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Lady Gaga joins films and newspapers in 3D
The singer has jumped on the latest showbiz bandwagon, announcing a series of ‘3D concerts’
Lady Gaga has joined the trend for all things 3D, announcing a '3D' concert tour. The announcement makes the electro-pop queen just the latest entertainer to hop on the bandwagon set in motion by the runaway success of James Cameron's 3D film Avatar.
Cameron's hit has already been overhauled by Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which this week posted opening weekend takings of $116.3m, making it the highest-grossing opening for a 3D film. The box-office appeal of 3D has led to the makers of other 2010-released blockbusters rushing to have their 2D films converted. Clash of the Titans, Shrek Forever After, Toy Story 3, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 will all now be released in 3D.
The news that Lady Gaga is to tour in 3D will come as no surprise to scientists who would point out that her concerts do always take place in three dimensions – granted that she is possessed of height, breadth and depth, as are her outrageous outfits and elaborate stage sets.
The '3D' tag in this case may be a reference to video projections to be used as a backdrop to Lady Gaga's performance – though the singer hasn't released any details of her plans.
The pop star's second album, The Fame Monster, which came out in December, was packaged with a set of 3D glasses and a message saying they would be useful for "things happening soon". Another report says the concert tour will be accompanied by a 3D DVD. Lady Gaga is known for her dazzling stage shows, which feature complicated sets and effects.
The draw of 3D is such that even newspapers are trying to gain a slice of the action. In Belgium, the French-language daily La Derniere Heure (DH) today issued what is thought to be Europe's first-ever 3D newspaper. DH's special edition ran to 150,000 copies, and came with free glasses. While the text was left unchanged, all images and adverts were printed in 3D.
"We hear about 3D cinema, television and video games, so we took up the challenge," said DH's editor, Hubert Leclercq. However, the experiment seems unlikely to herald a 3D revolution in print media. Leclerq explained there were no plans to repeat the special edition due to the high costs involved. ·
