Comic Con comes with an extra D this year.

To the uninitiated, San Diego’s Comic-Con appears to be a breeding ground for teenage kids dressed as comic book characters, vampires, and robots. While plenty of that still swirls around the event, it has grown beyond the maelstrom of geeks. The last few years have seen extraordinary growth for film, television, and video games. Major studios and publishers use Comic-Con has a launching board for new and latest in pop culture franchises and entertainment technologies. Previous years have seen big moves toward comic book and science fiction films. However, thanks in part to a rapidly growing number of directors, the big reveal this year was the dawn of a new golden age in stereoscopic 3D.
This year, Comic-Con was home to six stereoscopic films: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, a new version of A Christmas Carol staring Jim Carrey, Toy Story 3D, Tron: Legacy based on the 1980’s cult video game film, Alice in Wonderland, a unique spin on the tale by director Tim Burton, andAvatar, James Cameron’s top-secret 3D opus.
The stunning thing is how different each of these films are from the others, in terms of texture, tone, and animation style. The bright and unique shapes of Pixar’s film contrast with the dark, surreal light cycles of Tron.
While the sheer number of films alone speaks to the legitimacy of stereoscopic 3D as a tool for creating cinema, only one film really took advantage of 3D as a true artists tool. By a factor of ten, James Cameron’s Avatar promises to be the single most advanced piece of cinema ever seen on the silver screen.
Most 3D movies released today, whether they be 2D films converted to 3D (like the recently released Geforce) or shot in 3D (like the forthcoming Tron) have used the tech to enhance the immersion, allowing the audience to become a part of the movie. However, the drawback isn’t the technology anymore - it’s the artists. For too long directors have been the architects of 2D films. While they may have mastered the second dimension, it has limited their ability to see into the third.
Cameron showed off a full 25 minutes of Avatar at the convention. The story revolves around a group of soldiers and scientists that are out to mine an alien planet. However, their main obstacle is a dangerous species of blue alien called the Na’vi. To combat this issue, scientists have created "avatars," or human/Na’vi hybrids, which can be linked to and controlled by humans.
Avatar is a step above the 3D world. Previous directors have placed the vast majority of their films beyond the screen, as if it’s a window we can only see out of, save for a few gimmicks – like the extending ladder or the opening tape measure – but Cameron’s film isn’t afraid to live on the audience’s side of the screen. Bulkheads, technology, and creatures exist inside the theater and well outside your typical comfort zone.
The film has subtle flavors of previous Cameron outings, including Aliens and the first twoTerminator films. Since those films, Cameron has grown tremendously as a director. The motion capture technology of visual effects powerhouse Weta Workshop has taken its 3D motion capture technology from Gollum and cranked it to eleven. The blue Na’vi make subtle gestures and eye movements that quickly make you forget that you’re watching a movie and make you worry one of the bizarre animals in Cameron’s world might actually turn suddenly and attack you. To top that off, it’s clear Cameron learned valuable lessons with 2003's Ghosts of the Abyss 3D IMAX film, which have been applied to the camerawork, creating a phenomenal effect. Needless to say, when James Cameron puts you inside a five ton walking robot with machine guns, the raw power of the experience is unprecedented and impossible to describe. Much of Cameron's information can be found online in a recent interview with Reuters.
Huge metal suits, an intriguing, unique alien landscape will bring to the screen a cinematic experience like never before. However – if you missed it, no worries! In an unprecedented move for the industry, the ever forward-thinking Cameron has declared August 21st Avatar Day. IMAX screens around the world will be screening fifteen minutes of Avatar – free! So if you missed it before, now you’ve got a second chance to see what an alien world really feels like.
According to Cameron, the biggest holdback is the number of screens capable of 3D. Currently, there are around 1,500 screens. Cameron maintains that for stereoscopic 3D to really become a part of the film experience there needs to be a nation-wide saturation of at least 3,000 screens. Not only will it further distinguish theaters from home cinemas, 3D is nearly impossible to pirate – even if there were some way to record the left and right eye images perfectly (which there currently isn’t) you would have to have special equipment to view the footage at home. This means more butts back in theater seats – and more dollars into production companies.
In fact, several directors voiced interest in doing major 3D work on future films – including Jon Favreau, director of the upcoming Iron Man 2. While he’s currently considering an IMAX 3D release for Robert Downey Jr.’s next outing as playboy tycoon Tony Stark, he’s considering doing Iron Man 3 or the upcoming Avengers movie completely in 3D. An interview with Favreau on the subject can be foundhere.
While it’s certainly true that forward thinking directors like Cameron and Favreau are driving 3D into theaters, what’s keeping it there is the fans. On its opening weekend, Geforce managed to oust the hotly anticipated sixth Harry Potter film, which arrived in theaters one week prior. Additionally, Pixar’sUp has raked in over $280 million so far. And with other 3D films on the way, including the newestFinal Destination horror film, sales of 3D films have been up like, well, a house tied to a thousand balloons. And its not just movies popping out at you these days, either - and not one, but TWO companies, including San Diego’s ComGraph, were selling on-the-spot lenticular 3D pictures for fans – complete with themed 3D backgrounds!
Sure, you may find Cobra Commander, Jack Sparrow, and Princess Leia in a metal bikini, but San Diego Comic-Con has a wealth of information on the industry – and every now and again, you also get a glimpse into the future of entertainment – aliens in your living room, meatballs on your sofa, and waves lapping against your footstool. The future looks like it’s going to be a hell of a lot of fun.