Cinematic High Frame Rates The future of film, or aesthetic dead end? Øystein Birkenes Master's thesis, Media Studies Department of Media and Communication Faculty of Humanities UNIVERSITY OF OSLO Spring 2018 2 Cinematic High Frame Rates The future of film, or aesthetic dead end? Master's thesis, Media Studies Øystein Birkenes 3 © Øystein Birkenes 2018 Cinematic High Frame Rates: The future of film, or aesthetic dead end? Øystein Birkenes http://www.duo.uio.no/ Trykk: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo 4 Summary HFR (High Frame Rate) technology for filmmaking has recently seen attempts at introduction into mainstream cinema. Despite showing considerable promise for benefits to the film experience, the technology has encountered problems with unfavorable audience receptions, linked to the particular aesthetic that a higher frame rate confers on the motion picture. This thesis explores the characteristics of these obstacles and the factors behind them, as well as the benefits that HFR also can bring onto the film experience. The results of this investigation indicate a significant steepness of the problems that HFR has encountered with its aesthetic reception, with possible contributions from factors that have currently not garnered much attention in the discussion surrounding the technology. Simultaneously, there are indications that higher frame rates' unique benefit for 3D viewing comfort tend to be slightly overstated, moderating the impetus for its adoption. Sammendrag Det har nylig blitt gjort forsøk på å introdusere såkalt HFR-teknologi (High Frame Rate) i kinofilm. På tross av å inneha et betydelig potensiale for forbedringer av filmopplevelsen, har teknologien møtt problemer med negativ publikumsrespons, i sammenheng med hvordan høyere bildefrekvenser endrer filmbildets estetikk. Denne oppgaven utforsker karakteristikker ved disse problemene og mulige, underliggende faktorer, i tillegg til fordelene som HFR også kan ha for filmopplevelsen. Resultatene fra oppgavens undersøkelser antyder at problemene med HFR-films estetiske mottakelse kan være svært substansielle, med mulige bidrag fra faktorer som foreløpig ikke har mottatt mye oppmerksomhet i den offentlige diskusjonen rundt teknologien. Samtidig er det indikasjoner på at teknologiens unike rolle i å forbedre visuell komfort og behag for 3D-film tenderer til å være noe overvurdert. Dette spiller inn i en reduksjon av det forespeilte behovet for teknologiens framtidige benyttelse. 5 6 Foreword Many thanks to my counsellor over the past 17 months (spring 2017 - spring 2018), Prof. Liv Hausken. She has provided exactly the assistance I needed — not least with tempering my occasionally overflowing verbiage, stemming from an enthusiasm for the topics explored herein. Also many thanks to my parents, for concern and support, and my younger brother Håvard, for some last-minute proofreading. 7 8 Table of contents Introduction .........................................................................................................................................11 Chapters .............................................................................................................................................12 Theory and methods ..........................................................................................................................13 Broader interest .................................................................................................................................15 CHAPTER ONE: HFR and viewing comfort ....................................................................................17 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................17 Chapter questions ..........................................................................................................................18 Structure and previous work ..........................................................................................................19 Motion artifacts: terminology, description, discussion ......................................................................21 Judder and motion blur ..................................................................................................................21 Unsmooth motion ..........................................................................................................................25 Mitigating factors ..........................................................................................................................26 Motion artifacts and film scholarship .................................................................................................27 The current 3D cinema experience .....................................................................................................28 Motion blur ....................................................................................................................................29 3D and the visibility of motion artifacts ........................................................................................35 3D and judder ................................................................................................................................38 Multi-flashing, dark frames and "edge banding" ..........................................................................39 Light levels .....................................................................................................................................44 3D temporal asynchrony ................................................................................................................45 Accommodation-vergence conflict ................................................................................................47 Large disparities, frequently changing disparities ..........................................................................47 Motion sickness ..............................................................................................................................48 3D glasses .......................................................................................................................................48 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................................49 CHAPTER TWO: HFR and convention ............................................................................................52 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................52 Chapter questions and structure .....................................................................................................54 The soap opera ....................................................................................................................................55 Soap opera style .............................................................................................................................56 Conditions for film- and video-aesthtetics ........................................................................................60 Dynasty ...........................................................................................................................................60 9 I, Claudius ......................................................................................................................................63 A special role for motion ................................................................................................................65 HFR cinema analyses: Billy Lynn's Long Half-Time Walk ...............................................................67 Revealing the artifice .....................................................................................................................68 An uncanny climax .........................................................................................................................71 Props on a set, props in a game ......................................................................................................73 HFR cinema analyses: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey .............................................................75 The caverns chase scene .................................................................................................................76 The introductory meeting scene .....................................................................................................78 Unsettling close-ups .......................................................................................................................81 Variable Frame Rate (VFR) ...........................................................................................................83 HFR and video games ....................................................................................................................85 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................................5 CHAPTER THREE: Frame rate beyond convention ......................................................................89 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................89 Chapter question and structure .......................................................................................................90