Breaking news from tvnz.co.nz There has been an industrial accident on the set of Sir Peter Jackson’s film The Hobbit. The fire service says two people received burns in the incident at the Stone Street studios in the Wellington suburb of Miramar. It is understood their injuries are minor. There is no word on the exact cause of the accident. More to follow.
UPDATE: From The Dominion Post Two people have been hurt in a small explosion at the studios where the Hobbit is being filmed. The Fire Service confirmed they were called to an “industrial explosion” at the Stone St studios in Miramar. Wellington Free Ambulance said two people were treated at the scene and were taken to hospital. A small fire followed the explosion but it was out when firefighters arrived.
A spokesman for Wingnut Films said the explosion was in a workshop, not on set, and filming was continuing. An investigation had been launched. The two people were taken to hospital as a precaution, the spokesman said.
On this episode of Hobbit in 5, we talk about Matamata’s “makeover” for cast and crew of The Hobbit, Weta’s Rivendell Environment is now available for pre-order, a fan builds his own Hobbit hole, Howard Shore receives award, Peter Jackson announces casting of Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, and Conan Stevens, and we continue with another character study!
Matamata is set for a makeover fit for a Hobbit before the cast and crew arrive for filming of the movies. Matamata Public Relations Association manager Sue Whiting says the organisation will be upgrading facilities to create a ‘Hobbit-like feel’ before the cast and crew arrive. Whiting told the Waikato Times she believed the Welcome to Hobbiton sign is the most photographed in the country, and sculptures of Lord of the Ring characters had drawn hundreds of people, so it is important to maintain them. “At the end of the day, it is all about bringing people to Matamata and creating a reason to visit,” she told the newspaper. More..
Sir Peter Jackson has started his direct communication with fans worldwide through his newly created Facebook account! The first article is titled ’48 Frames a Second’ and talks about shooting The Hobbit in the much faster film speed. Here’s an excerpt. Follow the link for the complete article:
Time for an update. Actually, we’ve been intending to kick off with a video, which is almost done, so look out for that in the next day or two. In the meantime, I thought I’d address the news that has been reported about us shooting THE HOBBIT at 48 frames per second, and explain to you what my thoughts are about this.
We are indeed shooting at the higher frame rate. The key thing to understand is that this process requires both shooting and projecting at 48 fps, rather than the usual 24 fps (films have been shot at 24 frames per second since the late 1920’s). So the result looks like normal speed, but the image has hugely enhanced clarity and smoothness. Looking at 24 frames every second may seem ok–and we’ve all seen thousands of films like this over the last 90 years–but there is often quite a lot of blur in each frame, during fast movements, and if the camera is moving around quickly, the image can judder or “strobe.”
On this episode of Hobbit in 5, production photos arrive from the Hobbit set, fans share their stories on Tolkien Reading Day, Saiorse Ronan gives us her insights on how the Hobbit film might be different from The Lord of The Rings production, and Weta Workshop offer up a wonderful Bag End replica giveaway if you can solve their puzzle.
