.Ben.
Registered User
Ok, saw this last night in 3D HFR.
The film is good (6.5/10) & feels very much like The Fellowship of the Ring - lots of similar shots - to the point that it felt like I was watching the same film, on occasion. But at 3 hours long, I have to confess that it did feel a bit stretched.
The CG, in particular, is breathtaking. The level of detail on Gollum is a highlight, though I felt that the 'actors in make-up' in LoTR worked better as a horde than the CG goblins in this. Also, the make-up on the dwarves really held up well to scrutiny, even in HD/ HFR.
However, I did feel that -in it's current form- HFR is a bit of a mistake. Let me qualify that a bit. I feel that maybe existing techniques for lighting/ set dressing might need to be updated because it appears that with HFR, there's nowhere for film-makers to hide.
It cheapens the amazing CG work, makes sets look like sets and makes some parts look like the frame-rate has been sped up. I found it distracting.
I have a few Samsung LED TVs at home and they have a feature called -IIRC- 'Clear Motion' (other manufacturer's use a similar tech) that effectively reproduces a *similar* experience to HFR. The net result of the digital witchcraft is that camera tracking and fast on-screen motions look artificially clear (as if shot on a video camera). Clear Motion essentially removes factors our eyes are accustomed to seeing in our films, like motion blur. If you have one of these TV's turn the feature on then off while watching a 1080p film to see what I mean.
I found it disconcerting on my TV, and after seeing The Hobbit, my worst fears were realised - The Hobbit looks, for the most part, like a TV movie.
The film is good (6.5/10) & feels very much like The Fellowship of the Ring - lots of similar shots - to the point that it felt like I was watching the same film, on occasion. But at 3 hours long, I have to confess that it did feel a bit stretched.
The CG, in particular, is breathtaking. The level of detail on Gollum is a highlight, though I felt that the 'actors in make-up' in LoTR worked better as a horde than the CG goblins in this. Also, the make-up on the dwarves really held up well to scrutiny, even in HD/ HFR.
However, I did feel that -in it's current form- HFR is a bit of a mistake. Let me qualify that a bit. I feel that maybe existing techniques for lighting/ set dressing might need to be updated because it appears that with HFR, there's nowhere for film-makers to hide.
It cheapens the amazing CG work, makes sets look like sets and makes some parts look like the frame-rate has been sped up. I found it distracting.
I have a few Samsung LED TVs at home and they have a feature called -IIRC- 'Clear Motion' (other manufacturer's use a similar tech) that effectively reproduces a *similar* experience to HFR. The net result of the digital witchcraft is that camera tracking and fast on-screen motions look artificially clear (as if shot on a video camera). Clear Motion essentially removes factors our eyes are accustomed to seeing in our films, like motion blur. If you have one of these TV's turn the feature on then off while watching a 1080p film to see what I mean.
I found it disconcerting on my TV, and after seeing The Hobbit, my worst fears were realised - The Hobbit looks, for the most part, like a TV movie.
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