred to as sideways IMAX. Speaking of
8:42
which, IMAX, a pioneer in the use of 3D, is also still out there, showing movies in its proprietary
8:48
70mm screen format. From a business perspective, Hollywood's preoccupation with finding ways to
8:54
keep people going to the movies is completely understandable. But while alternate formats and
8:59
gimmicky experiences can definitely have novelty value, novelty, by definition, wears off
9:05
Avatar succeeded because its 3D was more than a gimmick. It was a tool used to add depth and
9:11
richness to a world that formed the setting for a story people loved. That was the real key
9:15
good old-fashioned storytelling it's what james cameron has always been great at
9:19
and it's the only gimmick that's going to keep him coming back
#Film & TV Industry
#Movies