'It's new' - Jackson hits back at Hobbit critics

Bilbo Baggin in The Hobbit.

Kiwi director Peter Jackson has hit back at criticism of the faster frame rates he's using to shoot his two Hobbit films, saying he's "not going to stop".

One film website said "everyone hated it" after Jackson previewed 10 minutes of his first Hobbit film, An Unexpected Journey, to industry experts and media in the US.

Shot at 48 frames per second rather than the normal 24, Badass Digest said the footage "has that soap opera look you get from badly calibrated TVs at Best Buy".

But Jackson told Entertainment Weekly people should bite their tongues until they see the entire film.

"There can only ever be a real reaction, a truthful reaction, when people actually have a chance to see a complete narrative on a particular film," he said.

He admitted the new frame rates took a while to get used to.

"At first it's unusual because you've never seen a movie like this before. It's literally a new experience, but you know, that doesn't last the entire experience of the film-not by any stretch - 10 minutes or so," Jackson said.

"Nobody is going to stop," he said. "This technology is going to keep evolving."

When asked what he had to say to fans who didn't like the new frame rates, Jackson replied: "I can't say anything. Just like I can't say anything to someone who doesn't like fish. You can't explain why fish tastes great and why they should enjoy it."

The footage, which is yet to be posted online, showed wide landscape scenes shot in New Zealand, Bilbo and his nemesis Gollum, and the band of dwarves he has adventures with.

Introducing the clips, Jackson said the human eye no longer saw individual pictures under the faster speed, but a steady stream of clear images.

"The movement feels more real," Jackson said while introducing his film at the CinemaCon convention for theatre owners on the Las Vegas Strip.

"It's much more gentle on the eyes."

He hoped "as many cinemas as possible" would play the movie at 48 frames per second.

The Hollywood Reporter said the clarity Jackson described was visible in the presentation, but because the clips were described as "a work in progress", Warners did not screen footage that was fully colour-corrected or had completed visual effects.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is due for release on December 13 and will be released in six different formats: 2D, 3D and iMax 3D - each in 24 and 48 frame rates.

- Herald online