Moviemaker Peter Jackson has defended his decision to film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at double the normal frame rate, despite reports suggesting the life-like footage is making fans ill.

Moviegoers who caught early footage at the Comic-Con convention in San Diego, California this summer (12) were critical of the pioneering technique, but Jackson remains defiant.

He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "The higher frame rate gives you the illusion of the real world. It gives you a feeling of life. It's immersive. It really looks fantastic... It frees us from everything that has constrained the frame rate over the last 80 or 90 years.

"Probably 20 per cent of cinemas will screen the 48-frame version, and we will see how audiences react to it... It's gonna be cool. When you see it playing, your initial thought is, 'Wow, it's different!'"

But Jackson is convinced film fans will come around to his way of thinking.

He adds, "I've always been a guy who's had faith in myself... I've always been happy to take a gamble on myself."