Tim Burton’s feature-length animated version of his college film short “Frankenweenie” will be shot in flat 2D and converted to 3D, according to Disney producer Don Hahn.
Hahn also discussed the $50,000-per-minute 2D-to-3D conversion of “Beauty and the Beast” and showed 3D footage from the French documentary “OceanWorld 3D” that Disney licensed for domestic theatrical release to demonstrate the seamless blend of footage shot in 3D and converted footage added later.
(Story continues below the following video showing highlights of the panel speakers.)
Hahn was a panelist on the second of two 3D panels sponsored by Panasonic on Friday, Aug. 17, at the Blue Ocean Film Festival in Monterey, Ca. Both were dominated byIMAX filmmakers touting the virtues of IMAX 3D and its superior quality and immersive impact on audiences because IMAX 3D movies push images out into the laps of audiences who feel like they can touch the characters, compared with digital 3D movies in traditional theaters that keep the depth effect behind the screen.
“Once things are beyond arm’s reach, it’s not as satisfying,” said filmmaker Howard Hall, whose 3D underwater large format theater documentary “Into the Deep” has grossed $77 million.
Panasonic North American CTO Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, who participated in both panels, said his company is interested in licensing 3D movies for its 3D TV channels in partnership with DirecTV, but he said the company has no interest in 2D programs converted to 3D, and will not help finance TV series specifically created for 3D. Rather, the company prefers to either license existing 3D productions or help find financing to pay for the upgrade of a show to be produced in 3D that is already set for 2D production.
Tsuyuzaki predicted there will be 12 dedicated 3D channels by the end of 2011. Panasonic and DirecTV already offer three in addition to ESPN3D. IMAX is partnering with Sony and Discovery Channel on another to launch in 2011.
Tsuyuzaki also said that the average consumer upgrades his TV every eight years and that consumers began buying HDTVs 12 years ago, so those consumers are switching to 3DTVs now, more and more of which include an Internet connection, which he believes will eventually be a vital source of 3D programming when bandwidth expands.
There will be two million homes with 3DTVs by the end of this year, Tsuyuzaki said, and Panasonic will be making 70% of all its big screen TVs 3D-capable by 2013.
Hahn, who also oversees the Disneynature franchise, said there is no longer a choice about whether to make animated films and nature films in 3D because “there is a perceived value.” He says that audiences tend to think there must be something wrong with the movies if they are not available in 3D.
— By Scott Hettrick