Tag Archives: Peter Jackson

Video excerpt from Desolation of Smaug live event

Posted on by
Reply

MirkwoodArt2Peter Jackson has posted a 6 minute portion of the live preview of The Desolation of Smaug.

We get a couple great looks at Mirkwood concept art, hear Jackson’s approach to the story structure, and…is that Smaug’s roar at the end?

Here’s what Peter had to say (via his Facebook page):

Thanks to everyone who tuned into our Live Event last week. I’ve never done anything like that before, and I was pretty nervous. Hope it was ok.

If you saw it, it was a pretty accurate picture of what life is like at the moment. Jabez and I sit in that editing room all day, every day, editing the second Hobbit movie, and we actually start on the third next week! A lot of that movie was shot nearly a year ago, so I’m looking forward to seeing it come alive, shot by shot in the cutting room. It’s like assembling one of those complex 2000 piece jigsaw puzzles.

For us, this is really the being of 2013, so I look forward to posting a bunch more stuff as we work through the year.

I think that an edited version of the Live Event is being made available over at the official Hobbit site, and Warner Bros have kindly let me post a 6 min excerpt here, to give everyone who missed it a sense of what it was like.

Cheers,
Peter J

I’m expecting that most or perhaps all of the remaining footage from the live event will make its way online at some point within the next month or two as part of Jackson’s first official video blog for Desolation.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug hits US theaters in HFR 3D on December 13. See IMDB for a list of international release dates.

HFR talk from the 3D Creative Summit in London

Posted on by
Reply

hobbit-48fps-02__spanTuesday at the 3D Creative Summit in London, Phil Oatley and Meetal Gokul of Park Road Post presented a discussion of the workflow used to create The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in HFR 3D.  From Variety:

“HFR solves some of the issues with strobing, etc. It creates a more immersive 3D experience,” argued Oatley, head of technology at Park Road Post. He explained the production had chosen to go with 48 FPS since it provided a clean path to traditional 24 FPS deliverables and an easy deployment path for exhibitors since most current 4K digital projectors.

Supposedly the HFR session was one of the most attended of the two day Summit. Variety talked to a good number of HFR detractors (and a few people who were neutral / ambivalent towards HFR) at other panels and throughout the show:

Drew Kaza, EVP of Odeon digital development:

“I think the jury is out.  The technology is there. ‘The Hobbit’ was a useful experiment but it was an imperfect project for it and there was poor marketing of the concept. I felt it was the wrong film. ‘Life of Pi’ rather than ‘Hobbit’ should have been HFR and you would have seen the difference.”

Cameron Saunders, managing director of 20th Century Fox U.K.:

“As an outsider I thought it lacked conviction but it was an interesting test.”

Anthony Geffen, chief executive Atlantic Productions:

“We’re looking at HFR. ‘The Hobbit’ was not a great example of playing with HFR in my opinion.”

Phil McNally, DreamWorks Animation:

“HFR helps with the motion, it helps you see the picture more.  Filmmaking has to get better to match HFR.”

Tom Barnes, technical director of Aardman Animation:

“A higher frame rate wouldn’t make any sense for stop frame animation. There would be very few advantages. I would much rather shoot 4K.”

Frank Passingham, Aardman cinematographer:

“When I saw ‘The Hobbit’ in HFR I hated it so much. You’re seeing too much. I thought HFR was this huge monsters[sic] fighting itself on screen and no-one was winning.”

I have to agree that something less makeup, set and prop-heavy like Life of Pi or the Avatar sequels might have been a better first introduction to high frame rates, but the negative reactions cited by Variety stand in stark contrast to the mostly positive reaction (I’d say 70% positive) I’ve observed from most audiences both online and off.

Kaza says, “I think it’s generational. Young people, under 25, come from a gaming, hi-res experience will like it because they’re used to it.”

I think the majority of people a couple decades older than 25 are also used to gaming and fast changes in entertainment technology and thus are more receptive to the idea of an 85-year-old standard being improved upon.  For the most part the generalized negativity towards the very concept of high frame rates (and not The Hobbit‘s implementation of it in particular) comes from those who feel somehow threatened by it, as though they’ll never be able to see a 24 fps movie again.

