COMING SOON…


Features based on comic book and children’s characters, classic adventures, ballets and sporting events are all in the list of upcoming European 3D productions »p4


TECH OF THE TIMES As 3D changes fi lm-making, Screen surveys developments in software and hardware: from dual lens camcorders to iPhone apps


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LET’S TALK ABOUT FX How Europe’s post-production sector is gearing up for growth in local and international 3D productions, with a focus on key post hotspots »p13


Valentine as a spur to explore 3D, Verti- go’s Rupert Preston suggests that “crea- tively, dance lends itself perfectly to the 3D medium”. Vertigo is now back on the 3D trail with an adaptation of children’s story Horrid Henry, which Preston calls “the perfect live-action 3D movie. There will be the fi rst [3D] fl icking of bogeys and poo falling on people’s heads.” Cost of production may be a down-


side but the obvious commercial upside to 3D comes in the form of enhanced ticket prices. “It is more expensive but the cinema tickets are 20%-25% more for a 3D film than for a 2D film,” says Preston. “As a distributor, you gain there what you might lose in the cost of the production.” In spite of StreetDance’s runaway suc-


cess, the UK’s independent producers have remained wary of 3D. In Europe, the picture is more upbeat. France’s CNC has provided funding to 22 differ- ent 3D productions (not all features), and there are some very ambitious com- panies entering the 3D arena. When Belgian producer-director Ben


Stassen founded nWave Pictures in 1994, the company specialised in CGI ride fi lms shown in Imax theatres. Now the company has turned its attention toward 3D, striking a long-term devel- opment deal with French major Studio- Canal which should ensure its future films are seen all around the world. The challenge is to deliver movies which can compete with Hollywood 3D, even if they are made for much smaller budgets. One of Europe’s 3D pioneers, Stas-


sen’s trailblazing 2008 feature Fly Me To The Moon (released by Summit in the US) has made around $50m worldwide, while its $25m successor, Sammy’s Adventures: The Secret Passage, is on tar- get to make $80m-$90m worldwide (excluding the US, where distribution arrangements are yet to be fi nalised). Stassen’s bugbear is fi lms which use


3D in a tokenistic fashion. Around a third of the 3D releases from the major studios in 2010 were converted dur- ing post-production, but Stas- sen believes that for 3D to work, producers need to


Despicable Me: made in France European 3D special 2010 Screen International 3 ■


‘3D is more expensive but you gain [in ticket prices] what you might lose in the


embrace it at the outset of any given project. If it is just an “add on”, he argues, audiences will lose faith quickly. Musical concert fi lms, which provide


fi xed subjects, and computer-animated titles are easier to shoot in 3D than live action. There are signs too that inde- pendent producers in Europe are start- ing to use 3D in a more adventurous way. Horror movies, nature documenta- ries and sports films are all currently being made in the format. “For me, 3D is a kind of super close-up. You should use it with care but if you use it properly, you can use it on any kind of narrative,” producer Sam Taylor, co-founder of Film & Music Entertainment, noted


cost of production’ Rupert Preston, Vertigo Films


SELLING 3D TITLES 3D is making its presence felt at the major markets. Geoffrey Macnab reports


In 2008, 3D screening facilities were primitive or non-existent at the major markets. Even without them, there were bidding wars when fi lms such as Ben Stassen’s Fly Me To The Moon were presented to buyers. Pre-Avatar, and in a period when many territories lacked digital 3D cinemas, independent distributors could still see the upside in acquiring 3D fare that could compete with the fi lms being released by the majors. At the American Film Market (AFM) in


2009, UK-based sales outfi t Protagonist Pictures did a roaring trade on the live-action musical StreetDance 3D. The novelty value was a strong selling point for European buyers. “At that time, there hadn’t been much independent 3D material available in the market,” says Ben Roberts, CEO of Protagonist. “It was defi nitely a plus for us in terms of being able to present something that was quite distinctive.” The attraction was obvious. Here was


a “pretty reasonably priced” 3D movie which distributors could release alongside the big Hollywood 3D pictures. For many independent distributors who had not released a 3D fi lm before, StreetDance was a test case. “There were a lot of unknowns in terms of delivery and technical specifi cations,” says Roberts.


“It was a challenge in terms of learning what we had to deliver.” Though buyers fretted about the


recently. F&ME’s 3D pictures include the natural history documentary Turtle: The Incredible Journey and thriller The Mortician 3D. The Ile de France Film Commission’s


Veillon argues the talent in Europe is already there. What is needed now is confi dence and a sense of solidarity — and that is what an event such as Parisfx aims to provide. “The idea is to create an occasion for the great talents that exist in 3D and visual effects to show the most creative aspects of their work,” he says. “The community of producers and directors need to realise they have great talent which they can bring to cinema in France and abroad.” 


s


Fly Me To The Moon


logistical complexities of releasing the fi lm and the availability of 3D screens, StreetDance sold quickly in most major territories, a sign distributors and exhibitors are willing to pick up the extra upfront costs which 3D incurs. At the AFM this year, 3D fare was more


commonplace than at previous markets. Celsius was screening its Netherlands- Indonesia monster movie Amphibious 3D, which has already sold widely; 3D Asian horror was abundant (for example, the Pang brothers’ The Child’s Eye); and SND Groupe M6 was pre-selling the 3D Asterix: The Land Of The Gods. All this attests to a new-found


confi dence about the format, though sellers are not preparing to abandon 2D. “We wouldn’t sell anything that wouldn’t work as well in 2D,” Ben Roberts states. “3D can’t be the reason someone is buying a fi lm. It’s got to be a bonus.”


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