3-D Still Sucks
Renown film critic Roger Ebert regularly writes and Tweets about the film industry (@EbertChicago). Many of his articles are on his perceived failure of 3-D films. Here’s a recent quote:
The notion that we are asked to pay a premium to witness an inferior and inherently brain-confusing image is outrageous. The case is closed.
This from the article Why 3-D Doesn’t Work and Never Will
So 3-D has failed to both capture audiences and save the film industry. With the re-releases of Star Wars: Episode 1 & Titanic, set for a 3-D run in the coming weeks, I thought now might be a good time to explore why 3-D falls flat.
Besides the technological/physiological incompatibility pointed out in Ebert’s article, here’s two things that bug me about 3-D movies.
First and foremost, 3-D very, very rarely adds positively to the film. I saw the 3-D reboot of Toy Story a couple years ago. Does a story this rich in character and story need the added element of 3-D? I say no. Honestly the only 3-D film I’ve seen where it added to the film was Avitar. But I’ve since watched it in 2-D and don’t think I am missing anything.
There’s different ways to shoot or overlay 3-D, different glasses with different effects and costs attached to each. Theaters don’t want to pay for the glasses but they’ll charge an extra five bucks for a ticket.
Is this the fault of the filmmakers who just are not embracing the technology as well as James Cameron? Maybe. Or is it a limitation of the technology itself? Possibly. It is all simply a mess. And bottom line: it’s not worth it.
The other thing that I cannot get past in regard to 3-D films is the glasses. I don’t like wearing them. Not so much that they are uncomfortable but more so that they detract from the overall movie going experience. Audiences, theaters and filmmakers operate together through a joint agreement called suspension of disbelief. These glasses make that impossible. They are a constant reminder that what I am seeing is faked. It is not real. I am not there.
My kids won’t wear them because that’s not how they are used to watching screens at home. We have a large TV and computers, tablets etc none of them require the wearing of extra apparatus to have the full experience. If you are the wearer of corrective lens glasses I don’t know how you fashion these 3-D frames over the ones you need for sight.
I am fully aware of the 3-D televisions on the market. I won’t buy one. Why anyone would want to wear these glasses at home befuddles me. You have to pay extra for the glasses and they usually don’t work between different TV brands.
Like Mr. Pitt, I was never very good at seeing those “magic images” either. Could I also be 3-D immune? In any case, I generally don’t enjoy the 3-D theater-going experience. I am not looking forward to emulating it in my home.
George Lucas will have to get by without my ticket money.
How about you? Are you going to see the Star Wars 3-D films or the 3-D re-release of Titanic? What do you think of 3-D overall?
Related articles
- Are 3D Movies a Box Office Revenue Hit? (savings.com)
Thanks to NJDFL
Wishing to extend thanks to the New Jersey Drama & Forensics League for hosting me as a judge in their acting and performance competition this past weekend. Everyone was gracious and appreciative of my volunteering.
I was flattered to have been asked to participate and impressed with the talent that was on display. There clearing is a lot of young talent being cultivated in our schools. Everyone, please keep up the good work!
‘Riding the Comet’ Named to Top 5 of 2011 List
Respected theater reviewer for the Princeton Packet (NJ), Bob Brown, has picked my drama RIDING THE COMET as one of the Top Five Best Area Stage Productions of 2011.
Appearing alongside his favorite major professional productions, RIDING THE COMET is listed in the Top Five of Student/Community/Small Professional Productions of 2011.
Directed by Kyla M. Donnelly, RIDING THE COMET marked its non-equity premiere at Actors Net of Bucks County (PA) in October 2011 this WWII-era drama quickly earned a reputation as a gripping suspense tale from audiences and critics alike.
While the Top Five lists do not appear online, the lists appear in the December 30, 2011 issue of The Princeton Packet in the Time Off Entertainment section.
Anyone with an interest in the show or producing it in the future should please contact me.
RIDING THE COMET – Preview Trailer
RIDING THE COMET – Webpage
A Query To Myself
From time to time someone will contact me through my website with a query of some kind. This is to say, these folks are asking for something. Reflecting on the past year, I have received more of these than ever. However, these messages are often vague, confusing, disruptive and abrupt. Usually, if a query has one of these traits, it has them all.
First off, I must state I welcome these and all queries. I say that not only as someone who has something to sell but helping others achieve is a part of my unwritten personal mission statement. What makes this process tedious for me is having to wade through and decipher cryptic messages from people I don’t know. I send many queries myself to others whose help I am soliciting to advance my projects so I thought a refresher might be good for all parties on how to approach a stranger from whom you are asking a favor.
