That is not the question, it’s the HFR (High Frame Rate) option that you really need to consider…
Being a fan of the Lord of the Rings films and Tolkien in general, I was pretty
excited to see what Peter Jackson had done with The Hobbit and so the easy decision was made to venture to the
local multiplex for the mammoth three-hour viewing, taking trailers into
account. But THEN I was faced with ANOTHER decision; 2D, 3D,
or, what’s this? 3D HFR? According to MGM’s official Hobbit site:
Frame rates are the number of
images (frames) displayed by a
projector in one second. 24 frames per second (fps) is the current
standard in cinemas worldwide. HFR 3D productions
of 48 fps record and play visuals at twice the current rate.
Okaaaaay… So it must be better? 3D HFR it is then. Yippee!
Popping on my recycled 3D specs, I settled down with my contraband
of shop-bought popcorn and flask of tea (I know, but this is a bloody long film
and pop ain’t my thing), and prepared to be transported from the East Midlands to
Middle Earth…
Instead, I was taken back to an experience I will never
forget. My first year at university, when with hours to spare every day (who
knew that that was the so-called “self-study time” I was paying for?), I sat down to
watch the BBC’s live action 1988 adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, with my good friend. Time for
a bit of good old nostalgia to wile away the forthcoming weeks. We probably
watched less than five minutes before deciding it seemed crap, now that we
weren’t five years old. I remember, what struck me were the production values,
which to be fair, had earned the show
a string of award nominations including an Emmy back in the day. But they seemed cheap by 21st century standards, and the child actors
were just too annoying to tolerate. I remember sharing a look with my friend
and one of us finally saying “shall we turn it off?”
I had a pang of that same disappointment as I practically
laughed through the opening scenes of The Hobbit. I really wanted to be whisked away to a magical world but just couldn’t
get over the overly sharp and overly lit look of the film. I couldn’t get my
head around this HFR devilry and its evil twin 3D. I don’t have a problem with
3D per se, I’m not a huge fan but I can appreciate it. But on this occasion it
just didn’t do it for me. Instead of revelling in the hilarity of the dwarf
invasion at Bag End, I was grossed out by the pores of the ugly dwarves’
bulbous noses and the feeling that I could reach out and touch them. Now the
same can’t be said for the sexy dwarves, Kili, Fili and Thorin, as I said, 3D
does have its benefits. But the scene in which the wizard, Radagast the Brown, is
flying across the screen on some sort of bunny-powered twig sleigh, made me
laugh out loud, for all the wrong reasons. I was back in my student halls
watching a dated after-school kids’ TV show.
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| Snog marry avoid? Images courtesy of Warner Brothers |
When I got a new fancy HD, LED TV recently, I was amazed and annoyed at way it made all of the TV shows and films look
like an episode of Neighbours. Too
bright, too clear and now I'm noticing the wallpaper and ooh, I've never
noticed that lamp before, wonder where that’s from…
Eventually, I got used to the
TV and the effect it had on my viewing experience, and the same happened with
The Hobbit. I got used to the high frame rate, eventually, mostly. But that isn't to say I learned to love it, just that I learned to put up with it as I got more
involved in the story. And that was the biggest problem for me, although I did enjoy the film, my inability to
exercise my suspension of disbelief and become engaged in the narrative was a bit of a let down.
By
trying to make it look super realistic, it had the opposite effect for me and
brought me out of the action and my awareness to the technical elements of what I
was watching. I realised just how true this was when discussing the film
the next day and finding myself wanting to go back to that very world created by Peter Jackson and co. Although I had been sat in the cinema thinking
to myself “there is no way I'm coming
back for a second viewing of this”, I now feel like I could watch it again. I
think that’s because, afterwards, I was unable to recreate the scary in-your-face
effect of 3D HFR, giving it a more magical and dream-like quality in my mind that one would expect
from a fantasy film, thus increasing the appeal. If there weren't so many other great films to watch at the
cinema at the moment, I would be going back to see The Hobbit again, but in
good old 2D.
Whilst researching the general opinion of the HFR version of The Hobbit online, I came across this blog post by an industry director and photographer, Vincent Laforet, who watched all three versions of the film in order to do a direct comparison of the differing cinematic experiences. Impressive, as this was all in one day! I found myself agreeing with a lot of what he said, but he goes into more detail about the techy aspects of my points on HFR. For a more informed opinion, check it out:
Whilst researching the general opinion of the HFR version of The Hobbit online, I came across this blog post by an industry director and photographer, Vincent Laforet, who watched all three versions of the film in order to do a direct comparison of the differing cinematic experiences. Impressive, as this was all in one day! I found myself agreeing with a lot of what he said, but he goes into more detail about the techy aspects of my points on HFR. For a more informed opinion, check it out:
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