Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” shot in 48-frames-per-second HD, “looks nothing like you’ve ever seen before,” writes Wired. “In the 48-frames-per-second version… Middle-earth in 3D looks so crisp it’s like stepping into the foreground of an insanely gorgeous diorama.”
The movie will also be released December 14 in standard 24-frames-per-second, but the HFR 3D version allows for more precise images and smoother 3D action because it doubles the “visual data” and decreases blur during quick camera motions.
While the 48-frames-per-second approach is great for action sequences, Wired questions its effectiveness during naturalistic scenes. “The flicker, depth of field and imperfect ‘grain’ that lends character to 35-millimeter film historically fostered a collective dreamlike state for audiences who gathered in the dark to lose themselves in images that were never intended to exactly replicate the ‘real’ world.”
“In delivering the kind of high-def detail by which every wrinkle gets full attention, fast frame takes getting used to,” suggests the article. “At times, scenes unfold as if part of an extravagantly well-lit, art-directed reality-based series or soap opera.”
The 48-frames-per-second method combined with 3D almost makes the film seem something beyond real, suggests Wired, and definitely takes some adjustment for people used to watching standard film.
Sony PlayStation 3 users will be able to stream movies and TV shows and enjoy them with friends from multiple locations with an updated version of Crackle.
Instead of accessing Crackle via the console’s Internet browser, users can enter a virtual movie theater with custom PS3 controller navigation. “Fire up PlayStation Home — if you’re a free member, that is — and navigate over to the LOOT EOD Theater, the Hollywood Hills House, or the Sunset Yacht areas,” reports PCMag.com.
The streaming service allows users to create avatars and use them to interact with up to 11 friends (or 60 strangers) in a virtual movie theater with access to hundreds of movies and more than 1,000 TV episodes. “Think of it as an opportunity to have a giant recreation of ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ with strangers,” suggests the post.
“We are very excited to bring familiar social experiences from the real world into a virtual environment, so people around the globe can connect and communicate with each other while sharing their favorite movie, show, music, or event,” said Sony DADC VP David Sterling. “This is the next big step in social networking and it will transform the way people consume media.”
Sony is also planning PlayStation Home support for Ustream content and streaming radio service RadioIO later this year.
After phasing out console games relating to the “Mission: Impossible” series, Paramount Pictures has created a social game on Facebook to promote the franchise.
The game, which introduces an entirely new storyline, awards players with real prizes and new content. Paramount is using the game to give out premiere tickets in addition to other promotional material.
The studio is working with Funtactix, a social game developer, on the project.
According to a related article from TheNextWeb, Paramount is also hoping to generate buzz by making it possible to rent all previous iterations of the franchise directly from the movie’s Facebook Fan Page. Each movie costs 30 Facebook credits ($2.99) to rent for 48 hours.
“Utilizing the sharing capabilities and Facebook ticker, which will alert your friends to the fact that you’re watching one of the movies, could help build excitement for an opening weekend that will destroy the last,” suggests TNW.
Miramax launched a similar Facebook rental model a few months ago. TNW wonders if Facebook rental services will take off in the face of customer comfort and loyalty to Netflix and other streaming services.
DP Art Adams discusses the future of technology and the importance of creative talent behind its use.
“Honestly, I’m not so concerned about our technological future: things will always get better, faster and easier over time. My concern is how we, as humans, will relate to technology,” writes Adams. “The last few years have seen a shift in focus from the people to the tools, and that’s a dangerous path to follow.”
“As cinematographers we should be selling ourselves on our unique vision and abilities, but instead we often find ourselves selling gear,” he comments regarding what he sees as a disappointing trend.
“Somehow the focus must be shifted from the technology back to the people who use the technology, because that’s where all the creativity is.”
Adams suggests producers and directors use the same approach that he uses with his own crew: 1) Hire good people who can do their jobs better than you can do their jobs; 2) Tell them what you want; 3) Tell them the parameters (time, budget, etc.); 4) Let them use their creativity and years of experience to solve the problem in their own way; 5) Repeat.
For any old school film fans in our audience, check out the $80 LomoKino analog camera that shoots 144 frames on a single roll of 35mm film (at a frame rate of approximately 3-5 frames per second).
“With the LomoKino, you can give your films a sense of style, all the while escaping the megapixel-obsessed society we live in today,” reports Digital Trends. “You can even pair it with the LomoKinoScope so you can watch and enjoy the movies you’ve created.”
With HD getting all the attention of late, “it’s nice to see a cool new analog camera enter the fray and represent the colorful, unique, and sometimes blurry world of Lomographic photography.”
The LomoKino site features some interesting package deals, including the $150 “Film Noir” bundle: LomoKino & LomoKinoscope, Lomography Lady Grey B&W 400 35mm (Pack of 3), Lomography Lady Grey B&W 400 35mm (Pack of 3) & Lomography Earl Grey B&W 100 35mm (Pack of 3).
