I finally got to see The Hobbit today at the local theater in the High Frame Rate, 48fps 3D the way Peter Jackson filmed it and intended it to be seen. A bit about the movie… it’s a great movie and a must see, I’ll speak more about the movie in a bit.

The big news about the movie is that Peter Jackson filmed the movie at 48 frames per second…

Okay, let’s back up a moment. Most movies (at least from the sound era on) were filmed at 24 frames per second… before that the film rate varied from 14 to 24, and playback wasn’t always the same, but when sound was introduced they needed a fixed rate as human ears could pick up if the sound wasn’t consistent. Early experiments showed that 48 frames is what was needed for smooth playback, but running 48 frames of film a second through a camera would have cost a fortune, so what they did was put a shutter on the projector so that each frame would be seen 2 to 3 times. 24 frames is also easy to divide when editing the film compared to 25 or other rates near that. 24 frames per second, when put with a projector doing 2 to 3 bladed shutter worked well enough for to achieve a semi-smooth theatrical experience and the persistence of vision worked well with it. How this translates to TV is far beyond the scope of this… HDTV fixes most of those issues though, and is the same the world over (the backwards compatibility is different, and electrical standards are different, but the primary standards are the same). Anyhow, most every movie you have experienced in the theater was filmed and shown at 24 fps, and while it isn’t shown at those speeds on TV, the source material matters, and even on an HDTV they retain a film look. Some old TV shows, especially soaps, had a crispness to them due to the way they were filmed… or more accurately taped. Many people don’t like that overly crisp image for shows and movies, but like it for sports and the like. So many HDTVs now offer a mode that works more or less like theatrical projectors and show each “frame” twice. It makes movies and shows a little too sharp, so people normally turn it off for those.

So we get to the controversy over the Hobbit being shot and projected at 48 fps. Some people really hate the look. They think it is too sharp. Why 48 fps rather than 60? 48 converts to 24 far easier by just cutting every other frame out. Anyhow for me, I personally didn’t mind it. The only time I really noticed the effect was during closeups in Bilbo’s house and in the Orc caves (well, those and noticing Gandolf apparently has contacts). Sure the picture was super sharp the rest of the movie too, but it didn’t distract from the movie for me the way others seemed to think it pulled them out of the movie. Also since this is only for 3D and the 2D experience is 24 fps only, I think it is a bunch of hoopla over nothing. I didn’t experience the movie in 24 fps/3D yet, but based on other movies actually filmed in 3D (many if not most of the 3D movies that aren’t computer animated are converted to 3D) is that I think it helps the 3D experience be better (converted 3D isn’t even worth consideration most of the time IMHO). For this cinefile, I personally liked it and would likely do it that way again if given the choice. I think it does do what Jackson says it would do, and make it less headache giving…

As for the movie itself. I fully enjoyed it too. I still question how it will work as 3 movies rather than 2, but the extra stuff they are adding does seem to flesh the story out (not sure the source of the extra stuff it if was in his notes, and other material)… doesn’t seem to flesh it out 3 movies worth, but does flesh it out nicely… at this point I would have to think the 3rd movie will involve more of his adventures home (which the book doesn’t really cover) and setup for the LotR movies…

The short of it is, go see it. If you think you’ll watch it again either at the theaters or at home, then do yourself a favor and watch it in 48 fps/3D and judge for yourself.