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(Additional: See if I thought the 3D was worth the cash here.)
Having been persuaded that filming in 3D would enhance the finished product, by no less than James Cameron, Michael Bay is now attempting to persuade the North American moviegoers that a trip to see Transformers: Dark of The Moon in 3D will be worth the extra $3 - $5 a ticket (UK 3D charges tend to be between £1.50 - £2.50 if you already have the glasses). He’s also been calling up the bi cheeses at various cinema chains and advising them to burn their projection bulbs out quicker and brighten the screens for Transformers. There are many who believe that cinema chains use lower lighting, even with 2D films to prolong the lives of the expensive projector bulbs. Whilst it may not have been noticeable before it certainly is on a 3D film. One of the biggest gripes about 3D movies, not just in North America to be fair, is that more often than not the films appear very dark. This was especially true of the latest Pirates of The Caribbean movie; the 3D was pretty uninspired in the first place, but that was greatly exacerbated by the darkness of the film, even in the daytime scenes.
Adding to this has been the number of hasty conversions, like last year’s Clash of The Titans. Paramount’s Vice Chairman had this to say. “The consumer has had a reaction to bad 3-D and subtle 3-D,” said Rob Moore, Paramount’s vice chairman. “They’re tired of sitting in a theatre thinking, ‘Wait, is this movie in 3-D or not?’ Well, with ‘Transformers’ people are going to leave saying, ‘You absolutely must see this in 3-D.’ ”
Of course like football (Soccer) the rest of the world may be surprised to find out that Americans aren’t in love with 3D. Thor Pirates 4 and Kung Fu Panda 2 are all thriving in 3D screens around the world and there are few stressing at the 3D prospects for Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows pt2, or Transformers 3. If anything international 3D box office is thought likely to push Potter, and possibly Transformers too, past a billion dollars worldwide. However the difference can be seen in sharp relief when you see the difference in takings for Kung Fu Panda 2 & Pirates 4 internationally vs. North America. Pirates 4 has been making around 44% of its American takings from 3D screens as opposed to 66% from 3D in international markets. Kung Fu Panda 2 has also been performing well in 3D around the globe (60% of its takings from 3D) and is not suffering the same fate that has stricken it in North America.
So, according to the New York Times, Bay and Paramount Chairman Brad Grey having been doing their best to make sure all is well for Transformers in 3D. Adding $30m to the $165m budget it’s an example of how much more it can cost to shoot in 3D. That said there’s every reason to believe TF3 will sell plenty of 3D tickets outside of North America, so there may be little to be truly worried about. Mr Grey said “It’s the most spectacular visual experience I have ever seen.”
The previous Transformers film was not well received by critics, and left a number of fans disappointed (although it should be noted that the American sales of the Blu-Ray & DVDs were not that different from sales of the first film.) That should be an encouraging sign. Also it is likely tha if there are people not sufficiently tempted by the visuals and promise of a better story, the extra 3D and IMAX ticket prices should handily compensate for their absence.
Transformers: Dark of The Moon is released around the world on the 29th of June.
I actually walked out of the 3D viewing because it was too dark and too much ghosting/blur. The regular viewing was better in that you can actually see the details of CG work instead of feeling like you're watching a poorly pirated movie.
ReplyDeleteWhat a joke. Did you get your money back? Because, as you can see from what above, the fact is that it looked bad because the cinema you were in was being cheap. Make them pay in lost ticket money and maybe they will stop.
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