Hollywood is set to unleash a wave of films in 3D following the success of James Cameron's Oscar-nominated blockbuster Avatar. Sony Pictures recently indicated that its planned 're-boot' of the Spider-Man franchise will see the next film shot in 3D. Now Warner Bros has confirmed that the final two Harry Potter films will be shown in 3D, as well as its forthcoming action fantasy, Clash of the Titans (trailer above).

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 will be released in 3D this November while its 'Part 2' sequel is scheduled for July 2011. Warner also confirmed yesterday that it plans to release Clash of the Titans, a remake of the 1981 film starring Laurence Olivier, in 3D along with children's movies Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore and Zack Snyder's Guardians of Ga'Hoole.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 will be released in 3D this November

Like Cameron's Avatar, the films will be shown in stereoscopic 3D - known in the film trade as S3D - but the plan is to convert the footage, rather than film it using special cameras as Cameron did.

Thanks to new technology the process of conversion can now be done relatively quickly. In order to release Clash of the Titans in 3D Warner Bros has pushed the film's release date back by just one week to April 2. They have hired the Indian-owned, Hollywood-based post-production company Prime Focus, which worked on Avatar, to convert the film into 3D within 10 weeks using a new technology that it says can convert films into 3D "exponentially faster" than any other method. Its claim will now be put to the test.

Clash of the Titans also has another link to James Cameron's film - it features Avatar star Sam Worthington in the lead role of Perseus. The Australian's co-stars include Liam Neeson as Zeus, Ralph Fiennes as Hades and Danny Huston as Poseidon.

Thanks to new technology, 3D is also moving out of the cinemas. Last weekend saw Sky claim the first-ever sports broadcast when it screened the Arsenal v Manchester United Premier League match in 3D. And Sunday night's Grammy Awards saw a tribute to the late Michael Jackson shown in 3D, with America's biggest music stars donning oversized plastic 3D glasses to watch it.

But can the viewing experience be improved? At the Grammys, not even Beyonce could make the glasses look good.
(What ****ing difference does it make what the glasses look like? As long as they are comfortable!).