The Hobbit: It's Official Part 2

[HeySailor]

Stuff.co.nz covered a chain mail making session at the WETA Cave held over the holiday weekend. Included in the article was a picture of a rather burly security guard securing the set from onlookers as the fire department responded to a call at the studio in Miramar. Visible behind the guard and over the tops of the trailers, a large green screen and a rustic streetscape can be seen. Mannish buildings, not Elvish in design. Laketown perhaps?

[Tahiri]

Talk about attention to details - even the fire service has a confidentiality agreement!

Thanks Jill.

T.

[Adrianne]

I have not had the opportunity to come in very often of late due to family issues. But it's nice that when I do have the opportunity there's so much to read and see. Thank you Jill for all the goodies. I certainly appreciate it.

Love, Adrianne

[Welshwoman]

Catching up with the Weta Workship's chain mail making session. Sounds a bit difficult to master, but fun to try. And a big bonus when you catch on.

Thanks for providing, Jill.

[HeySailor]

Stephen Fry tweeted that he has finished filming and will be leaving NZ this weekend.

From Variety, attendees at SMPTE's Summit on Cinema, to be held in Vegas this weekend, if they're lucky enough to sit in on this session, they might get a first look at The Hobbit:

<snip>

High frame rates will be the sole focus of another session, this one moderated by SMPTE exec VP Wendy Aylsworth. Auds will get their first mass look at an HFR movie when "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" hits screens in December. Peter Jackson's Tolkien pic was shot and will be shown in digital cinemas at 48 frames per second, twice the standard in place since the early days of talkies. The higher frame rates deliver clearer images for action and motion, especially in 3D.

<snip>

HFR= High Frame Rate

SMPTE = Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers. I wonder if any of their members are ka-Bloomies? Please, don't have non-disclosure agreements at this event. We NEED an eyewitness report.

[Welshwoman]

An eye witness report would be lovely. Thanks for providing, Jill, and for the HFR and SMPTE translations.

[HeySailor]

The Hobbit is advertising for Elven extras, again, to be available in Wellington from April through mid-July. Will our favorite elf be needed for filming in those scenes, too?

[HeySailor]

News of more Hobbit tie-ins:

<snip>

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has snagged the rites [sic] to five tie-in titles connected to December's big-screen debut of the first film based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit being directed by Peter Jackson."The multibook deal includes five titles to be released in November 2012. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Visual Companion by Jude Fisher, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Official Movie Guide by Brian Sibley, The World of the Hobbits, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Almanac, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Photo Storybook," the publisher said.

[Welshwoman]

Plenty of Hobbit goodies to whet our appetites even more (if that's possible) for the December movie release.

Thanks, Jill, for providing.

[HeySailor]

There had better be some photos of The Elf in those books, if you know what I mean.

[Welshwoman]

Yep. That is a must. Please!

[cinemapersians]

I went to see "Wrath of the Titans" last night and "The Hobbit" was one of the previews!

No sign of our beloved Elf , but it's a start!

- Pam -

[Welshwoman]

Good to hear, Pam. I go to movies fairly often, and have been on the lookout. So far, no Hobbit previews.

[HeySailor]

Variety had a reporter at the SMPTE event this weekend:

The gathering watched camera tests for Warner/New Line's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," which tried various frame rates and shutter angles, and was generally impressed at the clarity of the image. "HFR" (and "HRFS" -- High Frame Rate Stereoscopic) delivers better results in 3D, cuts down on "judder" and other motion artifacts and generally makes the image appear sharper. The consensus was that the 48 fps 3D images did indeed appear noticeably clearer and more immersive.

Anything over the current standard of 24 frames per second is considered "HFR" and there is no small amount of debate about what the best frame rate should be.

According to the discussion at the SMPTE Summit, research suggests the most clarity and impact comes from a frame rate around 60. Doug Trumbull, a pioneer of higher frame rates, was in the audience and stepped to a mic to confirm his own results had pointed to 66 as an ideal frame rate. However "The Hobbit" is going out at 48. Asked why the "Hobbit" team chose 48 when 60 or 66 was so much better, Park Road Post head of technology Phil Oatley gave a simple answer: "Because we can't show it (60 fps) yet." And that is the biggest problem confronting any HFR format today. As Warner senior VP of technology Wendy Aylsworth explained, there are 70,000 digital screens worldwide, 40,000 of which are ready for 3D, but exactly zero are capable of showing HFR pics yet. All will need some kind of upgrade, either hardware or software, just to show "The Hobbit" at 48 fps. Getting theaters ready for 60 fps by "The Hobbit's" Dec. 14 release date, said Oatley, was impossible.

<snip>

But if the schedule of meetings and demonstrations is any indication, HFR seems to be on the way, at least for some pics. There is a more complete demonstration of HFR footage skedded for Cinemacon in Las Vegas April 23-26, and SMPTE will devote the first day of it's fall conference in Hollywood, Oct. 22, to discussions of high frame rates.

