The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey vs The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Shot length, color & pacing compared
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug arrived 1 year after The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug cut at almost the same pace: 3.7s and 3.5s per shot on average.
Each stripe is the average color of a slice of the film, from the first frame (left) to the last (right).
By the numbers
Metric
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Average shot length
3.7s
3.5s
Total shots
2,934
3,195
Cuts per minute
16.1
17.1
Runtime analyzed
182 min
187 min
Close-ups or tighter
69%
72%
Setup: avg shot
4.0s
3.6s
Middle act: avg shot
3.6s
3.2s
Final act: avg shot
3.5s
3.8s
Shot scale mix
Extreme close-up
3%
4%
Close-up
23%
24%
Medium close-up
44%
43%
Medium shot
15%
15%
Long shot
15%
13%
Extreme long shot
0%
0%
The Hobbit: An Unexpected JourneyThe Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
What the data shows
01The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has 2,934 shots (16.1 cuts a minute); The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has 3,195 (17.1 a minute).
02Both films use close-ups at a similar rate (69% and 72% of shots).
03The most common framing in both is the medium close-up.
04The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the brighter film overall: its average frame brightness is 25% higher than The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug's.
05The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey keeps a steady rhythm across all three acts (4.0s, 3.6s, 3.5s per shot).
06The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug keeps a steady rhythm across all three acts (3.6s, 3.2s, 3.8s per shot).