"What everyone expects in 3D initially is a lot of in-your-face gags and gimmicks. And that's what we will have to deliver for a little while. But then, I think 3D will settle into something that is more immersive. You will feel you are looking inside the window and feeling what is really happening."
For the moment, a martial arts fight scene was perfect for 3D. Unfortunately, however, at this point in time (due to parallax issues), you can't just pick up a 3D camera and run with it, handheld. You have to cut, move the camera, and shoot the same scene again to get multiple angles.
When you cut the action and then restart, in 3D, you have to make sure that the actors are in the same exact positions as they were before, including their plane, relative to each other. If we reset the actors incorrectly, the audience would be able to see the distance between them, and the audience would know that the punches and kicks were missing by a mile.
"Right now, people want 3D images that jump off the screen and land in your lap," pointed out Al, but eventually, he believed that all sorts of shows, from news to game shows would be in 3D. I saw a 3D concert that he filmed and it really was like having a holograph of the band singing in my living room.
Two of the shows Al is shooting for Wealth TV right now are "Markets and Tastes," a food related travel show, and "WOW," a travelogue, showing various cities around the world. The shows have some action of course, but they also have eating and shopping and hotel rooms. So, they are already departing from the frenetic action and lizard-jumping gimmicks.
"A 3D travel show allows you to experience a place as you never could in 2D. The same goes for a 3D food show."
Until we have movies with senses of touch, taste and smell, 3D really adds the greatest dimension to your viewing experience. Al is working on a golf travel show which, obviously, has stunning images of golf balls jumping right at you and panoramic views of golf courses from around the world. We have also begun filming my martial arts series, "Brooklyn Monk in Asia," which is all in 3D. He has plans for a show called "Tech Toys," which will explore all of the latest gadgets on the market, telling you which are hot and which are not.
3D is the new new-thing, but it isn't quite ready for independent and student films. "The Blair Witch Project" in 3D is still a while away. First off, the cheapest professional grade Sony 3D camera is $21,000. That is more than the total budget of The Blair Witch Project. Sony is coming out with a consumer-grade 3D camera for just over $1,000, but until we review it, we won't know if the quality is there yet to make affordable 3D movies. (Panasonic just released a new prosumer camcorder based on the HVX200 which would be the first lower-budget 3D camera to have 60 fps slow motion ability, although it runs around $10K.)
Digital 3D is the radio of the 2000's. People always said I had a great face for radio, and now I am putting it to work.
