The Hobbit...

[Josef Gatti]

Worst case scenario, can't they just use every second frame? Shouldn't that bring it to 24 frames without any need for blending etc? Can't say I agree with the picture quality being cheap though, that might be a little ridiculous. Someone correct me if I'm wrong about the whole second frame thing, makes sense to me.

[Álex Montoya]

Yes, they can go back, that's the beauty of it.

In fact, they are going to offer both flavors since a lot of venues won't be able to project at 48 fps. I just hope they do not abandon the 48 fps option.

[Scott Crawley]

However even THX mode can't save Public Enemies :-)

I chuckle a little when I hear people claim that Public Enemies did poorly for technical reasons related to the way it looked. IMO the look was the least of it's problems.

[Vadim Bobkovsky]

Interestingly, we are finding that most actresses look pretty darn scary in 4k and absolutely horrific in anything higher.

Sounds like some more digital cosmetic work for guys at Lola VFX
Last time I checked they've done pretty good job at removing skin defects and de-aging. If they are able to do that with Sir Ian, all the younger ladies (and gentlemen) are completely fine. I bet they use this tech on The Hobbit to slightly de-age Galadriel, Gandalf, Legolas and maybe even older (Ian Holm's) Bilbo to match the look of trilogy. This is prequel to LOTR after all. I'd like to watch bigger movies in all of 4K glory, but if it's required to apply some "healing brush" over actors faces, I'm ok with that.

[Scott Crawley]

Neil Peart wrote my response to this thread back in 1997


"Grand Designs"

A to B
Different degrees...

So much style without substance
So much stuff without style
It's hard to recognize the real thing
It comes along once in a while
Like a rare and precious metal beneath a ton of rock
It takes some time and trouble to separate from the stock
You sometimes have to listen to a lot of useless talk

Shapes and forms against the norm
Against the run of the mill
Swimming against the stream
Life in two dimensions is a mass production scheme

So much poison in power, the principles get left out
So much mind on the matter, the spirit gets forgotten about
Like a righteous inspiration overlooked in haste
Like a teardrop in the ocean, a diamond in the waste
Some world-views are spacious
And some are merely spaced

Against the run of the mill
Static as it seems
We break the surface tension with our wild kinetic dreams
Curves and lines
Of Grand Designs

[Steve G]

I chuckle a little when I hear people claim that Public Enemies did poorly for technical reasons related to the way it looked. IMO the look was the least of it's problems.

It is actually Michael Mann's second most successful film in terms of box office. http://boxofficemojo.com/people/char...ichaelmann.htm

[Scott Crawley]

It is actually Michael Mann's second most successful film in terms of box office. http://boxofficemojo.com/people/char...ichaelmann.htm

Thanks for the facts. If that is the primary metric that concerns you then I can accept it as a correction. I don't know how best to rephrase and still be delicate. People are just saying it sucked, I guess.

I didn't care much for it. I thought they took an inherently exciting subject and made it fairly bland and boring. That is my memory of it anyway.

[Vadim Bobkovsky]

a move toward voice acting only

They have used technology called "Performance Capture" (or motion capture) on Avatar. It's not just voice acting, it's a facial + complete body acting. They'd just stay in a booths if the blue creatures weren't supposed to be actor-animated in realtime.

[Benni Diez]

My guess for the near future:

2d @ 24 fps exhibition for movies shot for 2d and limited 2d releases of 3d movies

3d @ 48 fps exhibition for 3d movies

Why is this good? 3d will grow up and be used for its benefit. Movies shot for 3d will ultimately develop their own visual and narrative language. Admittedly The Hobbit isn't the best choice of source material to introduce such a thing regarding its classic flavor.
2d will be 2d again, 3d will hopefully move away from being cheaply upconverted as a cash grab.

In the end there will always be the 24 fps option. Downconverting and even adding decent motion blur for a 24/180 look is no big deal.

Do I want to see the much awaited extension of the LOTR saga in 48 fps? Probably not, but who knows, I'll give both versions a shot.
Do I want to see visionary filmmakers explore new technology and extend the possibilities of visual storytelling? Fuck yeah!

[Andrew Walker]

I've seen a lot of tests over at Warner Bros. in the last 8 months or so showing 48fps 3D. I've never liked it as it looks like video and the action seems way too fast and almost sped up. The good thing is that I've seen the footage in 2D and 3D converted from 48fps to 24fps and it looks like it was shot at 24fps. What I've seen of the Hobbit it looks amazing...the 24fps version that is.