Cinema is safe.

[azekeil]

I've just been to see Avatar in 3D. This won't be a spoiler, don't worry. It's just - they've nailed 3D. And Avatar was a particularly epic story with state of the art CGI. It's getting close to the sort of things you might see in your dreams. Well, that's just my opinion.

Recent 3D films like Beowulf or Toy Story 3D made your eyes ache a bit - the 3D in Avatar was more subtle for the most part. The CGI was top-notch. Things moved as you'd expect, including all materials.

Cinema is safe. Home reproduction was getting to the point that it wasn't necessarily worth going to the cinema much any more; you could just wait for the DVD or Blu-Ray. With 3D, there's a good reason to see films in the cinema again - at least, in my opinion.

And Avatar - what an epic film. A good story, well told. Go and see it.

Comments

[serena-lesley.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you recall me saying afterwards, but there was a point near the beginning of the film when I was on the verge of walking out due to motion sickness, the effect was that strong. I was fine once I got used to it though.

[nairoz.livejournal.com]

I went to see it with a couple of friends and felt the same - they kinda overused it to start off with I feel, they needed to give people more time to get used to it!

[serena-lesley.livejournal.com]

I totally agree.

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

I didn't realise you were near the point of walking out.. I don't recall anything making me feel ill, but I guess I don't tend to suffer from that sort of thing so much.

[gerald_duck]

Yes, but domestic 3D will be upon us in another five years or so.

I started working in the hi-fi industry a decade and a half ago. Back then, hi-fi was an investment: you could spend your retirement lump sum on a really nice system and it would give decades of enjoyment.

Now, a good hi-fi will still last decades. Trouble is, within five years it might be obsolete. Hi-fi and AV equipment has suddenly become coupled to the computer industry and Moore's Law. Meridian's gorgeous 810 is state of the art, and at £100,000 it bloody ought to be. But in a few years' time it will be easy to get ten megapixels, 10,000:1 contrast ratio and 4000 ANSI lumens much more cheaply.

And then I'll buy a SIM2 Grand Cinema for just a few grand, instead. Except they are already offering 3D. And maybe I want full 360° immersive projection, and a hundred megapixels, and…

I'm not sure we're going to be done with the staggering rate of development in AV for some decades yet.

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Yup. But it's safe, for now. And generally, economies of scale mean that they will be able to keep on top of the rate of advancements, meaning it should continue to be the cheapest way for the general public to experience AV technology that is too pricey for the general public to experience at home.

[thalinoviel.livejournal.com]

As a point of interest: are you a fan of the original animation? If so, what did you particularly like about it?

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately I'm a philistine and didn't know about any other works. I'll be sure to hunt it down and watch it and give you my opinion then... not sure if that's as useful though ;)

[thalinoviel.livejournal.com]

Oh they're rather good. I could be fannish about them at length, but I'll restrain myself to saying that you can see them on Nickelodeon if you have it. The DVDs are really expensive because they had this odd notion of actually paying their animators properly.

There are various places you can (illegally) watch it free online including http://www.watch-avatar-online.com/ . Ware viruses etc.

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFT7RAJ8dMU

:)