You can also check out some sample footage on the LomoKino site.
Horror fans are resurrecting the VHS format to enjoy films of the 1980s, “the kind in which brains were made of Jell-O and the cast was paid in wine coolers,” suggests The New York Times.
“It’s hard to get into the aesthetic of shakycam, pretty people, safe scares — like something jumping out at you — and the digital photography and CG blood,” says Evan Husney, director of Drafthouse Films.
These fans prefer dusting off their VCRs to viewing via tablets or DVD. As a result, several distributors are re-releasing select 80s titles on VHS.
“You just don’t get the same feeling in a pristine print of a DVD,” explains blogger Dan Kinem. “With VHS it’s like I’m experiencing an old grind-house movie theater. I would never watch them on a computer.”
Additionally, VHS nights are emerging at theaters such as Cinefamily in Los Angeles; the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas; and at the Spectacle Theater and Nighthawk Cinema in Brooklyn, New York.
Director Peter Jackson’s team has created a fascinating 10-minute video covering all aspects of shooting a 3D feature (cameras, frame rates, concept art!, costumes, make-up), using “The Hobbit” as the case study.
ETCentric staffer Dennis Kuba adds that this is the fourth in Jackson’s “Hobbit” production videos, this time with a focus on their 3D production. Dennis points out some of the highlights:
They are using two RED Epics in a 3ality rig which uses a mirror to replicate a human’s interocular. Both the interocular and the convergence can be altered as they shoot. They also have a camera rig for a crane and a handheld rig. Jackson doesn’t feel that 3D is restricting or changing his shooting style. Interestingly, they are shooting at the same speed as 2D.
They are shooting at 5K resolution and 48 fps. Jackson says the effect is “like looking into the real world.”
The RED camera “tends to eat color” so they add even more color.” The final film will be graded down to get the right amount of color. For the characters, they found that they needed more red in their makeup otherwise they would appear yellow.
This is the first film where the pencil and charcoal concept art is being done in 3D.
By the end of the year, both the Wii and Nintendo 3DS will have access to TV shows and movies via the $7.99 per month Hulu Plus service (but only in 2D).
Hulu Plus joins Netflix in offering content on the Nintendo devices.
Also, the 3DS will get a software update at the end of November that allows 3D recording for up to ten minutes, and the ability to “stitch together stereoscopic images for stop motion animation that jumps out of the tiny screen at you,” suggests Engadget.
“With both Hulu and Netflix in tow, as well as the ability to create your own content, the 3DS is actually turning into quite a powerful little portable.”
Filmmakers and coders gathered in San Francisco for a recent “hackathon” to explore the future of Web video. Discussions focused on Popcorn.js — “Mozilla’s HTML5 media toolkit designed to amp up interactivity,” according to Wired.
Popcorn is a framework “that allows filmmakers to supplement their movies with news feeds, Twitter posts, informational windows or even other videos, which show up picture-in-picture style. For example, if a subject in a film mentions a place, a link can pop up within the video or alongside it, directing the viewer to a Google Map of the location.”
While initially hesitant that such enhancements would distract viewers from the movie experience, directors reportedly grew accepting of the concept of providing a more interactive experience.
“It’s easy to envision Popcorn helping filmmakers with their productions as well as creating communities for films after their release,” reports Wired. “At least one documentary project, ‘One Millionth Tower,’ has already made use of the tools, coupling Popcorn with 3D graphics generator WebGL to create a Web-ready documentary that shows what would happen if the residents of a Toronto highrise were allowed to participate in re-creating their home tower.”
A short story originally posted as a series of comments on social news site Reddit will become the basis for a Warner Bros. feature film.
“Rome, Sweet Rome” is an historical sci-fi tale written by James Erwin, a two-time “Jeopardy!” winner.
Erwin (as Prufrock451 on Reddit) was responding to another user who asked the community, “Could I destroy the entire Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus if I traveled back in time with a modern U.S. Marine infantry battalion or MEU?”
The posts Erwin subsequently composed as a short story became the top-rated comments on Reddit and “inspired fan-art, fiction spin-offs and even a mock-up movie trailer.”
Madhouse Entertainment caught wind of the RsR subreddit community and pitched the story to a Warner Bros. exec, who pushed to “move aggressively” to acquire the rights.
Creative COW asks if film is getting ready to fade to black: “While the debate has raged over whether or not film is dead, ARRI, Panavision and Aaton have quietly ceased production of film cameras within the last year to focus exclusively on design and manufacture of digital cameras. That’s right: someone, somewhere in the world is now holding the last film camera ever to roll off the line.”
“The demand for film cameras on a global basis has all but disappeared,” says Bill Russell, ARRI VP of cameras. “If you talk to the people in camera rentals, the amount of film camera utilization in the overall schedule is probably between 30 to 40 percent.”
