The Hobbit HFR 3D and the Future of Cinema

An Unexpected Journey 

Peter Jackson's The Hobbit was unlike the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And that's okay. Those people that anticipated another Lord of the Rings and an epic war on Middle-Earth need only blame themselves for being disappointed by the whimsical adventure that was The Hobbit. I personally enjoyed it and admit it was probably marred by the fact that it's based on a third of a relatively short novel, but it was by no means a terrible movie. And I'm aware that extra content was added that wasn't in the novel, but that wasn't enough to keep the film from feeling a bit stretched. The movie certainly wasn't so awful as to deserve such negative reception as it's been receiving. On Rotten Tomatoes for example, apparently it's more rotten than Gremlins 2.

But I have no intention of debating whether it was a good movie. Enough people have done that. I'm much more interested in what the release of this film means for movies. The Hobbit was the first movie to be released in the controversial HFR 3D format. I saw it first in 3D and second in IMAX HFR 3D.  The second viewing was not only more enjoyable, but more immersive, and solidified my belief that the format, though merely in it's infancy, will become the standard for future movies.

1. 3D is the Future. I don't care if you don't like it yet.

Avatar was released in 2009, and though it's story was rather "familiar," it was met with positive acclaim. The visuals in that film are surpassed by very, very few modern movies. If I were to guess what specifically it was about this movie that excited people so much, it probably wasn't the remarkable dialogue that Jake Sully delivered. (How on earth do I remember that name?) 

It was the 3D. And the movie was intended to be seen in 3D. The film was shot and filmed with 2 high-definition cameras- one view of the film for each eye. This is what produces that 3D effect that looked so stunning and THIS is why the film looked so gorgeous. James Cameron knows what makes good 3D and James Cameron knew how to avoid making a movie with shitty, headache-inducing 3D. Now the same can't be said of many other movies that jumped on the bandwagon shortly after. Clash of the Titans was released in 3D and I made the poor decision of watching it. The movie was bad- that goes without saying, but you know what, if it's got some decent special effects, sometimes I can be forgiving. The problem was that it was really shitty- both visually and plot-wise. It looked blurry, it looked dark, and I had to remove my 3D glasses multiple times to avoid an aneurism. But why? Why does Avatar look awesome in 3D and why does Clash of the Titans make people want to vomit? Because Clash of the Titan was a fucking terrible movie. But most importantly, because it was NOT SHOT in 3D.

This awful trend is called "post-production" 3D and it is the reason that people hate 3D. It's the reason that 3D isn't yet seen as a superior format for film. And it's the reason people literally get sick when they watch certain 3D films. Clash of the Titans was filmed like a normal movie and was supposed to be released as a normal movie. But when Avatar did so well in 3D, the assholes that distributed the film decided that they could pay a little money to have some other assholes convert the movie to "3D". So they digitally create a 3D version of the film. I don't care to elaborate on why, but it's not possible to perfectly convert a movie that's 2D into a 3D movie. In fact, it looks awful when it's done. So if you've seen a 3D movie that looked blurry, looked to dim, gave you a headache, and/or made you sterile, know that it's because you decided to watch a "post-production" 3D film- one that was made 3D after the fact.

Eventually, every movie will be 3D. But not now. It's not ready just yet. It needs something extra. Something to make it a bit smoother on the eyes.

 

2. The Purpose of the theater is to immerse the viewer.

Now back to the matter at hand- the Hobbit and why it's important in the story of how 3D ended up being the standard for all movies.

By now hopefully you've seen it in one way or another. But if you opted for anything but the HFR 3D format when watching, you missed the opportunity to see something truly extroardinary- the most immersive movie-going experience ever.

Obviously, the Hobbit was shot in proper 3D like Avatar was, but in addition to using 2 High-Def cameras, Peter Jackson took advantage of another technological advancement- High Frame-Rate. Every movie you've watched in theaters and every movie you've watched on DVD has been in a frame-rate of 24 frames per second. This means that there are 24 still images playing after one another to create the illusion that the things that those images are depicting are moving. You've subconsciously developed the idea that movies are supposed to look that way. All movies, when paused, show blur and this is the result of there only being 24 frames displayed every second. Your brain associates the look of 24 frames per second with movies because nearly all movies were shot that way.

But The Hobbit, when viewed in the HFR 3D format is showing your eyes 48 frames per second. That's double what movies typically use, for you mathematologists. What this means for your eyes is that the film is smoother and it more closely resembles the way our eyes actually see. With the typical frame-rate, there is blur when characters move on the screen, and we associate this blur with movies. When that blur is taken away, and the movie is shot with a crisp, high-definition 3D camera, you suddenly aren't watching The Hobbit the movie anymore. You are rather experiencing what's on screen. Suddenly, the movement that your seeing now closely resembles the way your eyes see the real world.


I saw the Hobbit twice. Once in 3D at a drafthouse theater and then a second time at an IMAX theater in 3D HFR. The second version of that movie was undoubtedly the most gorgeous movie I had ever seen. We were running a bit late, which was fine considering it's 3 goddamn hours. (Seriously, though three hours? Christ.) So when I arrived, it was about the part where the dwarves had already arrived at Bilbo's Hobbit hole. (calm yourself)

And when I put on the 3D glasses, I was immediately and acutely aware of the effect the high frame-rate had on the movie. It was stunning in such a way that it looked real. And I mean that in the most positive way possible. When movies begin to look as real as they do when presented in HFR 3D, you're no longer watching a move, but experiencing it.

2. Cinema is continually evolving.

As movies were once silent, they now have sound because we can hear. As movies were once black and white, they are now in vivid color as we see in color. And as movies were once "standard" definition, they are now "high-definition" because we see clearly (excluding those with cataracts) Each of these has improved the movie-going experience by making it more similar to the way our eyes see and the way we expect things to look. In fact, each of these additions have made movies more like reality. The next evolution in cinema will undoubtedly be something similar to what was presented with the Hobbit in HFR 3D. 

Movies once were presented in 2D , but soon they will be presented in 3 dimensions as we see in 3 dimensions. And as movies have been displayed in 24 frames per second, they will soon be displayed in 48 frames per second because that resembles the way our eyes see.Now perhaps you're of the opinion that 3D is a fad, or that 48 frames per second looked weird, and that's completely normal, because it doesn't look the way traditional movies look. But I'm sure many felt strange when movies were suddenly shown in color. The first color movies were not filled with vivid and life-like colors but pale hues on top a film that "should be" black and white. But at that time, cameras couldn't capture color in a way that resembles how our eyes see color. I'm sure there were people that couldn't stand the fad of adding color on top of film, but a movie being in color is quite obviously a superior format. And since we weren't watching black and white films throughout our entire lives, we're pretty alright with everything being in color.

The Hobbit was the first film to use this technology, and as expected, people are surprised by it. Some people must be completely unaware that technology rapidly advances, as some are under the impression that both 3D and HFR is a fad. But one day, as it becomes less expensive to produce films in HFR 3D, and the technology itself becomes even more realistic, all films will be filmed this way.  We're reaching a point where technology can capture, with impeccable accuracy, what our eyes see. 

With the technology behind high frame-rate 3D, we're removing the camera lens, and immersing ourselves in the reality the director has created. The future will be stunning, immersive, and breathtaking.

Do you foresee 3D and HFR becoming movie standards? Or are our  current film standards "good enough"? Sound off in the comments!