Having lent his expertise to the visual effects development of acclaimed motion pictures such as Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, and most recently, Terrence Malick’s visual experience, The Tree of Life, it’s clear that Douglas Trumbull, a regarded VFX pioneer, knows a bit about a films visual experience. So, it goes without question that when someone of Trumbull’s stature goes against The Hobbit‘s recent 48fps backlash, it’s noteworthy.
While Peter Jackson, for all intents and purposes, looks to be handling the initial negative reaction from the recent 10-minute CinemaCon screening of The Hobbit well, having the support of industry veterans is sure to help ease the building pressure among faster frame-rate naysayers.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Trumbull expands upon how Jackson’s decision to double the cinematic standard frame rate is “definitely a fabulous and brave step in the right direction,” and, over time, “people will get used to it.” These are the same sentiments Jackson himself has been trying to convey since he first announced the ambitious plans for the film last year, asking for a little faith and patience despite the overwhelming objections.
While Trumbull thoroughly supports The Hobbit in 48fps, mainly due to his own increased frame-rate film endeavors, he does admit that a few compromises could be made in order to ease the viewers experience of the film. Namely, utilize current technologies to vary frame-rates between shots. For example, action shots could be kept at 48fps, while scenes with heavy dialogue could revert back the standard 24fps, stating that current digital projectors could handle the scene to scene frame rate variability with no issue.
More insight into Trumbull’s thoughts on The Hobbit can be viewed in Entertainment Weekly’s source interview, HERE.
Via: The Verge | Source: Entertainment Weekly
