[by MediaCaster Magazine]

Advertisers who want to increase memory retention among their audiences should seriously look at 3D, says a leading producer of stereoscopic 3D commercials.

Educators, too, can take advantage of 3D as a learning tool that increases understanding and retention for students, as well.

The latest techniques for stereoscopic 3D production and distribution were on display last week, as suppliers, vendors and users of new S3D equipment participated in Ontario Projection: Advances in 3D.

The 3D presentations and exhibits were part of the Ontario Centres for Excellence (OCE) Discovery 2011 conference, where 3D production and development opportunities were positioned among many other technological developments as a leading driver for several Ontario businesses, organizations and service providers.

Broadcasters like the CBC, equipment manufacturers like Quantel, consumer electronics companies including Spatial View, 3D equipment and post-production service providers such as DJWoods/3reedom, and 3D production training institutions like Loyalist College and more participated in the OCE 3D conference.

But it was Toronto-based producer James Stewart who shared some startling statistics about the impact and efficacy of 3D commercial content with the conference, in special conference sessions dedicated to 3D.

Stewart showed that the use of 3D in advertising yields eye-popping returns in memory retention with audiences exhibiting 92% total recall of an ad.

What’s more, he said, 68% of that number show a higher likelihood of following through with a purchase of the product advertised ¿ a significant increase over the same commercial in 2D.

Quoting studies from multiple independent sources ¿ including ESPN, Xpand and Texas Instruments, the data shows an average increase in viewer retention of 15%. Showing examples of his 3D work used in customer testing, Stewart said, “For a nominal increase in production costs, you get a 15% ¿ 20% increase in ad recall. Who does not want that?”

But advertising is not the only medium where retention rates are boosted through the use of 3D.

Stewart also provided the Discovery audience with powerful data from a study conducted in the UK on behalf of Texas Instruments, showing that the use of 3D as a learning method in the classroom also improved a pupil’s understanding of a difficult topic.

Children’s mean scores in lessons taught using 3D ranked 8.33 out of 10 while traditionally taught returned mean scores of 7 out of 10. 2

“3D is now prominent in our movie theatres and is becoming increasingly acknowledged by the advertising community as the powerful and immersive advertising medium. And, based on information I’ve shared at this conference, clearly 3D has legs beyond commercial use,” Stewart said. “Now we have the empirical research to validate what our gut and the rising audience attendance rates in theatres have been telling us all along. 3D is not just here to stay – it is going to dominate communication channels in the future.”

During a similar presentation he delivered during Ad Week in Toronto, Stewart shared much of the same information, telling ad agencies and producers in attendance, “Whether it’s two weeks, six months or ten years, the work you will be doing will be stereoscopic 3D.”

That’s what he has been doing since 2008, when his company, Geneva Films, first produced a 3D commercial.

Now, he’s produced over 25 projects in digital 3D including cinema commercials, concerts, stop- motion and CG animation. Recent projects include 3D cinema commercials for Lexus LFA, Sprint and JCPenney, Ontario 4D for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, live 3D concert films of the Montreux Jazz  Festival and Kylie Minogue, a science documentary with Cornell University, the stop¿motion film Foxed! And Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams.

Ontario will soon host another major 3D conference, with particpation again coming from business, academia, media and manufacturing.

The International Stereoscopic 3D Conference, a one-of-a-kind gathering of experts in stereoscopic 3D art and entertainment, takes place in Toronto June 11 to 14. It’s organized by the 3D Film Innovation Consortium (3D FLIC) and researchers from York University .

See the original post here: http://www.mediacastermagazine.com/issues/story.aspx?aid=1000444155

[by Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter]

This summer will put 3D to the test, with some saying America’s appetite is waning because of the extra cost of a ticket.

Is the summer box office turning out to be a high-stakes showdown over 3D?

This week, debate erupted across Hollywood over the fact that a majority of moviegoers in North America chose to see Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on conventional screens and not shell out the extra money for a 3D ticket.

That’s a first for a major studio tentpole. Usually, 55% to 65% of a film’s opening weekend gross at the domestic box office comes from 3D screens. For Pirates, just 47% saw it in 3D.

Some say Pirates is nothing short of a wake-up call and that the appetite for 3D is waning in the U.S. because of the extra cost of a 3D ticket. But others insist that’s not the case. One point everyone agrees on — more and more, companies must market the 3D aspect when plugging a movie.

Overseas, it’s a different story. The appetite for 3D is virtually insatiable in such territories as Russia, China and Brazil. That’s a big reason why the fourth Pirates film scored the biggest international opening of all time at $260.4 million.

Fueled by its foreign performance, Stranger Tides is expected to jump the $400 million mark at the worldwide box office on Wednesday, less than a week into its release. In the U.S., Stranger Tides opened to a perfectly respectable $90.1 million, although Disney would have liked to hit $100 million.

By its own admission, Disney didn’t heavily promote the fact that Stranger Tides was in 3D.

Paramount is taking the opposite approach with Michael Bay’s summer tentpoleTransformers: Dark of the Moon, which like Stranger Tides is the first title in its franchise to be in 3D. Last week, Paramount partnered with THR to host a conversation between Bay andJames Cameron, considered the godfather of modern-day 3D.

At the event, Paramount showed 18 minutes of footage from Transformers. Two days later, a 3D trailer of Transformers, which bows July 1, went out with Stranger Tides.

“Inside the U.S., people need to be convinced why they should see a movie in 3D,” one Paramount executive said.

Likewise, Warner Bros. is touting the 3D element in promoting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, saying that fans of the franchise should “complete the journey in 3D.” UnlikeTransformers or Stranger Tides, Deathly Hallows wasn’t shot in 3D but converted after the fact.

The summer is full of other 3D titles, including Kung Fu Panda 2, which opens Thursday; Green Lantern; Captain America: The First Avenger; and The Smurfs.

“Because one movie didn’t live up to expectations, it’s too early to announce the demise of 3D. It just doesn’t make sense,” another studio executive cautioned. “If a pattern develops, then you say there’s been an adjustment.”

See the original post here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pirates-caribbeans-low-3d-numbers-191772