A couple of weeks ago, Andy Serkis was on THE COLBERT REPORT to promote the release of THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, and they showed the scene of Bilbo and Gollum's first meeting:
Andy Serkis on THE COLBERT REPORT (watch the movie clip at 2:45)
On your computer screen, the scene probably looks like any normal movie clip. But when I watched the episode on my 40-inch hi-def LCD TV, I thought it looked a bit odd, like the image was too bright, crisp, smooth, and computer-generated. In other words, it looked too much like video.
As you've may have heard, Peter Jackson shot THE HOBBIT in with hi-def cameras at a much-touted 48 frames per second frame rate (being marketed as "HFR") as opposed to the usual 24 frames per second. Supposedly, the higher frame better approximates the way the human eye actually sees; lacking the motion blur that occurs with moving images shot at 24 frames per second. I'm not going to go into the science of it all, because Movieline already published an excellent analysis:
The Science of High Frame Rates, Or: Why 'The Hobbit' Looks Bad At 48 FPS
All I can say is that I went to see THE HOBBIT yesterday in HFR IMAX 3D, and my overall reaction was that it looked downright weird. There were moments, especially during static shots, where I thought that the image looked lovely, obviously digital, but so clear and vivid. And then you get to the action scenes, with the big sweeping camera moves and digital armies of thousands battling... and it looks like the most expensive PlayStation game ever made. It doesn't look like any movie I've ever seen, and I'm not sure I like it.
The contrast is jarring. On the one hand, it looks so much like video. But on the other hand, you're thinking of how much money and work went into making an image that looks like something that was made to be broadcast on TV.
I plan on seeing THE HOBBIT again next week, but this time in 24 fps 2D, and I wonder if I'll be able to even see any signs of its 48 fps origins. I wonder if the frame rate alone is enough to make the difference between looking "filmic" and looking like video.
I know one thing for sure: I'm wary of AVATAR 2, which James Cameron plans on shooting at 60 frames per second HFR.
As for THE HOBBIT itself, I liked it. It feels like THE LORD OF THE RINGS, even if it never quite reaches the heights and urgency of any of the LOTR films. It's nearly 3 hours long, and I can honestly say that it didn't feel like it. When the movie ended, I was actually surprised; I thought that we maybe only at the 2 hour mark. And I'll be there on opening weekend for part two, THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG.
#TheHobbit #48fps #HFR
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