I think I've mentioned how Aliens Vs. Monsters 3-D imaging really pops off the screen at you. (In other words, I thought it worked real well).
So it's kind of a bummer that there's this fly in the stereoscopic ointment:
Last week DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg told investors that “Monsters,” with an estimated budget of $165 million, would be able to be seen on “in excess of 2,000 3D screens,” out of the 7,000 screens planned for opening weekend.
“We believe this number will be more than enough to allow our film to serve as a proof of concept and to propel the new format forward,” he said on the investor call.
But that’s a far cry from what DreamWorks had anticipated, and will be a blow to its ability to maximize the moviegoing experience and ticket sales on the movie ...
As a history freak, I think the parallels between the movies tech conversion now and the one that was happening during our last big economic hiccup (1929-1933) ... are downright eerie.
In 1929, Talkies were happening in a Big Way. At the beginning of that year, there were still mega budget silent movies being made; by the end of it, hardly any were getting produced. Everything was "All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing!"
Converting theaters from silent to sound was going full bore, then the stock market crashed and the economy imploded.
And the numbers of theaters converting to sound slowed waaay down.
It's little noted today, but there were still lots of silent movie houses well into the 1930s. Lots of films were sent out as sound and silent as late as 1932.
So here we are in the next century, in the middle of another economic meltdown, and whattayanknow? Another tech conversion of movie theaters gets reduced to a crawl.
Here’s the key reason for the slowdown: Installing digital cinema installation required for 3D can cost $100,000 per screen. These installations are typically financed using a virtual print fee (VPF) model -- meaning that the studios pay an agreed fee per screen, per movie, to offset exhibitors' costs.
The studios have been covering their part of the cost. The theater-owners’ portion of the financing has needed to come through venture capital financing, which has dried up since the catastrophic news on Wall Street ....
Regardless, Monsters Vs. Aliens will be launched on a huge number of screens, just not in as many 3-D venues as DreamWorks Animation would have liked. How this impacts grosses, nobody knows.
But since this is DWA's one 'toon release this year, it would be good if it doesn't impact the movie very much. Right?
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21 comments:
Impact the gross? I think not.
This film will make a ton of moola whether 3-D or not.
Sound obviously helped to get stories across to audiences more clearly and effectively.
I have yet to understand how 3D helps to tell a story, and would go as far to say that it's actually a distraction.
I agree. What I liked about Bolt was that the 3D was subtle, not in your face. If MVA or Up or Ice Age 3 does even ONE "ooooh!! 3D!! oooh!" I'll be turned off.
Ive always felt it was a gimmick and an excuse to get people to pay more for a ticket. I do however like that 3D also means its in DLP. The crisp, high res, bright image of DLP is worth the ticket price more to me than the 3D
So far, the story for MVA looks lame at best.
Why are people quick to jump the shark when we're talking about DreamWorks? Have any of you two idiots seen the movie. How do you know the 3D in this movie isn't as subtle as Bolt?
Video games have naturally evolved into a truer 3D experience, especially ones played with other virtual players over the internet, and they are amazing.
Movies were great because they were a special event that you shared with an audience on a like-minded search for escape. That's pretty much the beginning and end of it. The experience had far more impact when film was the only media outlet. It had a monopoly on escape.
Today, film competes with TV for delivering good story, these days mostly losing. Dreamworks knows this. So they spend a lot of money to give the shareholders a big fancy party. It's the 'event' that still makes movies unique, and the story is weaved in around the rest.
Oh well. They do cost a crapload to make. Better make it seem like a really good party, even though it's already last call.
How do you know the 3D in this movie isn't as subtle as Bolt?
I dont know, which is exactly why I said if MVA, UP or IA3 have cheesy 3D moments, Ill be disappointed. (notice I wasnt singling DW out) I was simply using an example of a movie where I enjoyed 3D done with subtlety.
And, simply based on the trailer, Im not confident that MVA will be a very good movie. It seems more like they are promoting it as a 3D event first and a film second. Im allowed to have an opinion, arent I?
By the way, you used the term "jump the shark" incorrectly. I think you meant jump to conclusions.
I've seen the movie and it is AMAZING! :) And yes, I work at DreamWorks. I didn't work on the film and in fact recently arrived to the company, but I have LOVED watching the dailies of it laughing out loud. Not just because I work there, but I was actually really looking forward to seeing the film! Saw it in it's entirety a few weeks ago. Completely hilarious, completely fantastic, great characters, great story and some amazing visuals. It's my personal favorite movie so far that DreamWorks has done. The 3D aspect doesn't hit you over the head but is nice. I know it helps box office numbers, but I don't see a HUUUUGE difference in seeing it in 3d or traditional. That's just me. The film stands on it's own and there will no doubt be several sequels to come. I think with a crummy economy it will hit right in the sweet spot of what people will like. A couple laughs and a nice escape.
