THE 3D EXPERIENCE Report: Early Looks At TRON: LEGACY, TANGLED And MEGAMIND And What Happened On The Filmmakers Panel!
Hey guys - THE 3D EXPERIENCE has been wild so far and truly enjoyable. I am very happy with being able to meet so many industry and consumer delegates at the show that I have exchanged emails or phone calls with but had not met previously! Everyone impressed me with their passion and vision for modern S3D. I was right at home. Many familiar faces too - great to see you guys again!
I gathered the Filmmakers together just prior to the session so we could get to know each other and build some rapport before heading out on stage and what a great collection of talent! Catherine Owens, who co-directed and produced U2 3D is a creative genius. I can't wait to see what she has done next! Wayne Miller from Action3D spoke about his PHISH 3D concert movie and how he sees things unfolding in the coming years and my good friend James Stewart from Geneva Film always brings a professional and knowledgeable edge to any conversation. I opened up the audience to ask questions at ANY time throughout the session and we had 4 or 5 really great interrogatives. Most in the audience had seen 3D commercials and the unfortunate conversion of CLASH OF THE TITANS which we discussed briefly (I polled them).
The panel was warmly received and we had many come up to us afterward with compliments as to the content we discussed - some wished we could have stayed up there longer. It was an honor and a pleasure to host it. Perhaps we can amp it up somewhat at next year's festival. I know we will :-)
The advance looks at coming feature 3D movies was spectacular!! Here are some brief reports on what I saw:
Disney's TRON: LEGACY - The big one. The one we have been waiting for is not disappointing guys! It. Looks. Stunning. The visuals were so full of new and enigmatic futuristic content (the TRON world) that you could not take your eyes off the screen for a second for fear of missing something! The 3D was perfect. I firmly believe we have NOT seen the best of the 3D work yet either because the clip was shy of action sequences - something that will elevate the 3D mastery of TRON to supposed AVATAR levels. And beyond? That's what I am hearing from my sources. The gladiator games in this movie are going to knock your socks off. I won't spoil anything right now for you, but suffice to say it will be a wild ride indeed.
Disney's TANGLED - I was very taken by it! I have a sneaking suspicion that some may not like the animation style of the movie which to me looked somewhat similar to how World of Warcraft is presented - many rounded edges and a soft, pastel color palette. The lighting was superb! The sunlight through trees effect for example was thoughtfully done. I thought it held together VERY nicely and is a nice change from what we have been seeing from the other animation houses. Storywise I think Disney is right, young boys should enjoy this movie too. Rapunzel's mother certainly makes you think about what is going on psychologically with Rapunzel and adds a layer of depth that is unexpected with this family movie. I LOVED it. It should do VERY well. Oh and the chameleon's personality was exceptionally well done!
Dreamworks Animation's MEGAMIND - Another great job from the DWA team. Some solid laughs from the Will Ferrell voiced Megamind character will anchor this tentpole to very nice returns. While I am not as enthusiastic about this movie as I was for HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON or KUNG FU PANDA, Dreamworks Animation is definitely heading in the right direction as a company. Visually the 3D looked immaculate, no doubt to the descerning eye of stereoscopic guru Phil McNally and the story is original in that the main arch rival is actually killed off and the movie explores what happens NEXT. No spoilers there - you should already know this from the trailers. You can definitely tell that this movie was built for 3D from the ground up and believe me when I say this: It is appreciated! Top quality here guys.
You guys are going to ask how long the clips were and to be honest I started timing but completely forgot to note the length as the next clip lit up the screen. They were each about 10 to 15 minutes long though. :-)
We are entering the screening portion of the festival today and tomorrow and I am looking forward to seeing so many of the titles! I think tops on my list is NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD in 3D - I have already seen U2 3D three times and tonight will be number 4. Will let you know all about it in the coming days.
I want to say a deep thank you to Nino Balistreri for producing this wondeful 3D festival! He has gone above and beyond the call and you know what? That is exactly what is needed to pull something like this off. It is great working with you and I am looking forward to next year already! Great job. Also I want to point out the support and guidance that Bob Sunshine has given the event! His touch of class is very evident throughout. A perfect team!