Some recent queries I’ve gotten are from people interested in the topics my scripts cover. I’ve had a student request my Jersey Devil screenplay, a civil engineer in Ohio requested my Roebling play and a WWII historian from Ireland requested my Riding The Comet play. These tend to be the most well-formed requests. Possibly because these are folks are living in the “real world”, having jobs or educations that have learned them the art of communicating. In each case the parties first outlined who they were, how they heard about my work, why they found it interesting, what they were asking for and how they plan to use it. Thank you, your request is answered.
Unfortunately, requests take many bizarre forms. I had a writer (calling him that because he apparently ‘wrote’ something) wanting me to review his screenplay and give notes, feedback, etc. I didn’t know this person, I have no idea how he found me. Here’s the gist of his email to me:
Hi Mark!
Please review my script “Title Here”. I already have producers interested in it.
Thanks!
(His Name)
With script attached to the email.
I’ll ignore the obtrusive use of exclamation points and get right to my point. The brevity of this query gave me pause. I thought he was someone I had just forgotten. A disconnected former member of my writers group perhaps? I went through that mailing list—nope. I went through my Facebook contacts—nope. He was just a bold (and rude) guy who wanted a writer with more experience than him to review his script. My reply was something like this:
Hi (Name),
I would be happy to help you with your script. But since I don’t know you and you’re asking me to invest my valuable time, I request the amount of $50 to provide you with a comprehensive review and notes on your script.
Best regards,
Mark
He was not looking for that. He replied in the vein of:
Hey dude, I write from my heart and want others to also. I cannot pay that right now. I will just take it to the producers.
End of communication. To satisfy my curiosity as to any merit his script may have had. I read the first ten pages. It was terrible.
It is also not enough to mention a mutual friend. A recent query I received went like this:
Hi Mark,
I just wrote a screenplay. I am friends with (Mutual Friend). I’d like to send you a copy of my script.
(Name)
I’m not kidding. That was it. Just what would you like me to do with this script, sir? And who ARE you?
Here’s a checklist I use and suggest others use it also:
- Who are you?
- How did you hear about me?
- Why do you think I can help you?
- What do you want exactly?
- How will you use what I give you?
- Also, be respectful of the other person’s time offering a form of compensation if appropriate.
Here’s a fictional query I’ve written to myself in the spirit of those I’d like to receive in the future:
Hi Mark,
I am a writer in Rhode Island. My friend follows your blog and recommended it to me. It is interesting to me to see you have written about a variety of subjects for both the stage and the movies.
I am reaching out to you because I have a stage play I wrote in college and I would like to adapt it into a feature screenplay. I was hoping you might be able to read it and offer feedback on the script but also what might need to be altered/enhanced to make this an exciting script for the big screen.
I understand your time is valuable and I am asking for a lot. I don’t have much to invest right now but I’d be able to possibly pay a small stipend if it will help.
Please contact me through email or call this number: (number here)
Best regards,
Mark
Remember, when you’re asking for something from someone it is best to consider all the points above. Oh, and be brief. Check your spelling and grammar. And don’t ever send something to anyone via email or otherwise without first getting their approval. If you can’t mark something “Requested Material” – don’t send it.
So I ask you, dear reader, am I being unreasonable? Do I appear unwilling to assist people because I prefer them to be clear and cordial? What do you think? What have been you experiences?
Additional Notes:
I should point out again this is intended as a guide for asking for someone’s help, assistance, mentoring, review of work, requesting a script, business/creative advice etc. Sending a “query letter” to pitch your script to an agent, manager, producer or director is a different animal. Here’s a good guide to that: http://www.agentquery.com/writer_hq.aspx
Another point of clarification. I offer professional and creative advice to people all the time. I usually enjoy it. This is always free and comes with the proviso that I base all my advice solely on my personal experience. Your results may vary. I will read a script and offer feedback. I do this all the time for friends and members of my writers group. If you are from outside that circle however, I am going to ask for a small fee (about $50) to provide an overall summary and detailed page notes. All together you’ll get about 5-8 pages of review and notes. That’s a very good rate when you consider I will be investing 4-5 hours of my time in doing this.
Related articles
- Reader Question: How do you know when your script is ready to send out? (gointothestory.blcklst.com)
- Reader Question: Now that I’ve written it, how do I go about selling it? (gointothestory.com)
“ROEBLING” Project Gains Non-Profit Status
The effort to mount my play Roebling: The Story of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City has achieved non-profit status. Partnered with Theater To Go, we will be receiving tax-deductible contributions to produce Roebling first as an Equity Showcase with our eye on a future Broadway or Off-Broadway run.
