**UPDATED With Steve Schklair Of 3ality Technica Thoughts - Peter Jackson On HFR: "There Can Only Ever Be A Real Reaction... When People Actually Have A Chance To See A Complete Narrative..."

** SAME DAY UPDATE: I reached out to Steve Schklair of 3ality Technica for his thoughts on the subject as Peter Jackson is using their 3D rigs on his production. 

Here's what Steve had to say:

"Every change in cinema technology has come with negative comments and naysayers. This includes the advent of color, sound, digital, and 3D. If you remember back to the early days of digital, there was a company selling a process that would artificially insert weave, grain, scratches and dirt into a pristine digital image so that it would have a “film look”. Motion artifacts in 2D are distracting, and in 3D they are especially distracting. Shooting HFR makes for better images and sharper less distracting pictures. Because it does not look like what people are used to, it comes with the same detractors as did color, sound, digital, and 3D. I agree with Peter Jackson in that you have to see an entire movie at 48 and not just a few minutes. When you become immersed in the story, the difference in look will become secondary to the story. Eventually, like all new technologies in our business, it will become the accepted norm. History shows that to always be true."

Eloquently put. I couldn't agree more!


It was only a matter of time until we would have heard from Peter Jackson on THE HOBBIT and it the so-called negative reaction to 48 frames per second frame rate. That time has come.

And the man makes total sense. Here's what Jackson had to say:
"Nobody is going to stop. This technology is going to keep evolving. At first it’s unusual because you’ve never seen a movie like this before. It’s literally a new experience, but you know, that doesn’t last the entire experience of the film; not by any stretch, after 10 minutes or so. That’s a different experience than if you see a fast-cutting montage at a technical presentation."

"There can only ever be a real reaction, a truthful reaction when people actually have a chance to see a complete narrative on a particular film."

"A couple of the more negative commenters from CinemaCon said that in the Gollum and Bilbo scene [which took place later in the presentation] they didn’t mind it and got used to that. That was the same 48 frames the rest of the reel was. I just wonder if it they were getting into the dialogue, the characters and the story. That’s what happens in the movie. You settle into it."

Further, Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. President of Domestic Distribution added:
"It might not initially be accepted by all, but eventually [Jackson] feels it will be and eventually it can only improve. I think by the time he presents this film finished, the majority of moviegoers will accept it and be pleased."

If you would like some further reading on why High Frame Rates (HFR) are important for 3D, check out this great article by Shutter Angle. It explains why these advancements in cinema technology walk hand in hand toward better and better viewer experiences.

Martin Scorsese wonders whether or not this whole HFR backlash thing is a generational gap. I tend to agree with that - younger audiences will be quicker to accept and immerse themselves in it.

My view is quite simple really. I subscribe to the aspiration of the perfect viewing experience - one where you can't tell what's real and what's not. Quite frankly, the holodeck from Star Trek TNG is what I'm talking about. Being IN the movie. 3D and HFR are incremental steps toward that goal and I support these movements 100%.

Here's the storyline for THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY:
The Hobbit is an upcoming two-part epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a film adaptation of the 1937 novel of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien and prequel to The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings, returns as director of the film and also serves as producer and co-writer. The film will star Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and Richard Armitage, known for playing Lucas North in the BBC drama series Spooks, as Thorin Oakenshield. Several actors from Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy will reprise their roles, including Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, and Orlando Bloom. Additionally, composer Howard Shore, who wrote the score for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, has confirmed his role in both parts of the film project. The two parts, entitled The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, are being filmed back to back and are currently in production in New Zealand; principal photography began on March 21, 2011. They are scheduled to be released on December 14, 2012 and December 13, 2013, respectively.

Legendary Filmmaker Martin Scorsese Accepts ‘RealD Innovation in 3D Award’ at CinemaCon

Academy Award® Winner ‘HUGO’ Honored for Pioneering Contributions to 3D

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (April 25, 2012) – RealD Inc. (NYSE: RLD), a leading global licensor of 3D technologies, awarded its third ‘RealD Innovation in 3D Award’ to five-time Academy Award winning film ‘HUGO’ during a luncheon at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, NV. Academy Award winning filmmaker and ‘HUGO’ director Martin Scorsese was on hand to accept the award on behalf of the film from RealD Chairman and CEO, Michael V. Lewis.

