‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ Banner Teases Returning Characters

Peter Jackson hasn’t done “small” in some time, and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

won’t be an exception, just going by a newly-released giant tapestry for the film. It’s fitting enough, however, as this fantasy blockbuster  is (probably) the last of Jackson’s movies set in Middle-earth; the

final chapter (and Jackson’s favorite installment) in the filmmaker’s Hobbit trilogy; and the segment of Jackson’s ongoing adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s  literature that will bridge the events of young(er) Bilbo Baggins’ grand adventure with the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

To recap where we left off in The Desolation of Smaug  (spoilers?): Smaug the dragon (Benedict Cumberbatch) has been driven out of the Lonely Mountain by Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and his dwarf company, only to takeoff seeking his vengeance against the inhabitants of  Lake-town. Meanwhile, Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) has been captured  shortly after he discovered that The Necromancer (also Cumberbatch) was  actually a not-fully-regenerated Sauron, who proceeded to set his army

of Orcs on a march to conquer Erebor. Oh, and Kili the dwarf (Aidan Turner) was left wondering if the medical miracle-working elf Tauriel  (Evangeline Lilly) would ever consider dating him, after all this war

business was settled.

The aforementioned Battle of the Five Armies tapestry (via Digital Spy) features all of the aforementioned characters, along with many other  key players who were placed on the board over the course of either the

first Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey, or The Desolation of Smaug. We’ve also broken the banner down into the individual poster components, which you can peruse through below.

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There are certainly a significant number of important narrative threads and character subplots that need to be tied off in The Battle of the Five Armies (seriously, will Tauriel admit she loves Kili?!).

Not to mention, certain returning characters such as Saruman  (Christopher Lee) – assuming they weren’t just thrown into the banner  for the heck of it – should help to bring the Hobbit movie trilogy full-circle, while also foreshadowing what lies ahead (for said characters and Middle-earth in general) in the Rings films.

In other words: if you haven’t given up yet on Jackson’s massive and sprawling expedition through Middle-earth – despite the filmmaker’s still controversial decision to turn The Hobbit source novel into a trilogy – then reaching the final destination along may be reward enough. Judging by the Battle of the Five Armies trailer, the movie is also shaping up to be a pretty good fantasy epic on its own terms.

'The Hobbit' Will Debut With New 3D Tech

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When the 3D version of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey debuts in movie theaters on Dec. 14, the film will likely wow viewers with its special effects.

But audiences at select theaters will get even more bang for their buck: They’ll be the first to witness a new technology that displays images at a rate of 48 frames per second, twice as fast as the current standard.

The new display rate is sure to look different. Whether audiences will like it is less certain. So far, early reviews have been mixed, according to 3D Focus, a website that tracks changes in 3D-viewing technology.

SEE ALSO: Is 3D Vision Bad For You?

Some people think the effects look “too real.” For others, eyestrain, headaches, nausea and other discomforts are as much of a hazard as they were with the older technologies.

That’s because most films that are designed to make images look like they are popping out of the screen work by showing each eye different pictures at different times. That forces the brain to merge conflicting messages — an obstacle that 3D studios are still working to overcome.

“People really differ,” said Marty Banks, a vision scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. “Some people just don’t get it and they’re fine. Other people are fairly uncomfortable. The industry is really worried about this. They’re listening to us scientists and they’re taking our advice.”

All movies, whether “2D” or “3D” create the illusion of movement by flashing one still image after another onto the screen at a rate that is fast enough to fool our brains into seeing action. If the sequence of images is presented too slowly, the result is a shaky effect called “judder” that can sometimes look like a double image.

3D technology (which Banks prefers to call stereo-3D or S3D because even “2D” movies look three-dimensional) raises the risk for judder because these films usually show screen shots in an alternating sequence to one eye at a time. First the left eye sees an image, then the right eye sees one, then the left eye sees the next image, and so on.

With the latest generation of 3D glasses, polarizing filters allow each eye to see light coming from just one direction, and screen shots are displayed so that a single lens is targeted at a time. When one eye is stimulated, the other eye is presented with darkness.

It’s up to the brain to put everything together into a coherent picture. But with each eye seeing alternating flashes of brightness and darkness, jumpy judder can creep in, causing distraction or discomfort.

SEE ALSO: Sony’s 3D Digital Recording Binoculars

To solve that problem, 3D films that are shot at a standard 24 frames per second actually show each eye in sequence three times in a row with flashes of darkness in between. That pattern continues for the entire film. This “triple flashing” allows each eye to see 72 flashes per second, which reduces flicker effects.

For the new Hobbit, director Peter Jackson used new technology to film at 48 frames per second instead of 24. In real life, our visual systems take in information continuously, and some experts speculate that images will need to be captured at more than 100 or even 150 frames per second before a movie looks truly real. But with any increase in frame-rate speed, motion should look smoother and more realistic.

“As you increase the rate of new incoming data, you’re getting closer and closer to the real world,” Banks said. “At some rate, you will get to the point where you can’t tell the difference.”

But first, moviemakers have some technical issues to deal with.

One question, Engle said, is whether the technological limitations of the projectors used by most theaters will require them to use fewer flashes for each eye before switching to the other eye’s image — a switch that could actually cause new stuttering problems.

