3D Go Away (and don't come back!)

Before I really get into my hatred/dislike towards 3D let me just say really quick why I would even care. I am planning to get a degree in Digital Cinema, in hopes of editing, directing or somehow working with TV/Movies in the future. Switching to 3D everything changes a lot of the industry, and I don’t think thats a good thing.


1. Its a fad. I don’t think 3d will last. I believe its going to die out and the studio execs and tv manufacturers will be laughing at you, the consumer, for buying a bunch of tv’s and new gadgets just so you can have the latest stuff and be “cool”.





2. Glasses are (currently) required for 3d. Have you tried putting 3d glasses on if you already wear glasses? It isn’t comfortable, and lots of times you can’t even get them on over your regular glasses. Not to mention that 3d shouldn’t even require glasses. Studios and TV manufacturers should wait to produce 3d content and products till the technology is glasses free.


3. Most 3d isn’t very good. Studios aren’t willing to put the money into shooting in 3d, so a 3d version is created in post pro. It saves money, and allows them to cash in on the 3d movie craze. Again, 3d is just a fad that studios are cashing in on.


4. 3d tv—this may be one of the things I hate most. There are already 3d tv stations (ESPN 3D), yet barely anybody had a 3d tv. 3D TV’s require glasses, which is annoying. I’m confident that in the future 3d tech will advance and you won’t need glasses anymore. Then you’ll have to buy yet another costly 3d tv. If theres going to be 3d everything, please just keep it in the theaters. Don’t force it into our homes.


Now a little bit on my personal experience with 3d:


I went and saw Avatar in 3d. They gave me some glasses, and I though “wow, these things look cool”. I got into the theatre and put them on, excited to see what this 3d was like. When the movie started, I was incredibly disappointed. I didn’t understand what was so cool about it. Nothing seemed too different. About 30 minutes into the movie I leaned over to my friend and asked if they thought the 3d stuff was cool. He said an enthusiastic yes, so I asked if I could use his glasses. I put them on, and immediately was taken aback. It was pretty cool. I put mine back on….still no 3d. I wen’t out of the theatre and found an employee. I told them the glasses weren’t working (I had no clue 3d glasses can stop working). She had to dig around in a closet for a long, long, long time before she came out with a pair of glasses and said this was the last pair. I tried them, and they worked. But the point is that glasses are a problem for 3d. If you remove the glasses element from 3d, I think it would be a lot better (though I’d still find it an annoying, headache inducer). I sure hope non 3d versions of 3d movies continu to be offered.


The bottom line is, I think 3d is a fad. Do we really need 3d in our homes, let alone in movies? And if we’re all going to jump on the 3d bandwagon, shouldn’t we at least wait for the technology to advance enough so that we don’t need glasses anymore?