“’HUGO’ set a new bar for innovative use of 3D, representing a leap forward in 3D filmmaking by utilizing 3D techniques to draw audiences into the story in ways unobtainable in 2D,” said Lewis. “With his work on ‘HUGO,’ Mr. Scorsese has embraced 3D as a creative tool and demonstrated its true potential to bring a life-like and fully immersive world to the big screen.”

"I had a fascination with 3D that goes back to the View-Master. I'd always dreamed of making a film in 3D. It's like a combination of theatre and film.  There's something 3D gives to a movie that takes you to another land," said Martin Scorsese in his comments upon receiving the award. "Working with RealD creatively was a liberating experience. Thank you RealD for allowing us to make something like ‘HUGO.’"

The ‘RealD Innovation in 3D Award’ recognizes extraordinary contributions to digital 3D that embody the pioneering and creative spirit the technology brings to life in cinema and other applications.

Past award honorees have included James Cameron and Jon Landau for their work on the top-grossing worldwide feature film of all-time, ‘AVATAR,’ as well as Henry Selick, LAIKA and Focus Features for their work on the feature film ‘Coraline,’ the first stop-motion animated feature ever produced from inception in 3D.

‘HUGO,’ recipient of 11 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Director, and winner of 5 Oscars, is the astonishing adventure of a wily and resourceful boy whose quest to unlock a secret left to him by his father will transform Hugo and all those around him, and reveal a safe and loving place he can call home.  Directed by Martin Scorsese, ‘HUGO’ is based on Brian Selznick’s best-selling novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret and stars Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer with Jude Law. Independently produced by Graham King’s GK Films, ‘HUGO’ was distributed by Paramount Pictures.

About RealD Inc.
RealD is a leading global licensor of 3D technologies. RealD's extensive intellectual property portfolio is used in applications that enable a premium 3D viewing experience in the theater, the home and elsewhere. RealD licenses its RealD Cinema Systems to motion picture exhibitors that show 3D motion pictures and alternative 3D content. RealD also provides its RealD Display, active and passive eyewear, and RealD Format technologies to consumer electronics manufacturers and content producers and distributors to enable the delivery and viewing of 3D content.  RealD's cutting-edge 3D technologies have been used for applications such as piloting the Mars Rover.

RealD was founded in 2003 and has offices in Beverly Hills, California; Boulder, Colorado; London, United Kingdom; Shanghai, China; Hong Kong; and Tokyo, Japan. For more information, please visit our website at www.reald.com.

Cautionary note on forward-looking statements

This press release includes forward-looking information and statements, including but not limited to: statements related to the utilization of 3D in the feature film ‘HUGO’.  These statements are based on RealD’s current expectations and beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events.  Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside RealD’s control that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements.  RealD’s annual and quarterly reports include a more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties that may cause that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements.

RealD undertakes no obligation to update publicly the information contained in this press release, or any forward-looking statements, to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date they were made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Congratulations Martin Scorsese!! You've earned it. HUGO was spectacular!!

Sneak Peak Of THE HOBBIT Shown At CinemaCon: Christie And REALD Debut Brightest Commercially Available 3D Dual Projection System

YES!!! So excited about this technology! 48 frames per second looks AMAZING - so realistic. I saw both 48 fps and 60 fps at James Cameron's demonstration last year and it was spectacular. I can only imagine how well THE HOBBIT looked! Wish I was there right now. More when I get it!!

Here is what I think are the two most lucid reactions to the screening:
"The fact is that 48 fps 3D is the most startlingly “real” 3D I’ve ever seen in my life. The downside for older types is that it’s too real. [...] In a word, 48 fps 3D looks like high-def video. It doesn’t look “cinematic”, lacking that filtered or gauzy look we’re all accustomed to." -Jeff Wells, Hollywood Elsewhere.

"It’s literally like being on the set next to the actors as they’re performing. [...] Once audiences get to see The Hobbit screened at the 48 frames per second rate when it’s released in theaters on December 14, 2012, I can guarantee moviegoers are going to demand all films be presented at 48 fps." - Rebecca Murray, About.com

While it is true that the image is spectacularly real, many just "want" that hazy feel of 24 frames per second. Trust me when I say that 48 and 60 fps looks just like you're looking out a window into another world and with 3D you are actually drawn into it.

Expect many to voice displeasure over the higher frame rates because, well, many hate change. Take 3D for example, that changeover is still occurring. Thankfully as the poll today suggests, 3D is over the hump of public opinion. So to will higher frame rates. For me though? 48 and 60 fps is astonishing!!

Here is a retelling of what was seen in the clip **SPOILER ALERT**:

There was a lot of the helicopter shots you expect in a Lord of the Rings movie. Lots of shots of the dwarves trudging over mountains (again, this stuff looked spectacular). There was some of the business we saw in the trailer, with the introduction of the company of dwarves. There were also some quick shots - the company floating down a river in barrels, Gandalf running through a dungeon, being jumped on by a wild man of some sort, Legolas sliding in front of spider-webbed dwarves and knocking an arrow, warning he would kill them. There were also a handful of longer scenes that we saw. We saw Bilbo's meeting with the three trolls. One positive aspect of the 48fps is that since everything looks so video, the digital creatures look more like they're on the set. The tone of the scene is very playfully threatening, with the trolls having dim reactions. The scene ends with the dwarves coming to Bilbo's rescue in a big battle against the trolls. We also saw Gandalf investigating the rising darkness. In one scene he is at a table with Elrond, Galadriel and Saruman, talking about ancient tombs that have been opened - ancient tombs with such strong binding spells no one should have been able to get in. Then there's a scene of Gandalf investigating the open tomb, where he runs into a very silly Radagast the Brown, who has some birds under his hat (we also saw a shot of his sled being pulled by bunnies). It turns out the opened tombs belong the nine Ring Wraiths. The biggest scene was Bilbo meeting Gollum. Despite being told what we were seeing were unfinished effects, Gollum looked great (and again, the 48fps gave him more of a sense of being actually there). The scene was cut a little slackly; I imagine the final version will be tighter. But it was good.  

Scenes from Warner Bros. Pictures’ “The Hobbit” Brought to Life in 48 Frames per Second on Massive Silver Screen

CINEMACON/LAS VEGAS – (April 24, 2012) – Christie Duo™ combined with the new RealD XL-DP Cinema System today to project Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Sneak Peek” of The Hobbit in 3D, presented at High Frame Rates (HFR) of 48 frames per second, achieving an unprecedented combination of uniformity and brightness.  Christie®, a global visual technology company, and RealD, a leading global licensor of 3D technologies, powered today’s major studio presentation in the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

In the setup for this presentation, projection engineers calibrated the system using brightness measurements taken towards the edges of the screen, rather than at the center. The abundance of light available allowed the center brightness to be reduced considerably and still provided luminance measurements in excess of six foot lamberts (ft-L) across the better part of this massive 70-foot-wide screen. By combining the Christie Duo and the RealD XL-DP 3D Cinema System, exhibitors can actually achieve double the light output over the previous leading large format solutions, and at a significant overall value during regular, commercial movie showings.

“With the new RealD XL-DP Cinema System, there is a technical solution for achieving 3D brightness at 2D light levels on some of the largest movie theater screens in the world,” says Rod Archer, vice-president of Cinema Products, RealD. “RealD technology delivers twice the light of other 3D providers, allowing premium large format screens to demonstrate the true potential of digital 3D cinema with a lifelike and immersive 3D presentation without compromising brightness.”

Says Don Shaw, senior director, Christie’s Entertainment Solutions product management group: “Although it may seem too good to be true, the incredible experience delivered today by RealD and Christie was achieved on a silver screen, using Christie’s Pureformity Color™ Technology to  ‘control’ the center brightness, allowing us to obtain the most uniform image possible across this large screen. Standard Christie Solaria® projectors, the Christie Duo integration kit and the RealD XL-DP Cinema System combined to achieve this industry first, which will present a compelling alternative to the more costly, but half as bright, offering from the current large-format market leader.”

The RealD XL-DP Cinema System is a pair of matched left and right eye polarizing filters featuring the patented XL light recovery technology.  This Cinema System is designed for use on dual DLP projector installations on large screens, usually over 65 feet in width (20 meters).  Early users of this combination of the XL-DP Cinema System and dual DLP projectors report 3D presentation brightness at 2D light levels on screens as large as 92 feet (28 meters).

Christie Duo and Christie Pureformity Color™ Technology Immerse Audiences in the Movies
Introduced in February, the Christie Duo is a new dual–projector integration kit intended to give exhibitors the ability to create and deliver their own, branded premium theater experience.  The Christie Duo™ integration kit can be used with either 2K or 4K Christie Solaria® Series digital cinema projectors, purchased with new projectors or purchased as a standalone integration kit for Christie customers who already have Christie projectors. Christie Solaria® Series digital cinema projectors are the world’s best-selling, DCI-compliant digital cinema projectors, with close to 30,000 shipped and installed to date.

The integration kit features the choice of two configurations: a compact and convenient stacking system for 3D installations, or a new, innovative physical configuration that perfectly aligns every pixel on the screen for optimal 2D and 3D presentations. Coupled with automated features that easily calibrate, align and optimize the images from both Christie Solaria® Series 2K or 4K digital cinema projectors, Christie Duo delivers a completely seamless, premium movie experience for the world’s largest screens.

Pureformity Color™ Technology – a contraction of the words Pure and Uniformity – aptly describes Christie’s innovative ability to achieve optimal image color and brightness uniformity. While every Christie projector is built to exact DCI standards, every projection system has inherent color and brightness uniformity variations across the screen, especially towards the left and right hand edges. These effects can sometimes be exacerbated by certain screen materials and auditorium lighting conditions. Christie’s Pureformity Color™ Technology provides an unprecedented level of field optimization for these issues so that image quality perfection can easily be achieved across the whole screen.
About Christie®
Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. is a global visual technologies company and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio Inc., Japan, (JP:6925). Consistently setting the standards by being the first to market some of the world’s most advanced projectors and complete system displays, Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world. From retail displays to Hollywood, mission critical command centers to classrooms and training simulators, Christie display solutions and projectors capture the attention of audiences around the world with dynamic and stunning images. Visit www.christiedigital.com.

Christie’s Commitment to HFR
The two main goals of Christie’s HFR activities are to help the industry develop the best HFR content and the best delivery system for HFR content. The first goal involves assisting leading-edge filmmakers and post-production companies in perfecting HFR movie creation, so the industry has the most engaging, entertaining content possible. The second goal is to assist exhibitors in showing these 3D HFR movies in all their glory. To these ends, Christie is helping create the standards for 3D HFR movies through formal and informal technology-development alliances with major producers and directors, post production facilities, studios and technology partners. On the exhibitor’s front, Christie provides one stop shopping for all the hardware, software and services that enable exhibitors to deliver a filmmaker's vision in stunning 3D HFR quality. For more information visit http://www.higherframerates.com.

Christie® is a registered trademark of Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.
Christie Solaria® Series is a registered trademark of Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.
DLP and DLP Cinema® are registered trademarks of Texas Instruments.
RealD is a registered trademark of RealD Inc.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Clip Description From BadAssDigest (CBM had been previously credited in error)

Check Out This Year's 3D CinemaCon Posters!!

Well it's a shame I won't be able to attend CinemaCon this year (first time that's happened in a LONG time - it used to be called ShoWest) and quick frankly it's my favorite convention. It's kind of like a Comic Con for theater owners and it's not open to the public. The previews are amazing (as the owners need to see what's coming down the pipe) and this year is no exception - Warner Bros is showing about 10 minutes of THE HOBBIT in 3D and at 48 frames per second!

So yeah, you can see why I'm disappointed.

Here are some poster shots that I would have normally taken myself if I was there but this time they are courtesy of Steve over at Collider. Have a look!

I'm really amped about 47 RONIN. It's a top flight team making this thing so definitely looking for more info when it becomes available.

Further, the team at 3ality Technica are looking after the 3D for PROMETHEUS, THE HOBBIT, STEP UP REVOLUTION and THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN so look for some very cool visuals in these top native 3D productions this year!

I will be keeping you up to speed with all the 3D happenings at CinemaCon 2012 - stay tuned for more!