The Hobbit: There and Back Again moves to December 17, 2014

Posted on by
Reply

HobbitThereandBackAgainJust as I suspected, The Hobbit: There and Back Again has changed its release date to December 17, 2014, thus falling in line with every other LOTR and Hobbit movie.

The original July 18, 2014 release date (the same day that Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past is currently scheduled) never made sense financially, in relation to WETA’s VFX schedule, or in terms of tradition. And two huge blockbusters were never going to go head-to-head like that. As an added benefit this date change frees up plenty of high frame rate screens for Days of Future Past if Bryan Singer follows through on all the hints and indeed makes it at 48 or 60 fps.

Moving to December is simply the smart thing to do: December blockbusters almost invariably have miniscule competition for months after they debut, thereby allowing for stratospheric grosses (see: Avatar, Titanic, Return of the King).  Late summer is a time at which audiences often start becoming fatigued of all the visual effects and spectacle, especially in terms of epic sci-fi, action, superhero and fantasy, and the grosses rarely stretch much higher than a billion even for the most highly anticipated event pictures.  By December, however, and after an August-November gap in epic escapism, audiences are ravenous for movies like The Hobbit.

I’m glad that Peter Jackson, MGM and Warner Bros. will reveal the final epic installment of the trilogy where it was always meant to be: December.  It just wouldn’t have felt right at any other time.

Weta Digital’s Joe Letteri talks HFR 3D and Smaug

Posted on by
Reply

hobbit-desolation-smaugStudioDaily.com has an interview with WETA Digital head Joe Letteri where he explains how making The Hobbit in HFR 3D affected WETA’s VFX process:

Studio Daily: What was the impact of 48 fps on post-production?

Joe Letteri: In a way, it was as simple as twice as many frames, so we had to do more work. It did allow us more creativity with animation. When you have 48 frames for every second, you can handle quick changes of motion better. You can see that in Gollum. At 48, you can really define those micro expressions. At 24 fps, the expressions are softer. We capture at 60 frames per second, so we could use more of the motion-capture data.

That WETA is already using 60 fps capture adds to the likelihood that future blockbusters they work on will be made at 60 fps.  I expect announcements of more high frame rate movies soon.  If I were to bet, I’d guess that the next announced HFR movie (beyond what has already been 100% confirmed) will be X-Men: Days of Future Past.  Bryan Singer has been making a string of exciting casting and plot related announcements on his Twitter, and he previously said he had “frame rate envy” after seeing The Hobbit in HFR. So I definitely expect to see this mutant epic in HFR 3D.

Letteri mentions realism as representing the future of visual effects:

Studio Daily: Leaving the business trends aside, what trends do you see technically and artistically in visual effects?

Joe Letteri: Generally, I see more of this trend toward realism. In a way, that’s what we’ve always done. But now, there’s more acknowledging that it is what we do. There’s more of a focus on understanding and trying to apply realism. Even though it’s more complex, it gives you the ability to standardize around a known quantity. There is less guesswork when you measure the real world.

What are you excited about now?

Smaug. He’s our next big character. You just got a few glimpses of him in the first film. I love the Riddles in the Dark, and I love Smaug. Seeing what we can do with Smaug is the next thing.

As I’ve been saying for a while now, I can’t wait to see Smaug.  His reveal at the end of An Unexpected Journey was perfect: from the thrush’s leisurely flight to the The Lonely Mountain, to it knocking the seed on the wall, then the camera taking us into the huge treasure chambers where we hear the amplified echoes of the thrush’s activity as we track over the hills of gold and treasure, leading into the final push-in on the dragon’s eye as we discover that Smaug had been sleeping under the gold coins all this time. I got chills.

Letteri’s love for Smaug and his excitement regarding Smaug as WETA’s “next big character” is very encouraging, as is the implicit promise of new techniques being used to bring Smaug and his environment to life.  We’ve never had a great talking dragon in the movies, not to mention a dragon whose belly is encrusted in dazzling golden coins and gems. Can’t wait to see how WETA plays with the lighting effects.

Even if An Unexpected Journey doesn’t win the best Visual Effects award tonight, I’d bet Smaug will win it for them in 2014.

Check out the StudioDaily.com interview for a lot more fascinating VFX-related discussion from Letteri.

