New technology gives The Hobbit a revolutionary cinematic look

TORONTO — There’s a hearty debate brewing among the lucky few who have already seen Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey about the look of the much-anticipated epic.

Jackson shot the film using a new technology called High Frame Rate 3D, which captures action at 48 frames per second, double the Hollywood standard.

It’s said to create a more convincing 3D effect and also adds a vivid, natural look to scenes that are startlingly clear.

Reminiscent of the TV world’s switch to high definition, the technology offers a radically new look that is impossible to ignore.

Some have said the ultrareal style may not suit The Hobbit and will distract viewers from J.R.R. Tolkien’s story.

You can count star Richard Armitage, who plays the dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield, among those who think the new technology is a game-changer, even though he understands the reservations of film traditionalists.

“Takes a bit of getting used to, doesn’t it?” Armitage asked a reporter during a conference in Toronto on Monday, ahead of the film’s première on Friday.

“Some people don’t want real, do they? They want a veil of something over the lens. Personally, my taste is I want to see this film in both formats because I’m a bit old-fashioned and I also like that veil in front of the lens — but I was so fascinated by what I was seeing (in the new format).

“You can’t quite believe what you’re looking at and it’s something we don’t recognize, it’s like a new flavour you’re trying to taste and I find it fascinating.”

Not everyone will get to experience the film in High Frame Rate 3D. Some theatres aren’t equipped for it and will instead screen the movie in regular 2D and 3D and IMAX. But Armitage believes film-goers will go out of their way to find The Hobbit playing in the new format, which is good for the industry.

“It still feels like an experiment, but I like the fact that he’s putting something out there that is so new and such a new experience that it really is going to drive people to the cinema again.”