Speaking at the 'Produced By'- conference last saturday, larger-than-life filmmaker (and one of my all-time cinematic heroes) James Cameron once again channeled P.T. Barnum as he pitched 3D as the next evolutionary step in the history of cinema. Funnily enough, he also allegedly dissed MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D - the one recent film I actually HAVE seen in three dimensions - for being nothing more than a cheap throwback to those 70's 'jabbing stuff in your face'-3D attractions (he's right, by the way). Guess I'll have to wait 'till december when Cameron's AVATAR is finally released and my cerebral cortex will be transported to Nirvana as 3D-images of crazy intergalactic jungle-people joyfully burst into my skull.Yet I'm wondering, apart from f*cking my eyeballs (it's an AVATAR internet-meme thing), is 3D really going to radically change the way I watch movies? A close friend of mine, who saw a digital 3D-version of Pixar's UP a couple of weeks ago in Cannes, said the funny glasses added little (if anything) to the experience of watching the film (an opinion shared by many others, apparently). I still haven't had the chance to see UP yet (grrr, stupid international release windows) but I'm sure a 'regular' digital presentation will be just as enjoyable as its 3D-counterpart. Pixar's greatest strength lies in terrific storytelling, not in technological gadgetry.
That's not to say I'm totally antipathetic to the idea of 3D in movie theaters. Some films (and I'm sure AVATAR will be one of them) should be 'experienced', rather than just 'watched'. And if Cameron delivers what he promises, AVATAR is bound to be the first genuine 3D-cinema experience, really sucking the audience through the looking glass and placing them smack-dab in the middle of all the action. But, as with Pixar, I consider Cameron to be a great storyteller first and a technological wizard second. At the end of the day (or rather, the start of the end-credits) the real question is: does the film have a compelling story? If it doesn't, no 3D in the world is likely to save it from being a boring dud.
Which brings me to another piece of film-related technological proficiency I recently heard about: D-BOX Motion Code. Already available in certain Canadian and U.S. movie theaters, this 'film enhancing' device promises to rock your world while watching a movie on the big screen. Quite literally. It's basically a chair that banks, tilts and rumbles along with the film you're watching. Not just randomly, mind you, the different movements are all meticulously programmed to match the action on screen. Cool idea? Definitely. But does it really add to the storytelling part of filmmaking? Well, I think you can answer that before even trying that chair. Who'd want to see DELIVERANCE, the D-Box experience?
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