'The Hobbit' Effect, Moviegoers Experience Dizziness And Headaches After Seeing Film

Several reports say that some fans and journalists that have seen early screenings of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy prequel; and some fans have reported experiencing motion sickness symptoms including dizziness, headaches and nausea.

The sickness was supposedly caused due to a new filming technique used to shoot the film. Some of the film was shot in high frame rate at 48 frames per second, as opposed to the standard 24 frames per second.

According to Yahoo! Movies, the higher film rate makes the movie playback sharper and more realistic. However, the visual acuity is “disorienting” for some, especially during scenes depicting heavy action, fast movement, or up-close shots.  

The New Zealand Herald reported that an early audience viewing the movie Monday reported migraine, nausea and dizziness.

"You have to hold your stomach down and let your eyes pop at first to adjust," tweeted a moviegoer from New Zealand.

Meriah Doty of Yahoo! Movies suggests that only people who have a predisposition to motion sickness should really worry about being affected by the movie. Despite the visual complaints, "X-Men" director Bryan Singer enjoyed the amplified film rate.

"Just saw # Hobbit . Having some serious frame rate envy. Amazing and involving. Loved it! And @ ianmckellen118 , my friend, you are brilliant!" he tweeted last Friday.

Sir Ian McKellan plays Gandalf the Grey in the film spoke about the film’s intensity on "LIVE With Kelly and Michael" Tuesday.

"[There's] a real sense of reality and, with the 3-D, it doesn't come out at you, it rather takes you inside," he said yesterday.

“The Hobbit” is among films such as James Cameron’s “Avatar, and "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" that have elicited illness responses.

Both films went on to do extremely well in box offices. “Avatar” is considered the top-grossing film in movie history, having earned $2.78 billion worldwide, while “Breaking Dawn” earned $702.3 million.

In a Directors Guild of America article, Jackson explained the faster frame rate especially aids the realism of 3D films.

"Even though I've made a lot of fantasy films, I've always tried to make them as realistic as possible," he said.

 “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” releases everywhere Dec. 14.