Peter Jackson screened about ten minutes of
The Hobbit at Cinema-Con last night and the audience reactions were divided. While some were wowed by the footage, which was shot and projected at 48 frames per second (twice the frame rate of almost every film made in the past 90 years), others claimed it looked like a "
Korean soap opera."
An unnecessary cultural jab aside, the main complaint seems to be that the lack of motion blur creates a live video feel that's reminiscent of the TruMotion settings on most HDTVs. Detractors like Badass Digest's Devin Faraci say the higher frame rates made the sets look cheap and a professional projectionist claims it looked like a
made-for-tv movie.
24fps / 48fps
There is a side to the debate that supports this cinematic advancement, however. Variety's Josh Dikey states that it was "a thing to behold." While this comment could be diplomatically vague for a reason, it does seem to connote a general sense of awe instead of disgust.
Deciding for yourself whether this new Double Stuf Cinema (a term I just invented but am sure will catch on quickly) is good, bad, or great will be tough since the film won't be released until December of this year and even then not all theaters will be able to project the higher frame rate.
Until then, let yourself be persuaded by the medium's biggest promoter, Peter Jackson:
Source:
Huffington Post
December 01, 2007, 11:38:25 AM
