James Cameron's "Avatar" (grading and discussion)
- Thread starter chrisspringob
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They have a making of special on Fox Movie Channel (don't know if it's available elsewhere) that's pretty cool. I could really appreciate what Zoe brought to the film after seeing that, it was certainly more than just voice work. Cameron had some pretty damn awesome toys, he basically could see Pandora in real time as he was shooting.
Yeah, I saw that this evening. The new cameras they developed were pretty damned cool. I'm hoping for a load of this type of stuff on the DVD.
Like I said, The Matrix was the first one to do it with cameras rather than stills.
trevanian
Rear Admiral
No, the timeslice rig could have a 35mm MOVIE camera at each end, and the special still rig between. Christ, I have probably written more extensively about vfx on INSURRECTION, MATRIX and WING COMMANDER than just about anybody, I did the CINEFEX articles on them.
MATRIX' innovation was that the cameras actually circled round, so they were shooting their own rig and had to synthesize a background that accommodated the move. Plus they were loads smarter in how they did things than everybody else (on the first film anyway, before they tried to do the foreground the way they did the backgrounds, and accidentally made the movies into WaxPlasticMan-looking parodies of themselves.)
Looks like Avatar's run as box office champ is probably over: it took in an estimated $6,100,000 on Friday, while new release Dear John made about $13,800,000 -- pretty impressive for a romantic weepfest without any majorly bankable names in the cast.
Granted, Avatar has been beaten on Fridays before only to still emerge triumphant by weekend's end, but the margin has never been this wide. It's fair to say, then, that Dear John will likely be the winner at the box office for the weekend... but of course, you never really know; Avatar might surprise us yet. For comparison, Titanic remained at #1 for over three months (105 days to be precise) before finally relinquishing the top spot to Lost in Space in early April of 1998.
I must admit, I'm a tad surprised -- I was thinking that Avatar would perhaps be dethroned next week (with the release of genre films The Wolfman and Percy Jackson and the Olympians, as well as the star-studded rom-com Valentine's Day), but I didn't expect Dear John to be the one to topple it. Maybe the book is more popular than I realized.
Granted, Avatar has been beaten on Fridays before only to still emerge triumphant by weekend's end, but the margin has never been this wide. It's fair to say, then, that Dear John will likely be the winner at the box office for the weekend... but of course, you never really know; Avatar might surprise us yet. For comparison, Titanic remained at #1 for over three months (105 days to be precise) before finally relinquishing the top spot to Lost in Space in early April of 1998.
I must admit, I'm a tad surprised -- I was thinking that Avatar would perhaps be dethroned next week (with the release of genre films The Wolfman and Percy Jackson and the Olympians, as well as the star-studded rom-com Valentine's Day), but I didn't expect Dear John to be the one to topple it. Maybe the book is more popular than I realized.
What's Dear John?
A chick-flick. 
A chick-flick.
so is avatar
It's a big screen remake of the Judd Hirsch sitcom.
Actually, it's the latest Nicholas Sparks sappy melodrama novel turned into a sappy melodrama motion picture.
Dear John, you *look* great. But there's no substance, no personality, nothing unique, behind your physique, your clothes, your smile. I love your looks, but your personality is like a saltine without the salt. Best of luck to you in your future conquests.
~ signed ~
Looking for depth of character.
~ signed ~
Looking for depth of character.
Saw Avatar again this evening; it was even more fascinating this time. The detail and the thought put into everything is incredible.
Ribisi's character is actually rather pathetic.
Grace's avatar resembles the Na'vi less successfully, appearing more human than the later ones. Has this been mentioned in any materials related to the movie?
Ribisi's character is actually rather pathetic.
Grace's avatar resembles the Na'vi less successfully, appearing more human than the later ones. Has this been mentioned in any materials related to the movie?
I read somewhere that Weaver's facial structure made a wide nose look strange, so they opted for a more human-like nose.
Her eyes are also smaller, and ears less developed. Whether deliberate or not, it suggests that the earlier avatars favor the human elements of the fusion over the Na'vi.
The subtlety of what the actors are able to convey through the CG is remarkable, light years beyond what was being done just a few years ago with Gollum and the like.
Found an interesting interview with Weaver here where it's mentioned that her avatar is supposed to be about twenty years old at the time of the movie.
The subtlety of what the actors are able to convey through the CG is remarkable, light years beyond what was being done just a few years ago with Gollum and the like.
Found an interesting interview with Weaver here where it's mentioned that her avatar is supposed to be about twenty years old at the time of the movie.
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