AVATAR - Final Notes 12.3 - Visual Hollywood

More documents

Recommendations

Info

“Jim and I have been sharing our passion for 3-D with Distribution, Exhibitionand worldwide audiences,” says Landau. “We feel a 3-D renaissance is finally here. Welive our lives in 3-D, so why not experience movies that same way. That being said, ineither 2-D or 3-D, you will feel like you’ve been to a distant world and walked among itsinhabitants.”Many 3-D films of an earlier era used the format as a “gag” or effect unto itself –throwing objects at audiences or arranging characters or props that would appear to comeout of the screen and into the theater. For Cameron, 3-D is a window into a world, wherethe format, instead of calling attention to itself, disappears into the narrative.As he was developing AVATAR, Cameron set to work on a new digital 3-Dcamera system, which he developed with partner Vince Pace of Pace Technologies, usingSony and Fujinon HD technology. But before AVATAR became a reality, Cameron’sgoal with the new digital 3-D camera was to bring back the experience of deep oceanexploration with unprecedented clarity to a global audience. His historic exploration ofthe inside of the Titanic was the subject of Cameron’s 3-D IMAX film, “Ghosts of theAbyss,” followed by “Aliens of the Deep.”Cameron’s experiences on these films not only advanced his vision forAVATAR’s three-dimensional presentation, it also informed one of the film’s signaturedesign and lighting elements: At the bottom of the ocean, Cameron had witnessed aphenomenon in which certain life forms literally glowed with an almost otherworldlylight amid the relentless gloom. Cameron applied this “bioluminescence” to Pandora’senvironment, which comes to life at night via this affecting radiance.FINISHING UPAVATAR’s post-production process, like almost everything else about the film,was decidedly atypical. On most films, editing begins in post-production, but onAVATAR, Cameron and fellow editors Stephen Rivkin, A.C.E. and John Refoua, A.C.E.began cutting initial captured sequences during pre-production. The editors and theirAvids were a regular presence on set during production, delivering to WETA sequenceson a monthly basis. “Before we ever shot a frame of live action film, we had probablydelivered seventy minutes of edited footage to WETA,” says Landau.22
A key part of the post-production period was composer James Horner’s score,which combines classic symphonic elements that propel the film’s epic action, withsounds that transport us to another world; the latter includes vocalists singing in thefilm’s Na’vi language, as well as unusual acoustic and electronic instrumentalists.Movie fans and music watchers have eagerly anticipated this new Cameron-Horner collaboration; Horner’s work on 1986’s “Aliens,” yielded one of the cinema’sfinest action film scores, and 1997’s “Titanic” made movie and soundtrack history. ForAVATAR Horner reunited with “My Heart Will Go On” collaborator Simon Franglen tocreate a new song. “I See You” is sung by international sensation Leon Lewis, and canbe heard in the end credits of the film. The song expresses the Na’vi idea of “seeing,”when a person understands with their heart and spirit, not just with their mind.As he entered the final stages of AVATAR, Cameron was eager to share hisvision with the world. He previewed extended scenes at key domestic and internationalexhibitor gatherings, and at the massive Comic-Con pop culture enclave. Pleased withthe response to these early looks, Cameron continued to fine-tune the editing and reviewthe finished or near-finished visual effects work coming in daily from WETA Digital andthe other visual effects vendors (including ILM, Framestore, Prime Focus, Hybride andhy*drau”lx), all to make AVATAR a one-of-a-kind experience for moviegoers. “Jimdoesn’t make movies for himself,” says Jon Landau. “He makes them for the audience.”Adds Cameron: “I really want audiences to have a completely satisfying cinematicexperience. And I hope audiences will walk out of the theater saying, ‘I didn’t see amovie; I experienced a movie.’”* * *RealDRealD 3D is the new generation of entertainment, with crisp, bright, ultra-realistic images solifelike you feel like you've stepped inside the movie. RealD 3D adds depth that puts you in thethick of the action, whether you're joining favorite characters in a new world or dodging objectsthat seem to fly into the theatre. RealD pioneered today's digital 3D and is the world's mostwidely used 3D cinema technology with over 9,000 screens under contract. RealD will have over4,500 screens installed in 48 countries by the AVATAR release. And unlike the old days of paperglasses, RealD 3D glasses look like sunglasses, are recyclable and designed to comfortably fit onall moviegoers, and easily over prescription glasses. Don't just watch a movie, experience a newdimension of entertainment with RealD 3D. (www.RealD.com)23
Page 1 and 2: AVATAR takes us to a spectacular wo
Page 3 and 4: indigenous Na’vi has created incr
Page 5 and 6: AVATAR was used to capture live gal
Page 7 and 8: created by the actors, who do all t
Page 11 and 12: The character of Neytiri points to
Page 13 and 14: “I found Quaritch to be very movi
Page 15: “I spent at least two hours a day
Page 18 and 19: classic and familiar. “We wanted
Page 20 and 21: Pandora’s diverse menagerie also
Page 24 and 25: Avatar: An IMAX 3D ExperienceConcur
Page 26 and 27: about a Special Forces team betraye
Page 28 and 29: the female lead in Anne Nelson's
Page 30 and 31: including “True Crime: Streets of
Page 32 and 33: For seven years, Pounder portrayed
Page 34 and 35: In addition to acting, Studi has ma
Page 36 and 37: Using this new camera system, Camer
Page 38 and 39: screen credits also include “Get
Page 40 and 41: five more Golden Globe nominations

AVATAR - Final Notes 12.3 - Visual Hollywood

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?