Some comments on a 48fps showing of some Hobbit footage

[Mike70]

I wonder if it will take off. We've had faster framerates in various media for quite a while (30fps, for example, is a very common rate in camcorders and webcams), it's not the technology that's holding it back, it's the look. That's part of the reason you can instantly spot a shot-on-video horror flick, for example; no matter how good the lighting and cinematography, it just LOOKS like a video. I wonder if it really is simply a matter of what we're used to, or if there's more at play. I suspect that the slower framerate of 24fps gives movement a sort of subliminal pseudo- "slow motion" vibe, which makes it feel more epic somehow. Perhaps the fact that they're going with a multiple of 24 will help? i don't know, man. the flicker fusion rate of the human eye plays an key role in choosing frame rate. important note: the human eye does not have a "frame rate" it works by constantly processing the light reflected off objects and into your eyes. rod cells process images faster than cone cells, so the brightness, frequency and direction of the image have a lot to with it. your flicker fusion threshold is much lower in peripheral vision than in something you see directly. flicker fusion is a physics term. it is the rate that your eye can resolve a moving image as steady. if the frame rate is significantly above or below this threshold, then the image no longer appears steady and instead appears to flicker and reveal itself for what it really is: a moving series of still images. 24fps is the most common frame rate (some tv shows are shot at 30fps) because your eye has a very easy time perceiving it as a smooth, steady image. anything above 60fps becomes a problem in most people. anything below about 18-15 also ceases to appear as a smooth image. there is a very fine line in how fast your eyes can resolve moving images as a steady picture.