A friend of mine went to the new Star Tours in Disneyland which is in 3-D. We didn't get to talk at great length but he said that quite simply it was the best 3-D he'd ever seen, at minimum on par with Avatar if not better.
So this got me to thinking, how would Lucas use 3D, and how do non-Cameron directors use it. In the past I read how some directors prefer to strategically use 3-D so that it is purely an enhancement, not a distraction so for solid, slow scenes, what you could call the dramatic meat and potatoes type scenes, they user virtually no 3D, but when there is motion, a when the action on screen can be enhanced by 3D, they then use it. I apologize I cannot recall the article, but the basic premise makes a great deal of sense.
If you then take that approach and apply it to something like Star Wars, it actually begins to seem possible that it could be applied correctly if given proper restraint, but I disagree with the notion that the production costs are next to nothing. The areas of obvious 3D conversion will be the action sequences, and to do those correctly my guess is that they will be heavily recreated in order to achieve quality 3D. Logically, Lucas would use a combination of the central 'real' elements and then combine them with completely digital effects which would in fact be ideal for the 3D process because he can control exactly what is in focus, what the depth of field is etc.. The opening flight of the Republic Cruiser landing on the Droid Control ship, the interiors of the ship, the Pod Race, the *shudder* Planet Core, all should lend themselves to fantastic 3D conversions, but will not be cheap. Likewise, trying to add a more subtle 3D effect to existing 'flat footage won't be cheap either because, and this is just my guess/assumption, Lucas will demand that they do even the more subtle scenes well which requires painstaking work to create depth of field.
These aren't going to be cheap, and I am actually beginning to suspect that the 3D quality will add to them. The bigger question remains, how can I fathom watching unedited versions of Episodes 1 and 2?
