Peter Jackson shoots The Hobbit at 48 frames per second.

Here’s what he said:

”We are indeed shooting at the higher frame rate. The key thing to understand is that this process requires both shooting and projecting at 48 fps, rather than the usual 24 fps… So the result looks like normal speed, but the image has hugely enhanced clarity and smoothness.

Looking at 24 frames every second may seem ok… but there is often quite a lot of blur in each frame, during fast movements, and if the camera is moving around quickly, the image can judder or strobe. Shooting and projecting at 48 fps does a lot to get rid of these issues. It looks much more lifelike, and it is much easier to watch, especially in 3-D.”