You cannot stop the third dimension.
It has already begun its invasion, spreading its realistic and visually-appealing tentacles in movie theaters across the United States. Almost 2,500 of about 38,000 theaters are equipped with 3-D technology. And that number will steadily increase.
Eventually, industry experts predict, the entire country will be hopelessly overrun with theaters broadcasting the third dimension.
“In the near term, [third dimension] cinema is a sure thing,” said Jennifer Colegrove, director of display technologies at DisplaySearch.
And our current movie-going experience will gradually become nostalgic, something hilariously obsolete that you can describe to your children.
“Did they really have flat movies when you were younger? And you watched them without the theater glasses? Wow, Dad, you’re old.”
But why is the third dimension so dramatically overtaking our nation’s theaters and simultaneously making us look like outdated fossils in front of our children?
Well, first, the third dimension is the greatest hope of financial success for a dying movie industry. Plagued by sagging movie attendance and DVD rentals over the past few years, film executives believe that the third dimension can rejuvenate interest in theaters by offering moviegoers an experience they cannot replicate on their TVs or computers.
And 3-D technology isn’t your mother’s tinted paper glasses either. It has improved dramatically since then, using circularly polarizing light to generate landscapes of 3-D images in genuine color.
“The technology is now bulletproof,” said Michael Lewis, chairman, CEO and co-founder of RealD, the most popular 3-D movie technology in the U.S. “It truly replicates the way we see.”
Second, the third dimension has some weighty celebrity endorsement. James Cameron, renowned director of “Titanic,” has co-developed an entirely new group of stereoscopic cameras for the production of his upcoming film “Avatar.”
Cameron has patiently waited 15 years for the technology to advance enough for the movie. This has enabled him to create “the ultimate immersive media.” Some critics predict that Cameron’s film will popularize the third dimension and revolutionize the movie industry.
Finally, the third dimension has the capability to improve any visual entertainment. Imagine watching football or basketball in the third dimension. The technology for that is also currently available, although TV broadcasters and manufacturers are still fighting about the specifics.
But after the inevitable war where rich and geeky innovators will determine the prevailing technology, you can expect the third dimension to invade your living room, too.
Whether or not you support the increasing presence of the third dimension, you should be prepared for its inevitable arrival. Cameron compares the new technology to the introduction of color in movies: The transition from one format to another will be swift and unstoppable.
The third dimension is here. Reach out and embrace it.
Reach out and embrace David at david.k.edwards.1@asu.edu.
