 "Photo: Photo courtesy of www.joshsundquist.com")
 "Photo: Photo courtesy of Matt Galo")
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past six months, you have undoubtedly heard of James Cameron’s new film “Avatar”. It is an epic of a film and has already made over $2 billion worldwide. Now, why should you care about it? Why should I care about it, being a film student?
“Avatar” has brought about a change in the film industry that hasn’t been seen in a long time. It stormed into theaters with a new technology in tow. Some people may ask, “What are you talking about? What was so great about ‘Avatar’?” To that, I respond, “You know the blue people in the movie were totally fake, right? They weren’t people in costumes.” My grandparents would certainly be surprised.
So what was so amazing about the technology, anyway? Was it just really great computer generated imagery (CGIs)? No, well yes, but that’s not the whole story. “Avatar” was shot in 3D on IMAX film using a specially made camera that had never, ever been used to make a film before. James Cameron actually invented a camera to shoot his epic that was 10 years in the making. Think about that. He created a camera just so he could shoot the film the way he wanted. Cameron has said that he wanted to film “Avatar” years ago, but the technology just wasn’t there. Well, Cameron has been patient and finally his vision was fully realized on the big screen. Now, let’s talk more about that technology, shall we?
The way the Navi people in “Avatar” were created was not much different from any other film that uses “motion-capture” or “mocap” technology. Videogames, films and animated films all use this technology to bring the movements of actors to a computer screen. I’m sure you’ve seen the behind-the-scenes pictures from some film where the actor is wearing a black leotard with dots all over it. That’s a mocap suit that allows a special camera to capture the actor’s movements, which then transmits them to a computer. Films like “A Christmas Carol” and “The Polar Express” used this technology, as did big-budget action flicks like “The Lord of the Rings.”
Now, what makes “Avatar” so different from these other films? Well, Mr. Cameron invented a camera that allows the actors to see themselves as they would in the finished film. Instead of having to imagine standing on the branch of a giant tree on Pandora, they can ask Cameron to show them what it looks like. He turns a monitor and instantly they see themselves as a Navi overlooking a beautiful landscape. It really is brilliant technology that is going to end up being used in many movies to come.
The uses for this technology do not end with just films. Videogames could benefit from it, as well as television. James Cameron is going to be making a lot of money licensing his camera to different parties. This camera is partially what made “Avatar” such a huge achievement in filmmaking.
Another large aspect of the technology used was the actual CGI to make the blue aliens and the lush landscape of the planet of Pandora. The majority of “Avatar” was CGI. The humans and some of the sets were real, but that’s about it. To me, that is a stellar achievement, considering Cameron visualized and created all of that film in his head. Most of the visuals in the film do not exist! It really is a triumph of technology and the human imagination.
If you haven’t seen “Avatar” yet, please do your eyes a favor and go! Get to the nearest IMAX or 3D theater and see the film as it was meant to be seen, because even Blu-Ray will not be able to reproduce the beauty of “Avatar” on the big screen. And while you’re munching on some popcorn, watching 10-foot Navi aliens run around, try to think about the impact this movie is having on the film industry.
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