{"id":2536,"date":"2012-04-25T14:27:06","date_gmt":"2012-04-25T20:27:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=2536"},"modified":"2012-04-25T14:27:06","modified_gmt":"2012-04-25T20:27:06","slug":"they-hate-the-hobbit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=2536","title":{"rendered":"They Hate The Hobbit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All is not well in Middle Earth.<\/p>\n

Director Peter Jackson debuted ten minutes of footage from his upcoming \u2018Lord Of The Rings\u2019 prequel, \u2018The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey,\u2019 at CinemaCon in Las Vegas yesterday, and the number of negative reactions was startling.<\/p>\n

Jackson is shooting the hotly anticipated film in 3D and using new 48fps (frames per second) technology, which is twice the 24fps which has been the standard frame rate for movies since the 1930s. \u2018The Hobbit\u2019 will be the first major studio film to be shot using this technology.<\/p>\n

The new technology has not received a warm response \u2013 with Filmdrunk saying \u201ceveryone hated it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Badass Digest\u2019s Devin Faraci said of the footage:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026it has that soap opera look you get from badly calibrated TVs at Best Buy. The footage I saw looked terrible \u2026 completely non-cinematic. The sets looked like sets \u2026 sets don\u2019t even look like sets when you\u2019re on them live, but these looked like sets. The magical illusion of cinema is stripped away completely.\u201d<\/p>\n

An (anonymous) projectionist from a competing studio told the Los Angeles Times: \u201cit looked like a made-for-TV movie. It was too accurate \u2014 too clear. The contrast ratio isn\u2019t there yet \u2014 everything looked either too bright or black.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not all responses were negative however. Variety film editor Josh Dickey Tweeted:<\/p>\n

Josh Dickey @Variety_JLD
\nJosh Dickey
\nGreat Scott, THE HOBBIT in 48 frames-per-second is a thing to behold. Totally different experience. Not all will like the change.
\nApril 24, 2012 6:51 pm via Twitter for iPhone Reply Retweet Favorite<\/p>\n

And First Showing\u2019s Alex Billington summed up the views of many (including director Jackson) with this tweet:<\/p>\n

Alex Billington @firstshowing
\nAlex Billington
\nThere are going to be endless debates about 48FPS and how good\/bad it looks. I just think we need to get used to change after 80yr of 24FPS.<\/p>\n

Advocates of the technology, most notably \u2018Avatar\u2019 director James Cameron and Jackson himself say that the technology will help address the problems people had with early 3D. Jackson said last year:<\/p>\n

Looking at 24 frames every second may seem ok\u2013and we\u2019ve all seen thousands of films like this over the last 90 years\u2013but 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 \u201cstrobe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shooting and projecting at 48 fps does a lot to get rid of these issues. It looks much more lifelike, and it is much easier to watch, especially in 3-D.<\/p>\n

Audiences will have to wait until December 2012, when the first of the two Hobbit films is released, to decide for themselves.