While film may not be dead, it is most certainly on the decline. Digital production is on the rise, and for those still interested in shooting on film, used cameras are available.
“Almost nobody is buying new film cameras,” says Aaton founder Jean-Pierre Beauviala. “Why buy a new one when there are so many used cameras around the world?”
Stereoscopic 3D production may also be “accelerated the demise of film” says Beauviala, since it is “a nightmare to synchronize two film cameras.”
Russell predicts that film will eventually disappear, although the exact date is unknown. Phil Radin, executive VP of worldwide marketing at Panavision suggests the timing will be decided by the availability of resources. “Film will be around as long as Kodak and Fuji believe they can make money at it,” he says.
Early reviews to Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” — the director’s first foray into 3D production — are so enthusiastic that Steve Pond at TheWrap suggests, “it left one question lingering in the air: Has Scorsese just saved 3D?”
Pond was reacting to an early screening of the unfinished film at this week’s New York Film Festival, after which attendees raved about the experience. Katey Rich at CinemaBlend described it as, “probably the most gorgeous live-action 3D film ever made.”
Prior to the screening, the noted director explained that his film was not quite completed and would still require additional work with color correction, visual effects, music and sound.
That didn’t seem to deter a flood of positive reactions tweeted immediately following the screening. For example: “Hugo is outstanding. 1st film where 3D is a vital organ of the overall narrative. Brilliant and at its heart, profound.” Another: “In Hugo, Scorsese experiments w/ 3D the way Melies pioneered SFX. The simple first 1/3rd is a showcase for the power of visual storytelling.”
Amazon’s launch of the Kindle Fire tablet may have an impact on Netflix, since the new tablet will make it easier for users to watch streaming video content via Amazon.
“With its $199 price point the tablet could sell like crazy this Christmas,” reports Forbes. “Users will be encouraged to buy Amazon Prime in order to speed their Amazon purchases and Prime just happens to come complete with Amazon’s streaming video service.”
The decision for consumers between Amazon Prime and Netflix will likely be based on pricing and variety of content offerings.
Amazon Prime beats Netflix on price, set at $80 a year ($6.67 per month), while Netflix streaming costs $8 a month.
Netflix, however, has more variety of content with 51,000 titles currently available for streaming, compared to Amazon’s 11,000.
Amazon may soon be able to compete in this regard with added content from Fox and CBS deals. Netflix has similar deals with Fox and CBS and a new DreamWorks Animation deal, but it will lose movies from Sony and Disney with the loss of Starz.
Both companies may press Hollywood to license more content for streaming, but continuing to pay more for films could potentially break Netflix, while Amazon has other sources of revenue to cover costs.
Rob Wiesenthal, chief financial officer of Sony America and chief strategy officer of Sony Entertainment, says TVs will get access to video content through tablets which would enable, for example, Sony’s Video Unlimited subscribers to go to a friend’s house and “throw” a film to the TV set.
“If you think back five years, it was all about the boxes; Tivo, Slingbox, Roku,” he said. “I think consumers really had box exhaustion.” Apple’s AirPlay, for example, allows iPads and iPhones to wirelessly connect to TVs.
Sony is using the Digital Living Network Alliance standard to interoperate with different manufacturer’ devices without the need for a box.
“Other benefits include the lure of offering more targeted advertising through an IP-enabled tablet than has proved possible through set-top boxes, and the advantages of finding content on a tablet rather than by aiming a remote control at a TV 10 feet away,” reports Financial Times.
In order for this approach to work, however, home Wi-Fi networks will require the capacity to transfer large video files without interruptions and cable providers will need to be willing to make content available this way.
Netflix announced a partnership with Facebook to allow members to share what they are watching on Netflix with their family, friends and associates via the social networking site. However, this feature will NOT be available in the U.S. (only in Canada and Latin America) due to a 1988 law that makes sharing that information illegal.
The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) was created to prevent “wrongful disclosure of video tape rental or sale records (or similar audio visual materials, to cover items such as video games and the future DVD format).” Congress passed the law after Robert Bork’s video rental history was published during his Supreme Court nomination.
“Unfortunately, we will not be offering this feature in the U.S. because a 1980’s law creates some confusion over our ability to let U.S. members automatically share the television shows and movies they watch with their friends on Facebook,” explains Netflix Director of Government Relations Michael Drobac. “The good news, however, is that some forward-thinking members of Congress have introduced legislation, H.R. 2471, that would allow you to make this choice… If you want the choice to share with your friends, please email Congress to urge them to pass this modernizing legislation.”
According to Wired, Netflix currently has 24 million subscribers inside the U.S. and only a million subscribers internationally.
Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” shot in 48-frames-per-second HD, “looks nothing like you’ve ever seen before,” writes Wired. “In the 48-frames-per-second version… Middle-earth in 3D looks so crisp it’s like stepping into the foreground of an insanely gorgeous diorama.”