Live first look at Desolation of Smaug on March 24 for ‘Hobbit’ disc buyers

Posted on by
Reply

HOBBIT-blu-smallWarner Bros. has announced that Peter Jackson will offer a live first look at The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug at 3:00 PM Eastern/Noon Pacific on Sunday, March 24. Content will be streamed live and an edited version will be archived on the Trilogy’s official website. Access to the live event will be limited to holders of an UltraViolet code available by purchasing either one the Blu-ray combo packs or the special edition DVD of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  These will become available on March 19.

The press release also confirms an ”Extended Edition in time for the holidays.”

I’m guessing this live event means we probably won’t see any new video blogs (at least not focusing on The Desolation of Smaug) until after March 24.  I’m hopeful we’ll get some news before then, however, especially in regards to the additional shooting that will take place this this spring / summer.

Interview: Don Shaw of Christie answers HFR 3D projector questions; talks future of HFR, collaborations, new demo

Posted on by
Reply

The hype surrounding The Hobbit‘s 48 fps release has naturally generated numerous questions about the technology behind HFR 3D and the future of high frame rate movies. There’s a lot of murky information out there, and answers regarding the details of HFR projection have been in short supply.

I’m therefore very happy to have had the chance to talk to Don Shaw, Senior Director of Product Management at Christie Digital, the company that has been the biggest trailblazer regarding HFR 3D projection. Don is someone who knows digital projection technology inside and out and has been at the forefront of Christie’s HFR initiatives.  See below for details on Christie’s HFR projectors, collaborations with filmmakers, the HFR marketplace, future upgrades, and more:

James Cameron and 3 Christie executives at CinemaCon 2011, where Cameron used Christie projectors to show the first ever HFR cinema content to the world.

1) How do you expect industry projection standards to evolve? James Cameron seems to still be shooting for 60 fps 3D for the Avatar sequels, and is reportedly shooting them at 4K+. Do you think there is an ultimate “endpoint” for both resolution and frame rate for film projection? NHK in Japan is working on 8K capture and display and Douglas Trumbull has talked about making a 3D movie at 120 fps. How far ahead does Christie look in terms of it’s R&D?

Don Shaw: I think the industry projection standards will evolve rapidly over the next few years, but I’m not convinced that exhibitors can afford another large-scale technology evolution just yet, except in their “premium experience” theaters… these will be spectacular. We are actively engaged in research with James Cameron’s team, Peter Jackson’s Post House (Park Road Post), and directly with Douglas Trumbull on a number of frame-rate related initiatives. I can’t say much right now, but watch for an exciting HFR demo from Christie at the upcoming NAB and CinemaCon tradeshows.

2) Some of my readers are asking whether any digital projectors (or dual projector setups) are capable of showing a 48 fps 3D movie at 4K resolution (in other words, a 48 fps 3D movie where both the left and right eye images are at 4K). From my readings it seems no current projection systems from any company can project a movie at both 48 fps and in 4K due to bandwidth limitations either in the IMBs, the projectors, or both. Please correct me if I’m wrong. If 4K per eye at 48 fps / 60 fps is not yet possible for either single projectors or Christie Duo setups, what would be required to enable it? How soon could we expect it?

Don Shaw: You are absolutely correct, there are no cinema projectors capable of exceeding 30 fps (total) with 4K content for the precise reasons that you suggest below. That means that you would need two 4K projectors to play 4K 3D just at standard frame rates. Obviously, a 4K HFR projector would require up to 4X the input bandwidth of our current cinema projectors (up to 120 fps total)… this would be a forklift upgrade (i.e. new projector) and the reality is that none of the current cinema infrastructure (IMBs, servers, routers, content delivery systems, etc) can handle this bandwidth. It will be a long time before we see 4K HFR in theaters and we currently have no plans for building such a projector for general Cinema usage. With that said, all of our 4K projectors can take 2K HFR content (up to 60 fps/eye) and will upscale to 4K. While this does not produce as sharp of an image as a true 4K source, it does provide some additional benefit and also goes a long way to reducing the “screen-door effect” that is seen when you are close enough to the screen to perceive individual pixels.

3) What has been the demand from theater owners for HFR 3D capable projectors and Integrated Media Blocks (IMBs)?

