Michael Bay Testing 3D for Transformers 3

Michael Bay has been vocally against the growing popularity of 3D films, at last year's theatrical exhibitors ShoWest convention making the very unpopular statement that "I think it might be a gimmick." He added that he didn't know for sure, and that he was "looking forward to [James] Cameron's picture." And Avatar came, and became the biggest grossing film of all time. That's what they call a game changer.

We've heard that Paramount is pushing to film Transformers 3 in 3D, but will Bay budge? Bay appeared on Starz' In the House last night, where he talked about many things, including the possibility of seeing big giant robots on the big screen in 3D:

I find it very interesting that Bay uses the word "process" and not "technology". Also curious is the comment that he's "seen some tests that look great on other movies". Both of these statements lead me to assume that Bay isn't planning to shoot Transformers 3 in 3D after all, but is considering post production 3D processing, a process that even James Cameron has called out as being a gimmick. One of the reasons Bay mentioned last year for not wanting to make a 3D film was that the 3D technology is too fragile for his explosive-level of filmmaking.

Other bits revealed on the Starz show:

Bay plans to shoot his small movie project, Pain and Gain after Transformers 3

Bay claims that Transformers 3 "can't just rehash the old," so they're "adding a lot of new elements", "new characters," and "a lot of twists." Oh, my.

“I shoot complicated stuff, I put real elements into action scenes and honestly, I am not sold right now on the conversion process,” says Michael Bay. Paramount and DreamWorks are pressuring him to allow Transformers 3 to be dimensional-ized after the fact, because there simply isn’t enough time to shoot with 3D camera and post the film between now and its July 1, 2011 release date. Cameron took his time on Avatar, and will do the same with the elaborate Fantastic Voyage remake he’s producing for Fox. His longtime 3D documentary collaborator, Andrew Wight, did the same when he produced the underwater thriller Sanctum. Conversions, on the other hand, are rush jobs done right before release dates.

Bay investigated shooting at least some Transformers 3 footage with 3D cameras, but found them too heavy and cumbersome for the fast pace action scenes he shoots. Bay feels the process of sending out 2D film for 3D conversion is more problematic and pricey than studios are admitting. Too often, companies selling 3D retrofitting services arrive with a sharp demo reel, but leave with a deer-in-the-headlights look when Bay gives them his own footage to convert, on a tight deadline.

“I am trying to be sold, and some companies are still working on the shots I gave them,” Bay said. “Right now, it looks like fake 3D, with layers that are very apparent. You go to the screening room, you are hoping to be thrilled, and you’re thinking, huh, this kind of sucks. People can say whatever they want about my movies, but they are technically precise, and if this isn’t going to be excellent, I don’t want to do it. And it is my choice.”

Bay uses the same top-shelf crews and visual effects teams on all his films, and he bolstered the quality of his Transformers 3 cast with Frances McDormand and John Malkovich. He objects to the idea of handing over his finished film to an unproven process--and people who haven't had time to develop a level of trust with him--with a release date bearing down on him.

Said Bay: “I’m used to having the A-team working on my films, and I’m going to hand it over to the D-team, have it shipped to India and hope for the best? This conversion process is always going to be inferior to shooting in real 3D. Studios might be willing to sacrifice the look and use the gimmick to make $3 more a ticket, but I’m not. Avatar took four years. You can’t just shit out a 3D movie. I’m saying, the jury is still out.”

Bay also disputes the $100,000 per minute conversation cost estimate. Try between $120,000 to $150,000 per minute, he said, with a top-shelf conversion of Transformers 3 costing $30 million.