Last month, Ang Lee unveiled “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” which earned plenty of conversation about its presentation — the film was shot at 120 frames per second, and projected in 4K and 3D — but not much praise for the technical leap. The idea that some filmmakers have continued to push is that if the movies look more like real life, it’ll lead to a deeper cinematic experience, but so far, that theory hasn’t really been proven. Audiences and critics just think it all looks weird, but nonetheless, James Cameron, an advocate of all things fancy and new, is going to take the baton from Lee, and push things forward.
Speaking at the Centennial Gala of Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers last week, the director behind “Avatar” and its many upcoming sequels, made it clear that he has far from given up on high tech approaches to filmmaking.
“I’m going to push. Not only for better tools, workflow, high dynamic range and high frame rates — the things we are working toward. I’m still very bullish on 3D, but we need brighter projection, and ultimately I think it can happen — with no glasses. We’ll get there,” he proclaimed.
Well, we’ll see. There are many hurdles to clear, including convincing theater owners that adjusting their operations for the high frame-rate format that audiences don’t seem to particularly care about, is something they should pay attention to. But 3D without glasses? That would be nice, but I’d like to see scenes actually conceived and shot in 3D rather than post-converted happen first, as far too often, three dimensions seems to be an afterthought.
Thoughts on the high-tech future of moviegoing? Let us know in the comments section.