No extra dimension

Fading Attraction

Nothing wears out as fast as technology. There was a time when movies like Chota Chetan were made and sold solely on the assurance that people would come to watch the 3D effects. The same was true for last year’s blockbuster Avatar, which had the viewers asking for more.

Since then, the audience has been witnessing a string of movies made in this
format, sometimes unnecessarily so. So is the use of 3D technology still catching  the attention of the viewers?

“Earlier, it was a sure way of grabbing people’s attention because there were very few movies which had 3D technology incorporated in them. But today, I don’t think 3D grabs attention,” says Abhinav, a marketing professional.

“Avatar started what I would call a trend. It was the first one, so it still had the novelty factor. But now, a lot of movies are coming out in this format,” says Ambika, a student.
A few examples from this year are Toy Story-3, How To Train Your Dragon, Resident Evil: Afterlife and even dance-dramas like Step Up. The reason behind this trend is quite simple.

“For movie studios, it is a way of charging higher ticket prices which easily makes the gross revenue of the movie go up exponentially,” says Aditya, a professional.

Take a look at this year’s hit Alice In Wonderland, which opened to average reviews but went on to become the fifth highest grossing movie of all time. But is the audience getting fooled?

“Not every movie catches the attention of movie-goers,” says Monica, a student. “For example, Toy Story-3 was a complete waste of money in 3D. It was a headache to wear those glasses for two hours,” she adds.

Others agree. “Avatar was still the best 3D movie to come by. Piranha is getting a good response too but I wouldn’t go and watch a movie like Step Up in the theatre. All you would see is water splashing all over you,” says Adnan, a BBM student.

“As for me, only if a movie has something worth watching in 3D, would I go for it. I watched Clash Of The Titans and have to say it was pretty horrible,” says Abhinav.
In spite of the 3D overload, many young people still feel that it is a long time before it would feel old.

“Since it is so rare in our country, the movies still get a lot of attention,” says
Amritha, a student.

 “The excitement is still there because there are not many big 3D releases here,” says Natalia, a journalism student.

 Though a huge money maker, 3D does not cut the deal with the audience every time.