Hollywood's 3D Debate and Free Beer After Party

"3D is going to force exhibitors to rethink their business to the core, learning to think like programmers instead of just being operators who show content that’s sent to them and be their own marketers, to make alternative content, be it 2D or 3D, become a profitable business." - Bob Dowling  / The Dowling Group

You can understand the debate, because 3D Movies are NOT new. The technology has been around since nearly the beginning of film itself. There was a spike in the 30's, the 50's, again in the 80's and now, it's 2011 and 3D Movies are the hottest tickets in Hollywood, out earning 2D movies by as much as 40% on less than half the screens.

To be fair, 3D has gotten good. Digital technology has drastically improved the experience for the viewer and driven down the costs of production to the studio's so now you can watch anything from the Evening News to Sporting Events, Porn and Blockbuster Movies in 3D.

3D is fun again, and it's bringing people to the theater, an industry that has been hit hard by Youtube, On Demand Television and the huge drop in prices on big flat screens. I talked to an executive at a large video chain who believes 3D is going to be the future of his business. It's become a big player in the home theater business too, giving people a reason to upgrade the big flat screens they probably bought not that long ago.

My Bloody Valentine 3D

On one side of the debate is Hollywood, who see's the audience lining up for 3D Features and with dollar signs in their eyes start lining up everything in development for 3D production. The other side, is the Theater Owners who see their 3D theaters making 40% more than their 2D screens but simply don't have enough 3D screens to show everything Hollywood sends down the pike. So, a movie like "Coraline" gets bumped after 2 weeks to make room for "The Jonas Brothers 3D Concert Experience" which disappointed everyone in the food chain with it's dismal box office in all dimensions. 

The voice of reason is Bob Dowling, board member at the Paley Center for Media, and those who agree with him. Theater owners are already building more 3D screens, with projections of over 8,000 in the United States alone by 2013. A typical 'Blockbuster' opens on 2,000 - 3,000 screens in the US. 

So, it comes down to the content. There's going to be good 3D movies and there's going to be bad 3D movies. Just like there's good and bad 2D movies. Add in Youtube's 3D HD Video Player, plus Cable Network's like Time Warner who already have free 3D Channel's in their lineups. 

Here's Dowling's quote again, from the 2009 3D Conference:

"3D is going to force exhibitors to rethink their business to the core, learning to think like programmers instead of just being operators who show content that’s sent to them and be their own marketers, to make alternative content, be it 2D or 3D, become a profitable business." - Bob Dowling  / The Dowling Group

We live in a different world folks. Everyone's connected to everything and tuning in on devices of all kind. As entertainers, we're competing with distractions to our audience that amount in the millions. That's the hard reality check that a lot of company's and industry's are trying to get used to. But at the end of the day, it still comes down to the content. Everything else is just the delivery system. 3D, 2D, Big Screen, Television, Cell Phone, Stream, Flash... whatever... the ONLY thing that stays the same is that the audience is still drawn to good stories and entertaining shows.

If you don't have a story, there's no amount of 'Shaky Cam' or flashy digital effects, or 3D trickery that's going to make your movie watchable. If you're doing it as a gimick, you might as well slap a "Free Beer After Party" sticker on your movie poster. It'll end up being cheaper in the long run.

I'm making "Blood of Ohma" because it's one of the best stories I've come across in a long time. I'm shooting "Ohma" in 3D because that's what a lot of fans want to see. It will actually be the 3rd or 4th 3D movie produced by Maddy G Productions, and our numbers preportionatly reflect those in Hollywood.

Maybe 3D is a fad, maybe it's not. I'm not sure I care. For now, we're going to have some fun 1950's style.

- PG