[by TechRadar]

Comments from analyst Richard Greenfield, who argued that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ low 3D ticket sales spell the beginning of the end for 3D movies, have been heartily rebuffed by Digital Cinema Media (DCM).

You’ll probably recognise DCM, whose idents run at the beginning of pretty much any movie shown in the UK’s major cinema chains. The company sells cinema advertising with Odeon, Cineworld, Vue, Picturehouse and IMAX cinemas and relies on keeping its finger on the UK’s cinematic pulse.

Maybe it was terrible story what dun it

Greenfield looked to the relatively low ratio of 3D to 2D ticket sales forPirates as evidence for the decline.

But Jeremy Playle, Sales Director at DCM, told TechRadar, “Despite premium ticket prices, 3D films continue to draw larger crowds than their 2D versions. As we have seen with Pirates of the Caribbean 4, people are voting with their feet with UK admissions to 3D screenings 34 per cent higher than 2D screenings.”

Playle also takes issue with the idea that children are loathe to don the 3D specs:

“Kids in particular love 3D films. I know this anecdotally from my own children but also from research by the Cinema Advertising Association which shows 61 per cent of children cinemagoers (under 15s) are more likely to see a film at the cinema if shown in 3D, that’s 37 per cent more likely than the average UK cinemagoer.”

Greenfield concluded that Hollywood should ditch 3D and concentrate on making more appealing films with strong narratives, something that no cinephile is going to argue with.

“Of course cinema goers are incredibly discerning, so it is not enough to simply have fantastic 3D visual effects. A films success also depends on a compelling storyline which 3D can really enhance and build on to create a really rewarding viewing experience,” said Playle.

All in all, 3D has been and continues to be a good thing for the British cinema-going public, he concluded: “The explosion of 3D films has created a real boost to the UK film industry. In 2010 annual admissions were the 4th highest of all time!”

See the original post here: http://3dradar.techradar.com/3d-tech/exclusive-brits-lapped-pirates-caribbean-3d-says-cinema-boss-25-05-2011

[By: Matthew Humphries, Geek.com]

Earlier this week we reported on the issue of trying to sit through a 2D film that was way too darkdue to a 3D lens being left on a Sony digital projector. Ty Burr of the Boston Globe has investigated and tracked the problem down to a 3D lens that was too complicated to remove and risked the projector shutting down. He found movie theaters were deciding to leave the 3D lens on those projectors which is what is causing all these dark 2D movies.

Understandably, Sony aren’t too pleased about the information circulating about this issue, and the fact its projectors are being blamed. Sony Digital Cinema got in touch with us to try and clarify the “inaccurate statements that are currently circulating on the web.”

The claims made against the Sony digital projector with 3D lens attached are as follows:

• Sony 3D projectors are the only ones to use two stacked beams of light
• The removal of the 3D lens is a complicated and time consuming process that is easy to get wrong
• Sony 3D projectors are the cause of dark 2D movie playback if the 3D lens is left on

Firstly, Sony states that they aren’t the only ones to use two stacked beams of light for 3D projection. Any projector using the RealD XL cinema system will have those same two beams, so you cannot rely on that fact to know it’s a Sony projector.

Secondly, the complicated lens removal process is questioned with Sony stating a “trained technician” can change the lens in under 20 minutes. What we don’t know is whether the term !trained technician! extends to projectionists. We assume that it does, as it would make little sense requiring a technician to visit every time a lens needs changing. They also point out that lens changes don’t require accessing the projection system, only the front of the projector. It is also confirmed that a projector operator has to login to operate the digital projector and that it is standard practice for all digital projection systems.

On the final, and most important point of a 3D lens making the movie darker, Sony confirms that the RealD filters do reduce lighting levels by 20%, but when running in 2D mode the filters are not in use so it shouldn’t be reducing the light output.

So what we can take away from this is that changing the lens isn’t as complicated as first thought, and with the proper training a projector operator should be able to perform such a change between screenings. As to the issue of dark films, it seems that if setup correctly a 3D lens should be able to play a 2D movie without making them darker. But that relies on the RealD filters being turned off.

The fact remains that people are visiting movie theaters and seeing dark 2D screenings. Something is causing this to happen, but as far as Sony is concerned their projector is not at fault. What we want to know is whether it’s easy to leave the RealD filters on when playing a 2D movie. If they can be left on, then that could be the cause of the dark movies. We are open to other suggestions as to the cause, though.

You can view Sony Digital System’s 4K projection fact page and check out the details for yourself.

See the original post here: http://www.geek.com/articles/news/sony-digital-cinema-claims-3d-projection-lens-fine-for-2d-movies-20110527/