Don Shaw: Demand for HFR 3D equipment had been solid among exhibitors (globally) leading up to the Hobbit. However, I think this will calm down over the upcoming months and will probably ramp up again when we next see another HFR film release.

4) Which Christie projector models are capable of projecting at 48 fps 3D?

Christie’s latest digital cinema projector – the Christie Solaria One – which comes with the pre-installed Christie IMB.

Don Shaw: All Christie Solaria projectors (CP2210, CP2220, CP2230, CP4220, CP4230, Solaria One/One+) are capable of HFR at 48/60 fps/eye, assuming that a suitable IMB is installed.

5) In terms of how Christie’s products are sold to theaters, are there any projectors which are sold with HFR 3D-enabling IMB’s pre-installed, or do theater owners purchase them separately?

Don Shaw: Currently, only the Solaria One/One+ projectors are shipped with a standard IMB. All of our other projectors have an option slot where one can be easily installed by the customer or their integration partner.

6) Will future Christie projectors have the software update required for HFR 3D pre-installed?

Don Shaw: All Christie cinema projectors currently have the HFR-enabling software installed at the factory. Also, any older Series 2 Solaria projectors in the field can be upgraded with the latest software free of charge. With that said, however, you still need an HFR capable IMB.

7) I read in this The Hollywood Reporter article that Christie has an upgrade program to make older “Series One” projectors HFR capable. Could you elaborate on this? The article didn’t really explain how this works. Has it been a popular solution for Series One owners?

Don Shaw: This is incorrect information, there is no way to upgrade a Series 1 projector to HFR. At one point we explored this notion, but after realizing the huge number of parts, including all of the electronics, that needed to be redesigned/replaced, we determined that it was simply a better option (technically and financially) for our customers to replace their entire projector with a Series 2 projector.

8) What was your personal response to seeing The Hobbit in HFR 3D?

Christie Duo configuration in use at Hoyts Australia and other theatres.

Don Shaw: I loved the effect of HFR 3D for the Hobbit… especially for all of the panning landscape and mountain range scenes that really helped the audience see something that was never before possible in a movie theater.

9) What do you think is the future of HFR? Will it be relatively niche, or will everything (from Youtube to TV to movies, etc) begin to adopt it as a standard?

Don Shaw: I can really only speak from a cinema perspective and I believe that the future will see growth in HFR. However, this will require effort from the entire movie ecosystem, including studios, exhibitors, filmmakers, and equipment suppliers; everyone needs to come together to ensure HFR always means a spectacular experience and then figure out how to really educate the audience about this, rather than just throw the 3-letter acronym at them.

10) Is Christie still working with James Cameron on HFR tech? Any updates on this collaboration?

Don Shaw: Yes, we continue to work with James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment on HFR. Unfortunately, I have no further updates at this time.

11) If HFR at 4K isn’t in the near term future, is there anything you can say about what what Christie is working on for their upcoming products?

Don Shaw: We are focusing on three main areas:

a. High value solutions for small market cinemas and emerging market economies. As you know, with the looming end of film, all cinemas are being forced to go digital or shut out the lights; we are doing everything we can to help these guys out.

b. Total system solutions – ranging from IMB to TMS to audio processors and everything in between. We aim to become the only “total solution” cinema equipment manufacturer; leading to greater system integration, simplicity, enhanced support, and overall better value for the exhibitor.

c. Ultra-Premium cinema solutions (i.e. laser projection).

Many thanks to Don Shaw, and David Paolini at Christie for arranging this interview.

More about Christie: Christie Digital has been at the forefront of digital projection since the beginning: they helped spur the 3D revolution and are now pushing high frame rate tech forward.  As some of you may know, Christie partnered with James Cameron at CinemaCon 2011 to facilitate the presentation of footage (medieval feast and sword fighting) at 24 fps, 48 fps, and 60 fps. See this reaction from FirstShowing.net for a representative example of the universally positive response to Cameron’s demo.

In September 2011 Christie extended its partnership with Cameron with a five-year agreement to “exchange research, testing, development and technical support on the industry’s most exciting new technology.” This will include technical assistance from Christie in Avatar 2 and 3.

