As fans get ready to buy advance tickets (or, in some countries, have already bought them!) to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, you may be wondering what format you’ll be seeing it in at midnight on December 14th. Will your local cinema be able to show it at 48 frames per second? Will you have an IMAX experience? What’s the advantage of all this new technology, anyway?
Thanks to Ringer SM for sending along this interesting article from the Directors Guild of America, where Peter Jackson talks about his decision to push forward the 48fps technology. He addresses the doubts folks had after seeing footage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas last summer; though he dismisses the criticisms, he does go on to say, ‘The whites were being clipped, and we weren’t getting the dips and the shadows, which were giving it a slightly electronic sort of video look … We’ve completely re-designed the way we convert the data from the camera into the image. The highlights and shadows roll off more, giving it a much more filmic look.”
Read the whole, fascinating article here. Thanks also to Ringer Gwaihir for alerting us to this page – a site where they’re trying to make a list of theatres which will be capable of showing The Hobbit at 48fps. If you discover that your local cinema WILL be showing at 48fps, perhaps you can let the folks making the list know? Otherwise, you might want to check the page from time to time to see if there’s any news about 48fps in your area.
Here at TheOneRing.net we have a long history of ‘swamping’ polls – showcasing the full power of Ringers worldwide. Well, today we have a special poll from the folks at People’s Choice. They have come up with a list of 10 Nominees for a ‘Favorite Movie Fan Following’ category, and we ‘Ringers’ are among the choices. Sure those other fan bases are great and all, but we hope you hold a special place in your hearts for the Ringer community. (BTW – Anyone know the first use of Ringers to refer to the Tolkien fan community? We’d love to hear what you think in the comments) Jump over to their nominations page and cast your vote today! [Vote Ringers!]
Collider.com had a chance to visit The Hobbit set and managed to snag a slew of new and interesting information on the films through a series of interviews and observations. They’ve also got a great article – ‘70 Things to Know About THE HOBBIT From Our Set Visit,’ which is definitely worth a read. Jump on over to Collider.com for the complete coverage. [Collider.com]
A tired but jubilant Weta crew unveiled their new Gollum statue at a press function at Wellington Airport this morning. Working almost around the clock for three days, Gollum was hoisted up overnight to hover over diners at the airport’s main lounge. The 13m sculpture was designed and produced by Richard Taylor and Weta Workshop supervisors
Rob Gillies and Sarah Morris. Richard made a short speech to thank the team that made the incredibly realistic sculpture – a testament not only to their talent and hard work, but also to the technology and skills Weta has developed. He also thanked the “excellent” team at Wellington Airport, who have been a pleasure to work with in creating something that would bring delight to Wellington’s visitors. Airport CEO Steve Sanderson said the airport was proud to work with Weta and have such a magnificent sculpture on display. “Everyone will be amazed when they enter the terminal.”
Thanks to the standee maker, we’ve just received an exclusive image of the official standee that may appear at your local theater for ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.’ The standee features a life-size Gandalf outside of Bag End and ample room for you and your friends to appear on the doorstep. Should make for a lot of great photos! Speaking of theaters, our Line Party system is currently in beta launch, but if you want to secure your local line party, click here to find out more!
Empire magazine has revealed their special Hobbit edition which features five different covers in glorious lenticular 3-D. Readers have a choice between the Bilbo cover, pictured, Gandalf, Gollum, Galadriel or Thorin (or all five – why not). In this edition, Peter Jackson confirms that the final running time (without credits), is 2 hours 40 minutess:
“It’s looking like it’s going to be about ten minutes shorter than Fellowship was,” explains Jackson. “So it’s going to be officially our shortest Middle-earth yet. I mean, Fellowship was just under three hours and this is about 2 hours 40 minutes at the moment.” The “at the moment” refers to the fact that the credits hadn’t yet been added and not all effects shots finalised when we spoke to Jackson, but it’s going to be close.
Look for the new Empire Hobbit edition to hit stores and newsstands today, October 24. Read More…
As fans get ready to buy advance tickets (or, in some countries, have already bought them!) to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, you may be wondering what format you’ll be seeing it in at midnight on December 14th. Will your local cinema be able to show it at 48 frames per second? Will you have an IMAX experience? What’s the advantage of all this new technology, anyway?