SEE ALSO: Underwater Movie Maker: Shaun MacGillivray

Some theaters use a dual-projector set-up that gets around that issue by showing images to both eyes at the same time, and in those cases, Engle said, the results should be spectacular. But theaters that use a single projector to display 3D movies will have some new decisions to make, and audiences might not be universally happy about the final product.

“You have to be careful what you wish for,” said Rob Engle, 3D supervisor at a major film studio in Los Angeles, Calif. “If you have to make compromises in order to increase the frame rate by decreasing the flash rate, you start to run into trade-offs.”

As higher frame rates lead to more realism, dismay is also cropping up among people who are used to seeing films that look like films rather than television or real life. Similar complaints have emerged whenever filmmaking technology has risen to a new level over the decades.

“Every time we’ve moved closer to reality by adding sound, adding color or getting rid of scratches, in the end, the audience has accepted it and there’s no going back,” Banks said. “I think the same is going to be true here.

“In the end, we all want immersion. We want to feel like we’re in that scene and closer to reality. I think once people see it, they are going to go, ‘Wow. I want that.’”

via mashable.com

'The Hobbit 3': Peter Jackson Confirms Third 'Hobbit' Film Set For Summer 2014 Release

Middle-earth fans, you may need to sit down for this one: Peter Jackson has confirmed "The Hobbit" will become a trilogy.

"It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made," Jackson wrote on Facebook. "Recently Fran [Walsh], Philippa [Boyens] and I did just this when we watched for the first time an early cut of the first movie -- and a large chunk of the second. We were really pleased with the way the story was coming together, in particular, the strength of the characters and the cast who have brought them to life. All of which gave rise to a simple question: Do we take this chance to tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as the filmmakers, and as fans, was an unreserved ‘yes.'"

Rumors of a third film emerged at Comic-Con, when Jackson told a HitFix reporter that he was considering splitting the second and final part of "The Hobbit" -- titled "The Hobbit: There And Back Again" -- into two films.

"We have certainly been talking to the studio about some of the material we can't film, and we've been asking them so we can do a bit more filming next year," Jackson told HitFix at the time. "Which, I don't know what would come of that, whether it'd be extended editions or whatnot. But those discussions are ongoing."

Currently, the third "Hobbit" film is slated for a summer 2014 release date. Meanwhile, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" arrives on Dec. 14, and "The Hobbit: There And Back Again" is out on Dec. 15, 2013.

Skeptical fans might be concerned over the third film's plot; after all, some felt that there was lack of material in J.R.R. Tolkien's original book. It is rumored that Jackson will use material from the appendixes Tolkien wrote at the end of "Return of the King," the final chapter in the "Lord of the Rings" series, to close "The Hobbit" trilogy.

Of course, plot worries might not matter that much in the long run. Jackson's last Tolkien trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings," grossed nearly $2.9 billion worldwide.

For Jackson's full statement regarding "The Hobbit 3," head over to his Facebook page.

 

Loading Slideshow

• The Hobbit production diary #1 - Start of production (HD)

  The first production diary video from The Hobbit, as posted by Peter Jackson on his facebook page. Enjoy!

• THE HOBBIT, Production Video #2 [HD]

  Second behind-the-scenes production video diary for The Hobbit from Peter Jackson.

• THE HOBBIT, Production Video #3 [HD]

  Third behind-the-scenes production video diary for The Hobbit from Peter Jackson!

• THE HOBBIT, Production Video #4 [HD]

  Fourth video diary for The Hobbit from Peter Jackson. You get more of a look at some of the aesthetics, the work put into creating a 3D movie, and a sneak peak at the actors themselves working. Thank you to everyone for being so great! I will always have these out to you as soon as they're available. And as you know, for disclaimer purposes, I own absolutely none of this. Just trying to share Peter Jackson's brilliance for the masses.

• THE HOBBIT, Production Video #5 [HD]

  Fifth behind-the-scenes video diary for The Hobbit from Peter Jackson. A little holiday treat from the team in New Zealand! Location shooting, more of the the actors and sets. I own nothing, as per usual.

• THE HOBBIT, Production Video #6 [HD]

  Continuation of location shooting, now for THE HOBBIT: PART 2. New Zealand is as gorgeous as ever, even with her somewhat temperamental weather. We get to see more of the actors in action, in costume. A little bit of the life on set. And of course interviews from the cast and crew, including the normally elusive Martin Freeman, Mr. Bilbo Baggins himself. Tumblr link: crieffandcrowley.tumblr.com Side note: I get CONSTANT inquires for when the next Hobbit production video will be uploaded, my favourite being, "why are you waiting so long to put up the next video?" To be clear: I am NOT Peter Jackson. I don't make these videos! The very thought makes me laugh senslessly. I upload them as Peter Jackson sends them out, which he does every few months or so. I can't rush him; I have absolutely no control in the matter. Keep in mind too that you need to allow them time to film in between production diaries and to gather new material for there to even BE a new video worth watching! That being said, cheers, and I'll see you when the next one comes around.

• THE HOBBIT, Production Video #7 [HD]

  Seventh behind-the-scenes video diary for The Hobbit from Peter Jackson

 

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