3D conversion best for classic films

James Cameron has taken a swipe at studios that add 3D to films in post-production, saying that 3D retro-fitting should only be used for classic movies like “Jaws” or “ET”.
The “Avatar” director said it had been a “mistake” to attempt to add 3D to the latest “Harry Potter” film, “the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”.
And he predicted that the practice of adding 3D to movies in post-production would end with the widespread take-up of 3D by TV broadcasters.
Speaking at the Blu-Con event in Beverly Hills, Cameron repeated his assertion that studios should not attempt to “shoehorn” 3D conversion -- after the film has been shot -- into the normal post-production time frame.
“I maintain you can't do a good conversion of a two-hour movie with high quality in a few weeks like they tried to do with 'Clash of the Titans'.
“I don't mean to throw that movie under the bus because my buddy Sam [Worthington, star of 'Avatar'] is in it, but I think everybody realised that this was a point at which people had gone too far.”
Cameron added: “You see another stumble with the most recent 'Harry Potter' movie from the same studio making the same mistake -- except really getting spanked for it now because they didn't get the film done.
“They announced it in 3D -- threw a bunch of money trying to convert it to 3D in post-production and it simply didn't work. They just didn't get it done.”
Avatar holds the record for the highest-grossing film ever, having earned some $2.77 billion (£1.76 billion) at the global box office. A “special edition” 2D Blu-ray version of “Avatar” is set for release in November, with a 3D Blu-ray release in the pipeline.
Cameron predicted that the days of 3D conversion in movies were numbered.
The director also said that glasses-free 3D would be a reality within a decade.
“Once we get to auto-stereoscopic, that's watching 3-D without glasses, it is going to be the way we watch all of our media. That's probably eight to 10 years away.”

Source: BBC