Original title: Cameron Zhihu tells the behind-the-scenes production of “Avatar: The Way of Water” (quote)
Why was it released 13 years later? Creating Technology Takes Time (Topic)
Beijing Youth DailyReporter Xiao Yang
“Avatar: The Way of Water” was officially released in domestic theaters on December 16, and the box office has exceeded 500 million. On December 21, Cameron, the director of “Avatar: The Way of Water”, appeared on Zhihu and personally answered questions from netizens, explaining the film’s plot setting and technological breakthroughs in person. Less than 24 hours after it went online, it immediately exploded on the Zhihu hot list, attracting the attention and discussions of millions of netizens.
Infused with two lifelong loves: movies and the ocean
Cameron believes that “Avatar: The Way of Water” is an adventure, full of emotion, even better than the previous work. “I think it focuses more on the character and relationship changes than the first movie, and conveys my love of the ocean through the spectacle. It’s a touching story about family, showing how family can make a person better.” Powerful. It’s not a movie that pumps a message into your brain, but requires you to feel the ocean, and maybe turn that emotion into action, and it delivers a strong message of ocean conservation.”
“Avatar: Way of Water” combines Cameron’s two lifelong loves: movies and the ocean. Cameron said: “The ocean means a lot to me. Even before I met the ocean, I was full of love for the ocean.” Subconsciously, we all think that the ocean is like a mother. At least by making this movie, I can give back from the perspective of marine environmental protection. “Avatar: The Way of Water” combines two of my lifelong loves: movies that tell stories with images and The ocean. It just happened naturally.”
If the existing technology can’t satisfy you, create your own technology
Cameron was proud of shooting “Avatar: The Way of Water” because they captured the facial expressions of non-human characters. “These characters are like us, but not human. This effect is not achieved through makeup, but through the CG generated character display. We want the effect of the characters to be 100% real, and at the same time, the emotions expressed by the actors are also 100% conveyed.”
For “technical fans”, Cameron’s films often mean “burning money”. Cameron also said that if the current film production technology cannot achieve the effect I envisioned, he must create the technology himself. When we did the first Avatar, it was a huge technological leap forward in performance capture photography. Now with “Avatar: Way of Water,” “my team and I have done it again creating technology. We’ve brought movies like ‘Titanic’ and ‘Top Gun: The Maverick’ into this franchise, and we’ve done it in one go.”
‘Avatar’ sees technological leap in filmmaking
Cameron has dreamed of “Avatar” for decades. “Before making Titanic, I wrote the original story outline, but the technology at the time couldn’t realize the picture I imagined. I was looking for the Holy Grail (following the dream). The Holy Grail is to reproduce complete human emotions in CG characters. .So, I waited for the next few years, watching and watching the required technology evolve.”
In 2007, Cameron and his team finally cracked the code. In this sci-fi epic, CG motion capture, live action, and a hybrid of the two, three different camera systems were used for three different shooting scenarios. FIST is a virtual system for motion capture scenes. The basic working principle of motion capture technology is this: actors wear special clothing that reflects infrared light back to fixed cameras. Meanwhile, high-definition reference cameras provided the animators with detailed coverage of the full action performance, and 120 fixed cameras were used to capture the actors’ positions and movements.
After the show was filmed, the crew packed up and headed to New Zealand to capture all the live-action footage with Fusion 3D cameras. The Fusion Camera Rig consists of two Sony F950s cameras for native 3D shooting. “This ultimately creates a 3D picture that more naturally matches our binocular vision.”
“Avatar” witnessed a leap forward in filmmaking technology. 13 years later, Cameron and his team challenged to shoot 3D underwater in the sequel, “The camera options are three times that of ordinary cameras, but the beauty of it is that if you can solve the water problem, then you You don’t have to worry about it anymore.”