Will 3-D Sportscasting Save the Movie Theater?

http://www.wired.com/print/entertainment/hollywood/news/2008/07/portfolio_0724

 

By Kevin Maney, Portfolio.com  07.24.08

News from Portfolio.com

 

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban gave a presentation to the FCC about the future of digital media, and his number one point -- obviously a little self-serving, but it wouldn't be Cuban if it wasn't -- was that people will be able to go to a movie theater and watch a major sporting event in 3-D.

 

Crazy talk? Not at all. We're going to see a lot of experiments in this realm over the next couple of years. As I wrote about in Portfolio, movie theaters are increasingly installing expensive equipment that will let them show digital 3-D films. Theaters will be looking for ways to make extra money on that investment.

 

Meanwhile, Pace Technologies has been developing live-action 3-D cameras chiefly for Hollywood. Pace cameras were used to shoot Journey to the Center of the Earth, and right now are shooting James Cameron's upcoming 3-D movie, Avatar. As it turns out, the cameras can also shoot live events in 3-D.

 

Earlier this year, I visited Pace and saw a demo -- and it truly is a different experience from seeing a game on 2-D television. It's not like seeing it live, either, but something different and interesting. As the Pace folks explained, for instance, they discovered that constant cutting to different shots -- a TV staple -- isn't necessary in 3-D. It seems better to let the camera take in the full-court action. Viewers feel a little like they're watching from halfway up the arena seats.

 

Cuban experimented with showing a Mavericks playoff game in a theater, and the NBA tried a closed-circuit 3-D broadcast of the 2007 All-Star game, showing it to only 600 people in a Las Vegas theater.

 

But there are high hopes in both sports and the theater industry around this. Imagine the local theater showing the Super Bowl in 3-D, or the World Cup soccer finals.

 

I'd go.