film

The next cinematic installment of J.R.R. Tolkien's written masterpiece "The Hobbit" returns to U.S. theaters on December 13, but in the meantime, be sure to check out a new trailer for the film courtesy of Warner Bros.

As expected, Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" picks up where "An Unexpected Journey" left off. It continues the tale of Bilbo Baggins' journey to take back the Lonely Mountain from the gold-hungry dragon Smaug in an attempt to reclaim the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. All of the actors who played the main characters -- Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and Thorin Oakenshield -- from the first film reprise their respective roles once again.… Read more

If you've done any research into TVs, Blu-ray players, or Blu-ray in general, you've likely seen the alphanumeric 1080p24 (or 1080p/24).

Understanding what it is, and keeping a lookout for products that can take advantage of it, can result in smoother, more natural-looking movie and TV show playback. I'm not talking about the artificially hypersmooth look of the Soap Opera Effect, but instead the correct cadence of motion at which the film or TV show was shot.

All the judder reducing -- and causing -- awesomeness after the jump.… Read more

Mextures is a photo editor that focuses on applying multiple high-resolution textures to your images for some truly unique results. This app isn't like most photo editors that have you add a filter or a frame and then save the image; instead it requires a good amount of experimentation, mixing and matching textures to get the look you want.

On the first screen there are three buttons across the bottom: Camera, Inspiration, and Library. Camera and Library are self-explanatory for selecting a photo to use in the process, but the Inspiration button is where you'll find a gallery … Read more

Curious about how well "The Lone Ranger" will fair at the box office? How about whether "Star Trek Into Darkness" will do alright overall?

This is information that Google now says it can predict with up to 94 percent accuracy.

The Web giant released a study (pdf) on Thursday that examines the correlation between Google searches and box-office performance. And, with people using search at an increasing rate (56 percent more in 2012 than 2011), it seems that Google's predictions will only get better.

"Moviegoers are now more actively discovering and exploring their film … Read more

DxO Labs released FilmPack 4 Wednesday, a new version of its software for photographers fond of the retro film look made possible by Instagram and similar filter-effect apps.

The software goes well beyond the usual sepia-tone and cyanotype effects. It's based on precise measurements of 60 specific types of film -- everything from Fuji Velvia to Kodak Tri-X -- to quickly endow digital photos with an old-school analog look.

Some might call it a throwback or gimmick, but plenty of shooters such as wedding photographers like such tools for quickly adding a little character or flavor.

New to the … Read more

An automated home where everything from the lights to the refrigerator can be controlled by a smartphone is still a distant dream for most of us. You may have an opportunity get a high-tech jump on the neighbors if the Sonte Film Wi-Fi digital shades Kickstarter project comes to fruition.

Sonte Film reacts to an electric current and can turn from opaque to clear and back again almost instantaneously. The film can be connected to Wi-Fi so that an app for both Android and iOS can let users control the opacity.… Read more

Disney said today that it has begun production on "Star Wars Rebels," a new animated television series. It will air in 2014, first as a one-hour special, and then will continue as a regular series.

The special will be shown on the Disney Channel, while the series will air first on Disney XD channels globally, Disney said. It will be produced by LucasFilm Animation.

The announcement that production has commenced on "Star Wars Rebels" comes just two months after Disney shut down "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," a popular and long-running cartoon series. What's unclear is whether the announcement of "Star Wars Rebels" will do anything to ease the enmity toward Disney that has sprung up in the wake of the "Clone Wars" shutdown, as well as the closure of LucasArts, the video game arm of LucasFilm. … Read more

While it's hard to imagine there being a real competitor to YouTube's dominance of the Web video market, Vimeo has quietly made quite a name for itself in the past few years. With billions of videos and a robust sharing platform that has been used by businesses and thought leaders alike, Vimeo is one of the top video sharing sites on the Internet and the mobile app for iPhone and iPad is a perfect representation of why.

When you first open Vimeo, you'll see what makes it so different. This is a site about creating great content, … Read more

If you're looking to attract attention, setting a Guinness World Record is probably a good way to start.

That was the goal -- attracting attention, that is -- for a group of IBM Research scientists who recently set out to make what turned out be the Guinness World Record-certified smallest stop-motion film ever.

Called "A Boy and His Atom," the animated film features a small boy having a good old time as he bounces around, playing catch, and dancing. The twist? The film was shot at the atomic level and features 130 atoms that were painstakingly placed, atom by atom, as the researchers shot 250 individual frames. The images were created at a temperature of negative 268 degrees Celsius and were magnified 100 million times. … Read more