Dr. Tongue�s �3-D House of Stewardesses� and �3-D House of Beef� were among the finer moments of SCTV�s Monster Chiller Horror Theatre. Clever retro send-ups of the 1980s 3-D fad.
Nobody�s laughing these days, because 3-D is serious business.
James Cameron�s 2009 box office hit Avatar opened the door to the advent of 3-D high-definition TV in 2010. Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace is the latest flick to get 3-D treatment, but the battlefield is really in the home market and sports programming is the magnet.
Focus group testing in 2010 by Nielsen and the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketers found 64% of participants ranked sports atop their list as the most-desirable programming in 3-D. There were 3.6 million 3-D TVs shipped last year in the U.S., and the industry forecasts doubling that number in 2012.
When Nielsen surveyed 27,000 people in 53 countries in September 2010, it found 13% already owned a 3-D TV or would definitely buy one in the next 12 months and 15% said they probably would buy. Skepticism reigned, however. A third said no to 3-D. In North America, the number was 59%. Many people don�t want to buy another TV so soon after investing in a high-definition set. Others are repelled by those pesky 3-D glasses.
Many Vancouverites got their first look at 3-D two years ago this month at Panasonic�s Olympic pavilion in the David Lam Park live site. Panasonic also helped longtime Olympic filmmaker Bud Greenspan in what became his last work, the 3-D Vancouver 2010: Stories of Olympic Glory. Panasonic also sponsored two Hockey Night in Canada 3-D game broadcasts on CBC last season, including the Calgary-hosted Heritage Classic.
Sony combined with Discovery and Imax to create the 3Net cable channel in the U.S., which includes Red Bull Rampage mountain biking and the Indy 500: The Inside Line documentary. Just in time for Chinese new year, China�s CCTV launched an over-the-air, free 3-D channel. ESPN is the worldwide leader in 3-D sports. Its 200th live event was the X Games at the end of January. It has the option to show Monday Night Football in 3-D in 2014.
Roger Williams, president and executive producer of Vancouver�s Image Media Farm, sees potential in the technology. His company produced 3-D videos for the Canadian Tourism Commission. One was on the Calgary Stampede and the other a compilation of landmarks, such as the Peace Tower, CN Tower, Niagara Falls, the Rocky Mountains and the Lions Gate Bridge during the Gran Fondo cycling race.
�The 3-D production is more difficult, of course, to handle and the expense because of the additional cameras, but it really bogs down in the transmission,� Williams said. �[Broadcasters] have the challenge to make sure that the transmission side of things is accurate and gets back to the viewing public in the proper form.�
Williams expects it to catch up. When the cost of equipment and production falls, the delivery becomes technically seamless and no glasses are required, �it will be a no-brainer; it will come fast and furiously.�
No doubt, the proliferation of 3-D smartphones and tablets will assist.
Cauldron costs
The Olympic Cauldron at Jack Poole Plaza was dormant for the second anniversary of the 2010 Winter Olympics opening on February 12. Vancouver Convention Centre spokeswoman Jinny Wu says it�s still in working order.
But BC Pavilion Corp. documents show it�s not cheap to turn on Canada�s most famous outdoor fireplace. The Crown corporation set the price to burn FortisBC natural gas for four hours at a minimum of $3,500, which covers $2,500 for labour and permits and $1,000 for gas.
The included $200 City of Vancouver fire permit requires a 20-pound CO2 fire extinguisher and a phone call to the fire department 10 minutes before cauldron activation.
Sutton Group West Coast Realty agreed to pay $5,000 (plus HST and a 5% administration fee) for its event last June 25. The August 14 Sawan Mela was charged $4,000. It was �gratis� from Fortis when Premier Christy Clark activated it before the Vancouver Canucks lost Stanley Cup final games on June 6 and 8.
Annual maintenance is estimated at $6,212.25. There was a one-time $10,000 lid upgrade.��
