Published by Torsten Hoffmann, March 2014.
The first part of this opinionpiece received a lot of views, generated many retweets, was reposted on several other 3D sites and spurred a lively discussion on LinkedIn. I have also received numerous suggestions and direct feedback. Thank you all for that.
Here is the second part of my article in which I try to show that everyone in our industry has contributed to the current 3D crisis.
6. 3D Broadcasters
A. The 3D TV Channels can be accused of being short-sighted. In hindsight we can say that most of the 3D channels were too early. They started broadcasting and investing heavily in (mostly live) content at a time where there were virtually no 3DTVs in the market. Live content is extremely difficult, costly, and commercial suicide because no one ever watches replays of yesterday’s sports game. And two years later, sure enough, the same 3D broadcasters are closing down declaring that “3D is dead”. Both their entries and exits can now be seen as premature. But at least they tried, and spent considerable funds doing so.
3DTV forecasts
B. Even the larger 3D broadcasters backed by big media corporations did not acquire or commission third party content in meaningful volume. Only initially few projects were commissioned to big production companies. In 3D, the learning curve is steep and normally the third and fourth production from a filmmaker turns out really well. Unfortunately, very few producers ever got to this stage. Most independent producers never got a chance to learn and the larger production firms have already moved on (to 4k or ‘back’ to HD). Only a handful of dedicated firms get the majority of 3D production budgets. They produce on the highest level, but this is a small and exclusive club. Hence, the broadcasters missed the opportunity to create a wider production ecosystem.
7. Equipment makers.
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