The adult entertainment industry was one of the first to embrace 3D but there is still some hesitation that the technology will be a flop.
This is according to Gregory Dorcel, CEO of Dorcel3D, a French-based production company that specialises in creating 3D adult content, and one of the first companies in the world to offer this content as a 3D VOD service.
Speaking at the 3DTV World Forum, and also sponsoring the two-day event, Dorcel said about 3D: "The adult industry did not succeed in monetising HD, so we have a huge challenge with 3D."
"The most important thing for us is not to do the same mistakes we did on the HD side."
One of the ways, explained Dorcel, to make sure 3D is a success is to have enough content to satisfy demand, something he believes hasn't happened yet.
"The industry needs to have more and more content to attract the consumer. At the moment we feel that the content is much too low.
"We are one of the biggest 3D producers in the world and we have a medium sized company dedicated to adult content – but there needs to be more people using 3D.
If this doesn't happen, we are afraid that we face a flop again with 3D."
More immersive
Regardless of his worry about the lack of content, Dorcel is adamant that 3D and the adult industry are well suited and it's because the technology can bring a more immersive viewing experience. The 3D Dorcel is creating, however, is not the same as you will see in cinemas – for 3D to work in the adult movie business it needs to be more in your face, so a 2D to 3D conversion just wouldn't work.
"As you can expect, a 3D image coming out of the screen is great for the viewer. So we need to have the wow effect for 3D, and you don't get this with 2D to 3D conversion.
"Having 3D that offers just a background effect is not an attractive enough concept for the public to pay for.
"We are treating 3D as a new type of entertainment. For us 3D content should not be made the same way as 3D. It should be directed and produced with 3D in the mind, this is why we have set up a dedicated team for 3D."
As the 3D effect is so powerful in Dorcel3D's productions, the run time of the content has been significantly reduced so as to not give the viewer eye strain.
"All the programs have a duration of 15 minutes to 30 minutes each," explained Dorcel.
"This is for comfort. For regular 3D content, the maximum exposure should be around 100 minutes. For images that come further out of the screen, this needs to be limited to around 30 minutes."
With an investment of 1.4 million Euros in a 3D adult content production arm, Dorcel will be hoping that more use the technology in the porn world – as this isn't exactly an industry that embraces premature endings.
