Legendary VFX artist Douglas Trumbull to Direct new 3D Film at Higher Frame Rates
Filming movies at higher frame rate is something that is starting to gain some momentum in Hollywood. James Cameron has talked about how movies should be shot at 48 to 60 frames per second and is looking to do it with his Avatar sequels. Peter Jackson is already putting this higher frame rate into action, shooting The Hobbit in 3D at 48 fps. Now legendary special effects artist Douglas Trumbull is planning to shoot a 3D film at a higher frame rate as well.
Trumbull has worked on a ton of classic films that includes 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Blade Runner. The last feature film he actually directed was back in 1983, and it is called Brainstorm. The movie was meant to originally have been shot at 60 fps on 65mm film, but it ended up being shot at 24fps. This was the film that Natalie Wood was working on when she died.
Trumbell obviously had a vision for this higher frame rate before anyone else was even really thinking about it. He invented a tool called Showscan to execute his vision of shooting 65mm film, at 60 frames per second. “He wasn't able to get Showscan off the ground when it was developed several decades ago, but more recently he developed ShowScan Digital, a patent-pending process that uses 24 frames per second but allows the filmmaker to embed 60 frames per second sequences as desired for creative use.” Trumbell had this to say in a statement:
Higher frame rates create a sense of realism. We are now at a time when we can have any film texture we want. But it’s not an either/or situation. James Cameron has been talking publicly about shooting tests in 48 and 60. Peter Jackson wants to do The Hobbit in 60. … It doesn’t seem too daunting (to make this happen)
Trumbull revealed at the Digital Cinema Summit at the NAB Show in Las Vegas that he created a new production company named Magnetar Productions and is currently working on a screenplay which will end up being the company’s first film. Other than how the film will be shot, no details about the story or plot were revealed.