From December 13, fans with a 3D printer who use the Windows 8 Ads-inApps, or who have an XBox 360 will be able to download a blueprint of The Key To Erebor. And that means they’ll be able to print their own, at home.

Pretty neat.

According to Microsoft’s Owen Sageness, the company partnered with Warner Bros. to make the whole thing happen — and was also pivotal in developing some of the nifty “deep dive” functionality you’ve undoubtedly already seen on the official website for The Hobbit movies. If you haven’t, go check it out — it’s worth it just for the creepy first-person-perspective trip through Dol Guldur! Continue reading “3D print your own key to Erebor from December 13!”

bilbo on gold Audience reaction to Hollywood’s first high frame rate movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was decidedly mixed, but frame rates—along with higher resolution, laser light, immersive sound and second screen experiences were very much on the minds of digital cinema leaders last week at the International Broadcasters Convention.

During the event, this community debated how to respond to the advancements taking place in home entertainment. “TV [technology] is moving faster,” admitted Disney’s vp production technology Howard Lukk during a panel discussion. “What keeps us up at night is how [cinema] stays the premium experience.” Continue reading “IBC wrap-up: ‘We would be fools if we didn’t learn from The Hobbit’”

ANDREW GORRIE/The Dominion Post Two of Peter Jackson’s companies will be among the honorees at the International 3D & Advanced Imaging Society’s 5th annual 3D Technology Awards. The awards will be presented Sept. 18 during a ceremony at Paramount Studios.

The Society’s Lumiere statuettes for technology will be awarded to Weta Digital for the visual effects pipeline it created for Avatar; and to Park Road Post for the 3D high frame rate pipeline it developed for The Hobbit.

Related, a Lumiere will also be awarded to manufacturer SGO for its Mistika postproduction system, which was a key tool used at Park Road Post for its 3D high frame rate pipeline.

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Thorin Oakenshield Over at HFRmovies.com a talented fellow named Michael Sanders has used some nifty video trickery to interpolate what the Desolation of Smaug trailer might look like at 48 frames per second. It’s a very interesting experiment.

Several TORn staff have compared the Sanders’ 48fps interpolation and the 24fps rendition initially released by Warner Bros. side-by-side — and we feel that even Sanders’ “amateur” (and that word seems unfair for something that looks so good) interpolation reduces picture blurring blurring from camera panning and fast movement. Continue reading “Compare The Desolation of Smaug trailer: 48 fps v 24fps!”


There are quite a few articles out today about the re-opening of the Roxy theater in Miramar, NZ and The Hobbit cast and crew taking a break to celebrate. The $7m 3D cinema was rebuilt by Sir Richard Taylor’s wife Tania Rodger and film editor Jamie Selkirk. Follow the links for complete coverage and check out the video above from 3 News NZ (provided by Ringer Linuxelf) [Video] [3 News Article] [Scoop.co.nz Article] [Roxy Theater]

With two “Hobbit” movies near the center of the 3D movie debate, the hot-button film topic has cropped up again with some evidence presented from the Los Angeles Times that audiences don’t always love wearing special glasses at movies. Read on.