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by michaelfeathers 4924 days ago
I wonder whether the problems that people are seeing with 48fps are genre specific? Sure, we've conditioned ourselves to dreamy visuals created by lower frame rates, but losing that might affect fantasy more (particularly when special effects can't be masked as well), and drama where a "cinematic" feel is expected. Maybe 48fps would feel perfectly natural in a comedy or a situational horror film?
2 comments

I predict that a film's frame rate will become simply another choice for the cinematographer to make. Just like different film stocks and processing techniques are employed for different genres (e.g. bleach bypass in war movies), perhaps the FPS will indeed become genre-specific like you suggest. Debate about whether 48 is superior to 24 is misplaced -- it's an aesthetic choice, and the fluid movement that comes with additional frames works well in some scenarios but not in others. Many shots in The Hobbit looked terrible, perhaps demonstrating that 48 is not the ideal frame rate for an epic fantasy, but for some films it would be quite suitable.
I'm thinking action movies will benefit. Comedy, less so; depending on the type you might not want it too realistic.