gizmodo.com: The whole 3D thing wasn't quite a success when it came to convincing people to come back to theaters instead of just downloading movies at home. But you know what they say—if at first you don't succeed, try adding a rumble feature to theater seats.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Vibrating Seats Could Be Coming Soon To a Theater Near You
gizmodo.com: The whole 3D thing wasn't quite a success when it came to convincing people to come back to theaters instead of just downloading movies at home. But you know what they say—if at first you don't succeed, try adding a rumble feature to theater seats.
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6 comments:
I have been weary of "4D" type entertainment experiences ever since I saw a 4D film that scared the heck out of me at an amusement park as a child. In the film, you get attacked by a swarm of bees and all of the seats vibrate. If the TremorFX seats do more than just literally vibrate (for example when you're surrounded in a swarm of bees) and actually help out with low-end bass response, then maybe this makes more sense as an experience-enhancer. Although I recognize I would have to actually demo the product before saying whether or not I like it, I don't think these would be very enjoyable.
I don't think this is cost effective. It would probably cost most movie theatres more than they can afford right now to replace all of their current seats with these chairs. Furthermore, I don't think it would persuade enough people to make up for the cost and then some to return to the movies. They aren't that much fun. These "4D" experiences have been around the Disney theme parks for a while, and, if anything, the vibrations can just get annoying when you're trying to relax and get into what you're watching.
3-D movies and vibrating theatre seats are just temporary solutions to the real problem. Maybe people don't want to go to the movies anymore because movies in general have been getting crappier and crappier. I love to go out to the movies, especially for a big action movie because I can really take in the huge explosions. I think going out to the movies is a great time.
But seriously, today I saw a preview for a movie called Magic Mike which is an actual movie that is actually being made that is about a male stripper with a heart of gold.. or something.
The solution is to make movies that aren't stupid, or are at least stupid in a self-aware sort of way.
Based on the previous posts, I can safely conclude that there are no good movies in theaters and seeing "Magic Mike" with a vibrating seat will only be the temporary fix that Will is scared of. I agree that we are getting a little bit desperate in trying to attract our audience to get to the theater. It some senses, theatrical performances are winning the theater/ movie race because watching a theater performance illegally online isn't something that comes up as a topic of concern. It is all too easy to access TV and film anywhere online. People are constantly recording the shows and watching them in the comfort of their own home. A moving seat isn't going to change that. Small children might get a kick out of it but I can safely say that Betty White will be making a joke about how she doesn't understand the next generation of cinematic experience. A lot of people will grow tired of these seats and the idea isn't even making me want to go out to the movies. I hope this idea doesn't grow in ridiculousness.
To put my opinion bluntly, this is dumb. The last thing I want in a theater is to be vibrated against my will. The seats in most theaters vibrate a little already when there's heavy bass, which there is in most action movies. This does not enhance the movie going experience. This is not cost effective. This is not enticing. And this is not solving the real problem at hand. At least come up with something a little cooler than vibrating. If I wanted to feel uncomfortable, I could just stand on a jackhammer or electrocute myself. No thank you, vibrating theater seat.
I think that it would be interesting to experience these chairs but they are unnecessary. I find it interesting that theatres are trying so hard to get audiences into their shows. However I think that one reason why this method is working against them is that by adding all of this new technology to theaters it causes them to raise the ticket prices and this in turn causes less people to go to the movie theatre. I feel that really the best way for businesses to get people to go to the theatre is to lower their ticket prices. I think that the amount of money that these seats will costs will be more than the amount that will be gained.
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