Sadly, this article points out that no theater in the US can currently show the film in 48 frames per second. Bummer. All this fuss about the clarity and our local theaters can't handle it without upgrades. Be sure to ask around before you buy your tickets this December!

[Welshwoman]

The theatres in my town of 40,000 won't get any upgrades, that's for sure. I just want to see the movie. I can forgo some clarity.

Thanks, Jill.

[BlueGem]

Well, that's a bit worrisome! Let's hope that theaters think this will be such a big blockbuster that they'll invest in the upgrades.

[HeySailor]

Luke Evans has given an interview:

<snip>

Collider: You mentioned at the beginning when we first started talking that you're in New Zealand. I have to say that Lord of the Rings are some of my favorite films of all time, and I am so, so excited to see Peter Jackson's take on The Hobbit. I definitely would love to ask how it's going for you and how exciting it's been for you to be involved in such a production?Evans: It's been immensely exciting. It feels like all the work I've done so far has been building up to this job and to work with The Master himself on a project which has been his baby since…a long time ago. I feel very lucky to be here, you know. I'm watching this being made, and then watching Pete do his thing. Because you only have to read any articles about the boys who were in the first three movies and how they talked about the experience being in New Zealand and working with Pete and the long period of time that you spent here. I was just very jealous of them, in a healthy way, but it was always something I was envious of. And now I'm here, and now I'm actually one of those boys. I'll always remember this as one of those experiences in my life. It's been fantastic, absolutely fantastic. Yes, we're here 'till July, so I've still got a few months left, some insane, tense months as well. So, yeah, it's been great.

When did you arrive in New Zealand? Because I know you're in both parts, was this one of these things where you're committing to being there for eight months, have you been able to leave? What's this production schedule like?

Evans: I've been here since last August; I arrived August the 1^st last year. But, you know, on a movie of this scale there is a lot of down time, so I've had chances to go home a couple of times. But this block, I've been here since February and I'm here 'till the end, so this is the longest stretch for me.

<snip>

I think he may have been wearing a big grin during this part of the interview.

[HeySailor]

The Hollywood Reporter seems upbeat about The Hobbit being seen by US audiences in 48 fps. The various manufacturers are busy developing equipment software upgrades:

<snip>

Digital cinema auditoriums are currently not equipped to support 48 fps movies, though work is being done to change that.Each projector maker will have its own strategy for high frame rate support.

There are roughly 13,000 Sony 4K digital cinema projectors shipped worldwide, and “we expect the majority of those screens to have high frame rate support enabled by the time The Hobbit is released,” Sony told The Hollywood Reporter.

<snip>

[Welshwoman]

That's encouraging, but I don't see it happening for my screens in my town of 40,000. However, I'd love to be proved wrong.

[HeySailor]

Yup, this Tuesday is the place to be this Tuesday! Lucky theater owners/attendees will see 10 minutes of The Hobbit, in 3D at 48 fps, during the Warner Bros. presentation. Caesar's Palace, Vegas Baby.

Let hope that in this case, what happens in Vegas, DOESN'T stay in Vegas!!

[Welshwoman]

Lucky folks who get to see that preview. Sounds wonderful!

[HeySailor]

Argh! The people at CinemaCon in Vegas got to see The.Elf in the teaser footage today! From The Hollywood Reporter:

<snip>The clips ranged from action sequences to quieter moments—includng a dialog sequence between Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and Gollum (Andy Serkis). The CinemaCon audience also saw the return of castmembers from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, including Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) and Orlando Bloom (Legolas).The clarity Jackson described was visible in the presentation, but since the clips were described as "a work in progress" Warner did not screen footage that was fully color-corrected, or featuring completed VFX work.<snip>

I don't know about that particular audience but I wouldn't be concerned if The.Elf weren't color-corrected. No apology needed. Shoot us a publicity photo!

[Welshwoman]

At this point I wouldn't be fussy about the color. I'd just be happy to see him.

Thanks, Jill.

[BlueGem]

I agree, even if he's pink with purple polka-dots, give us a glimpse!!

[HeySailor]

Other reviews of the 48fps are coming in and they're mixed. I have faith that, for fans who won't be able to experience the full 3D 48 fps experience, viewing with the 2D 24 fps will be sublime and on par with LOTR (and who can complain about that?!).

Reviews have tried to remain spoiler-free but have mentioned that the footage contained fight scenes, including a couple showing off Legolas in action , grand sweeping landscape shots of hiking across mountains (I imagine similar to the 2 minutes before The Money Shot in FOTR) and intimate conversations between lead characters. The primary complaint is that it was "too crisp" and looked too real to be a movie; of course, others rated that as a huge plus - it's almost as if you're standing right in the scene.

The footage was introduced by Peter Jackson (from NZ); he said that it would take up to 10 minutes for your eyes to become accustomed to the frame speed but with patience, it will be easier on your eyes when watcing the 3D. I can't imagine too many ticket holders would walk out of the movie in the first 10 minutes.