“So much has already been written about how Avatar was made–how it took nearly five years and a reported $300 million to complete, how Cameron shot nearly the whole thing in a barren airplane hangar he nicknamed the Volume, how he invented his own ‘performance capture’ cameras that could seamlessly sew human actors into a CGI world in real time” Benjamin Svetkey, Entertainment Weekly
An appreciation of these breakthrough technological techniques described by Svetkey in the quotation above is a large reason why 3D movies like Avatar and Alice and Wonderland have been such hits at the box office. But during a recession, is an appreciation of the art form of making 3D films (film literacy) going to keep attracting so many people to the movie theaters? In otherwords, will film literacy continue to result in box office success for the rest of the 3D films coming out in 2010?
film literacy: the ability to appreciate movie making as an art form with unique-to-the-medium techniques that add impact or facilitate the telling of a story
There is a lot that can be said about the impact Avatar’s chart topping success will have on the rest of the entertainment industry. But it is going to be very interesting to see how consumers respond to the other twenty-something movies set to be released in 3D in 2010. With the price of movie tickets going up, will 3D movies continue to top the box office charts during the recession? Or will Americans start looking for escape and leisure outside the third dimension of film?