The new blockbuster The Hobbit is subtitled “An Expected Journey.” That can just about sums up director Peter Jackson’s experience.
Good deeds never pay. Filmmaker Peter Jackson’s who won 17 Academy Awards with the trilogy The Lord of the Rings decided to solve film’s biggest flaws—the flickering effect from a film speed set at least 90 years ago.
For every second of a movie, 24 images flash rapidly on the screen to create the illusion of motion. That 24 frames per second pace was picked not for visual quality
—it was the minimal required to give viewers an acceptable image while conserving film to hold down film costs.
The 24 frames per second is still used in movies today, and still doesn’t trick our eyes well enough. When the camera pans quickly left or right, then images blur.
So Jackson wanted to revolutionize filmmaking with The Hobbit by filing at double the traditional film speed. And what happens?
Critics are killing The Hobbit for its 48 frames per second by claiming it looks more like a home movie…”far too much depth of field...all "appeared" in focus. The depth was overwhelming. I can honestly say I found it visually repugnant at times (harsh words I know—but you have to realize I almost RAN out of the theater within the first 5 minutes.)”
Most claim the higher frame technique mitigates against the same “immersion” that Jackson hoped to improve upon.
Another criticism: ”High frame rates belong on bad TV shows and perhaps sports. 24 fps is here to stay in my opinion—at least for cinema.... I can see this working for animation, sports and nature films though. I'd also like to see it used on only certain moves (fast ones) in a film perhaps and not the entirety of a film…”
Instead of acclaim, Jackson has created a bandwagon of anti-48 fps antipathy out there. You could say these critics are just asking for the return of 24fps, or for One Speed to Rule Them All.
Watch The Future of Film is Here and It’s Very, Very Fast
Watch If You Haven’t Seen the Movie and Want to Watch a Trailer in 48fps]