I have little doubt this'll be a hit...but just the same, MvA has some of the WORST character designs I've ever seen, even in a Dreamworks film. They are godawful. With the wealth of vintage movie monsters to choose from, you'd think DW would have come up with a green ape, a bug-headed guy and talking Jello. Even the big lady is a bore. It's quite a comedown from the kickass characters of Kung Fu Panda. Ah well, consistency of quality isn't exactly a Dreamworks hallmark...
Ehh...sorry, I meant to say in the above comment "You'd think DW would have come up with something BETTER than a green ape, a bug-headed guy" etc. etc. That'll teach me to post messages after a massive dose of codeine...
YAY for CONRAD VERNON! The film is a BLAST!
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ditto.
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Every time I hear claims this or that is the “WORST”, I have to wonder if these people live in a hole or don’t get out much. To the guy who said this was the WORST, would you be kind enough to provide us with a link to something you’ve done so we can critique it.
There's seemingly a lot of Dreamworks employees on here today upset about negative opinions regarding MVA (and posting their biased, enthusiastic opinions all in caps). In retrospect, I predict defending the character design of MVA will be a regret. They arent the best designs ever.
Out of curiosity, is the art direction/character design done by the same crew who did Shark Tale? Feels the same to me for some reason
PS) Be careful Anon 11:00:00AM, a ton of people on here, including myself, are feature animation professionals, so the chest-puffing of wanting to critique someones work might backfire on you.
"I predict defending the character design of MVA will be a regret."
What an absurd comment. Will some blacklist be made of people who defended DW character designs? Perhaps they'll never work in this town again?
Was it Rex Reed who made mean-spirited critical hyperbole fashionable some 30 years ago? He never found a way to make it useful, though.
Can I just say, I LOVE when Dreamworks, Pixar and Disney put out a big film. If for no other reason than to read these comments. The animation industry is unmatched in its propensity to eat-their-own.
"Out of curiosity, is the art direction/character design done by the same crew who did Shark Tale? Feels the same to me for some reason"
A good deal of the design work was done by Craig Kellman, who designed the gang from Madaascar. (I think he was busy with Samurai Jack when Shark Tale was happening...)
To g…said
Oh how easy it is to be doing the measuring when sitting behind the anonymity of the internet. There are tons of professionals at DW (that equal or maybe even surpass some the smartass critic’s here). I still say if you want to critique then let’s see some skin from the naysayer so we can all judge their work.
To be fair, I have endured negative comments on all of the films I have worked on from this blog, and instead of getting defensive, I've listened and taken that advice into my next project, whatever it might be, in whatever role it is. I think ive been fair in this thread and have not stooped to name calling as some have done, and have only given my opinion of the trailer Ive seen and the designs Ive seen and my opinion of stereoscopic 3d as a whole.
I doubt a pissing contest about "what film have you worked on so we can snipe it" is going to do much good, and is an immature redirect of the subject at hand, which is the Monsters vs Aliens.
I've taken a look at the Art of book for MVA. It seems to me that the designs for the humans (the president and the generals in particular) perhaps looked decent on paper, but didn't translate well to CG.
I've heard mixed things about MVA from folks working at Dreamworks. I know from experience that films can improve by the time they are finished, and trailers are often very unrepresentative, so I'll wait on reviewing it until I've actually...you know...SEEN it.
What an absurd comment. Will some blacklist be made of people who defended DW character designs? Perhaps they'll never work in this town again?
No, of course not. But there have been films Ive been on that, while on them, have defended them to the death because we, as artists tend to be driven by a certain amount of pride in our work that sometimes lead to a biased opinion of it. Then a year or five later, you look back on it and think...hmm, yeah, thats not as good as I remember.
So my point was simply that, nothing more. Its also surprising that as artists, we have SUCH thick skin at work (taking director notes, listening to our peers) but when we get on the internet and read what someone said about our work ("the character designs of MVA arent as strong as they could be") we completely lose it. Are we really a thick-skinned bunch, or are we just really good actors at work?
Food for thought...
"Can I just say, I LOVE when Dreamworks, Pixar and Disney put out a big film. If for no other reason than to read these comments. The animation industry is unmatched in its propensity to eat-their-own"
Best comment ever.
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