CMU School of Drama


Thursday, August 03, 2017

Is 3D finally dead? IMAX may move away from 3D in the US

Reviewed.com Televisions: You might start seeing a drop in 3D IMAX releases very soon.

After seeing its stock drop three cents per share in the second quarter of 2017, IMAX CEO Greg Foster said in a conference call that the company would be "looking forward to playing fewer 3D versions of films and more 2D versions.”

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Personally speaking, I am not the biggest fan of 3D format especially recently. When IMAX 3D first came out, it was the biggest thing ever, and I remember everyone flooding towards the movie theatre trying to get a ticket for Avatar. I thought it was so interesting how the images on flat screen can be turned stereoscopic just with a pair of glasses. The sense of freshness and innovation overwhelmed everyone senses. However, as I later discovered through personal experiences, 3D really was not the best thing ever invented for the movie audience. First, like mentioned in the article, the prices of the 3D tickets are almost twice as much as a standard showing, making people hesitant to drop their bucks. Secondly, the 3D/IMAX glasses really are a pain to deal with when you just want to enjoy a movie. They dim down the brightness, which makes your eyes more tired and harder to focus. Sometimes they do not have good quality to the extent where the glasses' focus is off, resulting in dizziness while watching. Last but not least, as someone who wears glasses, I can very responsibly tell you that double-glassing is one of the most annoying experiences you will ever have in your life: both pairs of glasses are heavy, and the image is even dimmer from the several layers of refraction. It is interesting to see that Asia has a lot more 3D screens installed, because that is a phenomenon that I have observed back home in China. IMAX and 3D is much more celebrated in a way. All in all, despite my complaints, I appreciate the existence of 3D movies at times when movies such as Dunkirk and Avatar can be depicted more vividly. However, it is truly a pain to watch some movies in 3D when it is completely unnecessary.

Unknown said...

I remember the first time I saw a 3D movie, and I remember being very disappointed by what I saw. Instead of enhancing the experience, the glasses just made everything dimmer and seemed only necessary for a few moments in the movie. I hope that this article is right in its prediction of the disappearance of 3D movies, because I think spending extra money just to be disappointed does not make it worth it to show off the technology. I think, in the entertainment industry, the developed technology should be only for the purpose of enhancing and improving the experience of the audience. Though 3D technology is very impressive and has its place in the world, the way its implemented has only served to make watching a movie unpleasant and sometimes even painful. It would be great if the film industry could develop a kind of 3D tech that didn’t need the use of uncomfortable glasses that make everything darker but, until this happens, I think it would be better to stop making movies in 3D.