How to make a 3d movie?

Why are movie producers choosing to make movies 3D instead of focusing more on content?

• It seems that every recent movie is in 3D, and the focus is on that rather than the actual storyline. Many movies put 3D and visuals first and put the plot line on the back burner. Many people I have asked said that they would prefer a better quality story than 3D.

• Answer:

  In addition to James's answer, I'd further emphasize the increased profits substantially over the other two. There are a number of movies that have been converted in postproduction to 3D (Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans), where this was not a binary choice between "a better story" and "in 3D" - the movies were already shot, and the only choice was between layering the 3D after the fact and making more money, or not doing it. If you look at the economics of the movie industry, opening weekend sets the tone for total box office revenue, which has significant downstream impacts for DVD sales, cable deals, and reach of international distribution. So, any opportunity to enhance box office receipts reflects on the bottom line significantly. One big selling point of 3D is that you can get a higher box office, without needing to convince more people to actually come and see the movie. That's particularly appealing when the movie isn't that great to begin with. Another factor is that 3D is available on a substantial number of screens for the first time. This naturally makes higher profile movies more likely to consider a 3D play, because they won't sacrifice in terms of playing in a wide release on thousands of screens. Finally, I would posit that your sample size might be biased or too small. If you look at the numbers that 3D movies have been putting up - especially in the second and third weekends in release - it's clear that the American public cares more about 3D than better stories right now. The big question is whether Hollywood will kill the golden goose by putting out too many crappy 3D pictures, and thereby discouraging people from going to see them.