What To Expect From 3-D Cinema In The Years To Come

3-D Cinema is poised to make waves all over the film and entertainment world over the next few years, but faces several hurdles along the way, not the least of which is the worldwide financial crisis. Already, industries all over the world are reeling, but Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberger thinks the film industry will do fine – thanks in no small part to 3-D.

3-D cinema, which Katzenberg has called the “third revolution” in the movie industry after sound and color, was showcased in Singapore last week in the five-day 3DX Film and Entertainment Technology Festival. The first revolution was the introduction of sound, which skyrocketed Disney to international fame with the debut of Mickey Mouse. The second was the transition to color pictures – which made black-and-white films obsolete almost overnight.

Katzenberg believes that businesses that offer reliable, good-quality, and affordable goods and services tend to do better during recessions than others. The film industry, he says, is one of these businesses. DVD's, for instance, have a very good value, particularly for family audiences. It's not unusual for a DVD to be viewed 50 to 100 times.

With 3-D in the picture (or the other way around, I think), many film industry experts expect sales to go up twofold or threefold. Here's a fact: 3-D films only take an additional 10% of cost to produce, while the vast improvement in viewing experience is priceless. Katzenberg has stated that all movies will be made in 3-D in five to seven years' time.

I got the chance to see the hype for myself when I watched the premier of Disney's 3-D animated film, Bolt, which screened during the 3DX Festival in Singapore last week. It was incredible – Bolt was pretty convincing, and it was easy to forget that I wasn't part of the adventure. I left the building wishing I could take Bolt and his friends home.

So what's next?

About 20 3-D movies are set to be released next year, a vast improvement from only one released five years ago. If Bolt is going to be a sort of benchmark by which future 3-D movies are going to be judged, then 2009 is going to be a revolutionary year in cinema history – just as Jeff Katzenberg had predicted.

Katzenberg has already likened the 2-D films of today to the vinyl records of yesterday. If that's really the case, then the rest of the world has a lot of catching up to do – but I think with Singapore's role in hosting the 3DX Film and Entertainment Technology, the tiny island country of 4 million is way ahead of the pack.

I'm pretty sure that Singapore is going to be one of the first countries after the US and Canada to fully convert their theaters to accommodate 3-D films. It's not going to be easy, and it'll take considerable time, but at least it's already taken the first step.

Now if only the rest of the region would follow Singapore's lead...