Reactions to the high frame rate (HFR) of 48 frames per second used for The Hobbit have ranged from love to hate, and everything in between. Now Pulitzer-prize-winning still photographer Vincent Laforet has weighed in. He undertook to see the film in 3D HFR, 3D, and 2D, all on the same day. He disliked the HFR version, preferring both the 3D and 2D versions at the normal 24 fps. Laforet’s blog post, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Masterclass in Why HFR Fails, and a Reaffirmation of What Makes Cinema Magical,” gives a detailed description of how he found it difficult to identify with the characters and have any emotional involvement in the story while watching the HFR version. The lighting looked bad, whereas it looked good in 2D–even though these are different versions of the same footage. The tiny flaws in makeup, sets, and special effects were visible in the HFR version but not in the normal version. Laforet explains why he thinks all this was the case, and although the essay gets a bit technical at times, it’s generally pretty clear. If you haven’t seen The Hobbit yet and are wondering which version to see, or if you’ve seen the HFR version and are wondering if the normal-speed version is worth seeing, check out what Laforet has to say.
By the way, he does like the fact that Peter Jackson is bold enough to test out new technologies like HFR!
IGN.com has a great video interview with the dwarven cast of ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ that is well worth 8 minutes of your time today. Watch the company squibble and squirm as they try to answer a variety of Tolkien trivia. In-between the humorous answers, you’ll see some great clips from the film. (Who knew Galadriel was the name of Gandalf’s sword? 😛 ) Enjoy! [Video]
From Hollywood.com: In 1971, Jan Sterling was 19 years old, married, caring for a one-year-old baby girl, and living out of a 1961 Econoline Ford Van. She was driving around the country in a state that she describes as “quite homeless.” She says that her life was forever changed when, one day, she happened upon an old set of The Lord of the Rings books.
“I was saved by Tolkien’s story and world,” Sterling says. “It became my lifeline through those lonely, hard days and years after. It was incredible how the same story spoke to whatever life events I was experiencing.”
Hot on the heels of our ‘Map and Key of Thorin Oakenshield’ giveaway, we have another opportunity for you to win big from The Noble Collection!
Contest #2 is for this amazing replica of Sting – the sword which accompanies both Bilbo and Frodo on their many adventures through Middle-earth. Sting retails at TheNobleCollection.com for $109 so its an amazing opportunity to snag a more pricey item for your collection!
How do you enter? Well, we have been saying it for days…submit a Ringer Review and you will be automatically entered! Make sure to submit your review by Dec 18th at midnight PST to be eligible and sorry, we won’t be accepting reviews of just a few words. You need to fill out all questions and leave at least a 50 word review. Yes, if you already submitted your review you are already entered! One entry per person per email for this contest. Alas entry is for US residents only. The winner will be chosen at random. Good luck! [Submit your Review]
As we’ve come to expect, Weta and Harper Collins have produced another sumptuous, richly-bound volume detailing the process of turning words and imagination into the films we see. It’s written by Daniel Falconer, who’s had a hands-on overview of the road to executing Jackson’s vision since the beginning of LOTR. Thus you see many sketches exploring the different concepts that inform the finished designs we see on screen, and a wealth of objects you only dream of studying at leisure and in detail. It’s full of insights into how the film’s creators saw the character and history of The Hobbit’s people, creatures and places. The actors get to speak about their characters too, so we learn for instance that Sylvester McCoy loves animals in real life – he whistles to birds and they whistle back! Definitely a book to treasure. It’s full of spoilers too promising scenes that we can hope to see in the extended edition DVDs if nowhere else – scenes with the Old Took and Belladonna Took, Gandalf’s first meeting with Bilbo when he was a young boy, and a closer look at more Shirefolk such as Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, Old Gammidge and Old Hob. Check out some scans below. [Purchase Today!] Continue reading “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Chronicles”
Reactions to the high frame rate (HFR) of 48 frames per second used for The Hobbit have ranged from love to hate, and everything in between. Now Pulitzer-prize-winning still photographer Vincent Laforet has weighed in. He undertook to see the film in 3D HFR, 3D, and 2D, all on the same day. He disliked the HFR version, preferring both the 3D and 2D versions at the normal 24 fps. Laforet’s blog post, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Masterclass in Why HFR Fails, and a Reaffirmation of What Makes Cinema Magical,” gives a detailed description of how he found it difficult to identify with the characters and have any emotional involvement in the story while watching the HFR version. The lighting looked bad, whereas it looked good in 2D–even though these are different versions of the same footage. The tiny flaws in makeup, sets, and special effects were visible in the HFR version but not in the normal version. Laforet explains why he thinks all this was the case, and although the essay gets a bit technical at times, it’s generally pretty clear. If you haven’t seen The Hobbit yet and are wondering which version to see, or if you’ve seen the HFR version and are wondering if the normal-speed version is worth seeing, check out what Laforet has to say.
