The Trend: The huge resurgence in 3D. James Cameron is a director that has always pushed the boundaries of filmmaking technology, and after a decade away from the big-screen Avatar showed that he hadn't lost his touch. Yes the narrative side of things leaves a lot to be desired, but as a visual spectacle it was one of, if not the, most immersive experience to be found in theaters. The $2.78bn box office juggernaut also caused a huge resurgence in 3D, with each lovingly-crafted native 3D movie made since being heavily outnumbered by shoddy post-conversions designed to make a quick buck. Shot on a massive performance capture stage known as 'The Volume', six times larger than any other of its kind, Cameron used the 3D Fusion Camera System that he had helped develop and a virtual camera system that allowed him to view the digital version of the actors and their surroundings in real-time, a technique that the director said was 'a form of pure creation'. Little did he realize that almost every major studio release from then on would be released in the third dimension, with varying degrees of quality. As the first major 3D release post-Avatar, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland made over a billion dollars, while Clash of the Titans raked in almost $500m thanks in part to the financial boost from the awful post-conversion that was tacked on a few weeks before release. Since then, directors as high-profile as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Peter Jackson and even Michael Bay have made good use of native 3D, although it remains a tool for studios to squeeze some extra cash from audiences. 8 of last year's top 10 biggest movies were 3D releases, so it doesn't seem like the trend will be ending anytime soon.
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