3D fans less likely to watch films converted to 3D

A survey of just over 500 3D Focus readers indicates 2D to 3D converted movies still have a way to go before they achieve mass acceptance amongst 3D fans.

Out of 515 readers who responded to the poll question, “Does the fact that a film is converted or 'real' 3D influence whether you watch it?” 285 said yes (55%) and 230 said no (45%). From a positive viewpoint, the results might be closer than some would expect and possibly indicates a growing acceptance of 2D to 3D converted movies. If one were to ask the same question a year ago, it would be fair to expect a greater disdain to conversions.

3D Focus readers are likely to be more interested in 3D than the average movie fan but the question was designed to gage how influential the fact that a movie was shot natively in 3D or not was within this demographic.

Despite the flurry of rushed 2D to 3D conversions post Avatar, the quality of conversion has dramatically increased as studios allocate more time to the process and conversion houses like Prime Focus and Legend3D continually update their tools.

Also, 3D movies are not advertised as being native or converted so it is unlikely to be an issue in determining the success at the box office.

Half of Michael Bay’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon 3D featured converted scenes and was generally regarded as a very well produced 3D movie. The success of the back catalogue release of The Lion King surprised many.

This year, new 3D movies such as Men in Black 3, John Carter, Gravity, The Wrath of the Titans and The Avengers will be converted to 3D and of course, James Cameron’s Titanic, George Lucas Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and Top Gun will return to the silver screen in 3D this year.

The question is – if conversion becomes so good it is impossible to distinguish it from the 'real thing', will there be any need to shoot natively? Many directors prefer to shoot in 2D but many believe conversion will never offer the realism of filming with stereo cameras.

Another interesting analysis will be whether back catalogue conversions will be more sympathetically received than new movie conversions. Do many of us jump at the chance to see our favourite movies back on the big screen regardless of whether it is 3D or not? Does this skew the results? Let us know your thoughts below!

In another 3D Focus survey, 745 readers were asked "Did you choose the 2D or 3D version of the last film you watched that offered a choice?" 170 (23%) chose the 2D option and 575 (77%) chose the 3D option, which approximately reflects the non USA box office figures.

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