James Cameron's 'Avatar' Immerses Movie Viewer in Actor's Every Movement

The full length version of Avatar won’t open until December 2009ArtTracker| Tomorrow, Friday August 21st is Avatar day, and Hollywood cinema may never be the same. A full 15 minutes of teaser footage from the new 3D film Avatar will be shown in cinemas around the world.

As the film biz world asks if Avatar is it truly a game changer, the people who have seen the James Cameron  film — which won’t debut in its entirely until December 2009 — say “yes”.

So far, most successful 3D movies have been entirely animated.

The actors in Cameron’s Avatar, including Star Trek’s Zoe Saldana playing the female blue alien lead, donned motion-capture leotards covered with sensors. The technology feeds movements of the body back to computers, amplifying every movement.

In the case of capturing facial expressions, the skill cap worn by actors enhances every movement of eyes, mouth, cheekbones. Does the cap heighten emotional expression? Do we ‘feel more’ of the actors human essence?

James Cameron on set of Avatar Photograph: Mark Fellman/PicselectLarge portions of Avatar have been shot on a “virtual camera”, a handheld monitor allowing Cameron to move through a 3D landscape, editing the already computer-generated universe. Followers of Avatar say this technology will allow the cinema to become “the ultimate immersive media”.

Via The technological secrets of James Cameron’s new film Avatar The Guardian

Is James Cameron’s 3D movie Avatar the shape of cinema to come? The Guardian

Update on Fri, December 25, 2009 by Anne

In-depth reviews of Avatar:

Avatar: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by George Dvorsky

After watching Avatar, I can honestly say that Cameron gave it a good shot. The Pandoran jungle was as atmospheric and alive as anything that Miyazaki has ever produced. The 3D element added an immersive and visceral component that was particularly powerful; there were times when I truly felt lost in the jungle alongside Jake and Neytiri. The bioluminescent forest was truly jaw dropping.

Further, the tastefulness and care with which Cameron added the CG elements is unparalleled (with a tip of the hat to Lord of the Rings). This is the kind of film that George Lucas could watch but not have the slightest clue as to why Cameron’s CG works and his does not. Cameron, unlike Lucas, has learned to weave the fabric of all on-screen elements into context such that nothing is superfluous and everything adds to the entire composition and story. Where Lucas works to bash viewers over the head with a ‘look what I can do!’ approach to movie making, Cameron has taken a more thoughtful and artistic course. more

The Messiah Complex by NYTimes columnist David Brooks — plot details revealed

This is the oft-repeated story about a manly young adventurer who goes into the wilderness in search of thrills and profit. But, once there, he meets the native people and finds that they are noble and spiritual and pure. And so he emerges as their Messiah, leading them on a righteous crusade against his own rotten civilization.

Avid moviegoers will remember “A Man Called Horse,” which began to establish the pattern, and “At Play in the Fields of the Lord.” More people will have seen “Dances With Wolves” or “The Last Samurai.”