The Hobbit video blog 10: the premiere

Posted on by
1

I missed this when it was first posted a few days ago, but here’s the final video blog for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (focusing on the world premiere), via Peter Jackson’s Facebook:

At the end of the video Peter Jackson promises video blogs for The Desolation of Smaug throughout 2013. Can’t wait! I’m very curious to hear more about what additional footage they plan on shooting next year that wasn’t going to be included in the initial 2 film plan.

Watch a 13-minute special on ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’

Posted on by
Reply

Sit back, relax, and return to Middle Earth with this 13-minute special on the creation of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  This mini-documentary finds the cast and crew sharing their thoughts on the challenges of realizing in movie form one of the most classic and well-known stories of all time.  There’s new footage too!

Check it out below:

I should hopefully be seeing The Hobbit very soon if I can get into a press screening. Otherwise I’ll be there on December 14, in a HFR 3D showing of course!

‘The Hobbit’ reviews roundup

Posted on by
Reply

The reviews for The Hobbit: An Unxpected Journey have been unleashed, and even though some reviewers have a few bones to pick, mainly about a slow beginning in Hobbiton, most are very positive (it’s currently at 75% fresh on Rottentomatoes). Heck, I loved the Hobbiton scenes in FOTR and wished we’d spent more time there. Also remember that this movie will be doing most of the trilogy’s exposition and character development heavy-lifting so that the next two films can deliver huge payoffs down the line.

Anyway, pretty much everything I’ve read in reviews so far has led me to become even more excited for The Hobbit. Some of the reviewers don’t like movies where the story is episodic: i.e. the hero finds himself in a precarious situation, escapes, then meets with some elves, then finds more trouble, and so forth. But this is was makes The Hobbit such a wonderful story for me: feeling like you’re on an adventure, exploring as many locations and meeting as many interesting people as possible, never really knowing what you’ll see next.

So I’m as excited as ever to see it.

Below is an updated list of reviews from well known sites/critics: -you can find more reviews at rottentomatoes.com

http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/review-is-very-good-good-enough-for-the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey/2 (Drew McWeeny)

http://collider.com/hobbit-movie-review/215612/ (Dave Trumbore)

http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/The-Hobbit-An-Unexpected-Journey-6201.html (Katey Rich)

High-Def Digest’s first look at ‘The Hobbit’ in HFR 48fps 3D

http://badassdigest.com/2012/12/04/movie-review-the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey-is-perfectly-okay/ (Devin Faraci)

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117948867?refcatid=31 (Peter Debruge)

Time Magazine review (Richard Corliss)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/hobbit-an-unexpected-journey/review/397416 (Todd McCarthy)

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/59869 (Mr. Beaks)

http://www.nerdist.com/2012/12/lyt-review-the-hobbit-is-an-expected-pleasure/ (Luke Y Thompson)

http://www.indiewire.com/article/review-is-the-hobbit-less-movie-than-theme-park-ride-even-so-its-a-fun-one#  (Erik Kohn)

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/12/04/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey-review (Jim Vegvoda)

Slashfilm reviews ‘The Hobbit’ (Germain Lussier)

http://www.thevine.com.au/entertainment/movie-reviews/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey-movie-review/ (Alice Tynan)

http://www.hollywood.com/news/The_Hobbit_Review_Star_Wars_Prequels/45498155 (Matt Patches)

http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey (Matthew Leyland)

In-depth response to the HFR 3D aspect of ‘The Hobbit’ (Huffington Post)

Empire Magazine ‘Hobbit’ review (Dan Jolin)

A response to the HFR 3D (Chicago Tribune)

http://twitchfilm.com/2012/12/an-unknown-journey-the-hobbit-brings-high-frame-rates-to-the-masses.html (Jason Gorber)

TheOneRing.net reviews The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

IGN Video Review of The Hobbit

ComingSoon.net reviews The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Edward Douglas)

A response to common criticisms of ‘The Hobbit’  (3news.co.nz)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Video #9 – Post Production

Posted on by
Reply

Peter Jackson has just posted the 9th video blog covering the making of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”, this one focusing on post-production. But as you will see, there isn’t really a clear delineation between preproduction, production, and post – as new shots are constantly being pre-visualized, mo-caped, and inserted into the working cut of the movie.

Check out video blog #9 below:

These blogs are spectacular. It’s truly a treat to get such a comprehensive early behind-the-scenes peak at the making of such a gigantic and culturally significant movie.