3D guru Schklair: Nearly every studio film is considering 3D

Los Angeles 3D guru Steve Schklair, whose Burbank-based 3ality Digital is currently involved in The Amazing Spiderman and The Hobbit, has dismissed recent suggestions that the 3D feature film phenomenon is on the wane.

“The 3D business has a great future despite what naysayers, pessimists and those people resistant to change are saying… Pretty much every studio picture which is in development is considering 3D. There are so many of them,” Schklair said in a keynote speech at the Dimension 3 forum, a three-day event devoted to 3D technology, held on the outskirts of Paris.

“For the first time they are not all action movies,” he added. “Baz Luhrmann is going to shoot a 3D movie which has nothing to do with action, it’s a drama, which is great – feature film has moved on,” said Schklair, confirming the Australian director’s plans to shoot his upcoming adaptation of Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby in 3D.

In Europe, 3D films, with their higher ticket price, have been credited with bolstering the box office in the face of falling admissions. But Schklair’s talk came amid speculation in the United States that audiences are losing their appetite for 3D fare after the 3D box office in the opening weekend for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides failed to shine.

Richard Greenfield, an analyst for respected broker trader BTIG, noted in a much quoted report published on Monday that the Non-IMAX box office of $34 million for Pirates’ opening weekend only accounted for 38 percent of the total, compared with 54 percent for Shrek 4 in 2010 and 57 percent for How to Train Your Dragon.

But feature business for 3ality remains brisk. Schklair said the company, which provided 3D equipment and expertise for Spiderman, had another five features lined up for the near future. He declined to give details because the studios involved have not yet announced the productions will be 3D.

“Spiderman wraps this week and even though it was a very complex shoot it is only one day behind schedule, which is actually better than the previous 2D Spiderman film… which fell behind by three days. I think the fact the film kept to schedule despite being 3D has driven a lot of work our way,” said Scklair.

He noted that in the long run, big business for the 3D format would lie in television – in the broadcast of live sporting events and popular television shows in 3D. He revealed that 3ality had worked on the 3D shoots in several popular television shows.

The fifth edition of Dimension 3, running May 24-26, encompasses a trade fair, attended by 52 exhibitors, a fledgling 3D content competition and a programme of 3D-themed presentations. More than 3,500 professionals, ranging from producers to filmmakers to equipment manufacturers to technicians, are expected to attend this year.