Tron: Legacy may be the first exception to the slew of recent big budget films released in 3D to yield a larger profit margin for studios.

The Disney feature was filmed using a newer generation of the Fusion Camera System developed by James Cameron for Avatar — meaning the 3D elements were done during the filming and not in post-production like Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, and several others.

“The look of Tron is unique. That’s one of the strongest things about it,” said producer and director of the original Tron Steven Lisberger during a press conference at 2010 San Diego Comic-Con.

“On the first film, it felt like we were doing 3D,” said Lisberger. “I kept thinking, we’re doing all this work that people aren’t going to see,” since much of the visual imagery in the original was first rendered in 3D using a computer and later placed into the footage.

Other elements of Tron Legacy seem to be on par with the camera work — most notably, the music.

The film’s score was tailor-made by Daft Punk, who began producing the music long before cameras were involved, according to director Joe Kosinski.

“I met them for pancakes and discussed their passion for Tron” about two years ago, Kosinski said. “So, we were doing music before we even started filming the movie.”

Even the buzz around Tron Legacy is well planned. The fierce marketing campaign that started last year when the studio set up a Flynn’s Arcade in downtown San Diego to coincide with Comic-Con. This year cast and crew have been in full force doing several press-only events and a large panel for the masses. [READ: SDCC 2010: “˜Tron Legacy’ New Footage Description + Trailer]. Also, Flynn’s Arcade is back open again this year (pictures to come soon).