Happy 10th Year Anniversary – James Cameron’s Most Epic Story ‘Avatar’

VFX Online December 21, 2019, 1:53 pm 1k Views

Happy 10th Year Anniversary – James Cameron’s Most Epic Story ‘Avatar’

Throwback to ‘Avatar’ (2009) – Celebrating it’s 10-Year Anniversary, Dec 18th!

Avatar (marketed as James Cameron’s Avatar) is a 2009 American epic science fiction film directed, written, produced, and co-edited by James Cameron and stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver. The film is set in the mid-22nd century when humans are colonizing Pandora, a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system, in order to mine the mineral unobtanium, a room-temperature superconductor. The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na’vi – a humanoid species indigenous to Pandora. The film’s title refers to a genetically engineered Na’vi body operated from the brain of a remotely located human that is used to interact with the natives of Pandora.

Avatar VFX Breakdown by BUF

Avatar VFX Breakdown by Weta Digital

Director: James Cameron
Release Date: 18 December 2009 (USA)
DP: Mauro Fiore
Colorist: Skip Kimball prior to joining EFILM
Studio: 20th Century Fox

The VFX are made by:
Weta Digital (VFX Supervisors: Joe Letteri, Wayne Stables, Chris White, Dan Lemmon, Erik Winquist)
Weta Workshop
Industrial Light & Magic (visual effects and animation)
Framestore (visual effects)
Hydraulx (visual effects)
BUF (visual effects)

Interesting facts about Avatar (2009)

• Sound artists used real-life animal sounds for Pandora’s beasts.
• Every Na’vi costume was built in real life.
• James Horner invented many of the instruments used in the movie’s score.
• Cars factored into Cameron’s creature design.
• Cameron used two different 3D camera rigs to shoot Avatar.
• Visual-effects artists used a facial mold with holes in it to place the green dots on the actors’ faces.
• In the climactic banshee flight sequence, the choir is singing in Na’vi. Paul Frommer Created the Na’vi Language.
• Na’vi was influenced by Amharic, Persian and Chinese, among other languages.
• Cameron enlisted a botanist to consult on the production.
• Cameron took the Cast Jungle Camping for Research.
• Cameron used Cutting Edge Camera Technology to get the Realistic Effect he wanted.
• Microsoft Created Brand New Technology for the Film – Digital Asset Management system.
• It took an insane amount of time to Render – 10,000 square foot server farm.
• Korea Released a 4D Version.
• Editing of Avatar happened as the movie was being filmed.
• The futuristic weapons in Avatar were props, but just barely.

Avatar:Pandora Rising Game (2020)

In February 2017, Ubisoft® announced it is partnering with Lightstorm Entertainment and Fox Interactive to create a cutting-edge new game for consoles and PC set on Avatar Pandora, the beautiful and dangerous moon from James Cameron’s Avatar film franchise.

Avatar: Pandora Rising is a massive strategy and social game available for your mobile device. Build your base and battle as the Na’vi and RDA in a massive open world with gorgeous 3D graphics, deep combat and extensive breadth of play. Avatar:Pandora Rising is available to download for your mobile device currently in Canada, New Zealand, and the Phillipines at Android and iOS. We’re coming to most areas with our full launch in 2020.

Avatar 2 (2021)

Avatar 2 (marketed as James Cameron’s Avatar 2) is an upcoming American epic science fiction film directed, produced, and co-written by James Cameron, produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the second film in the Avatar franchise, following Avatar (2009). Cameron is producing the film with Jon Landau, with Josh Friedman originally announced as his co-writer; it was later announced that Cameron, Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Shane Salerno took a part in the writing process of all sequels before being attributed separate scripts, making the eventual writing credits unclear. Cast members Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, CCH Pounder, and Matt Gerald are all reprising their roles from the original film, with Sigourney Weaver returning in a different role. New cast members include Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin, David Thewlis, Vin Diesel, and CJ Jones.

It’ll (Finally!) Be Released On December 17, 2021 – Having been first announced with a 2014 release date that was subsequently delayed until 2015, then December 2017, then December 2018, and then December 18, 2020, Avatar 2 will finally – although we’ve heard that before – be arriving in multiplexes on December 17, 2021 of holiday release.

There Are Both Fresh And Familiar Faces In The Cast – Most of the lead actors from the first Avatar film are returning for the sequel, including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, and even Stephen Lang, whose character seemingly died in the first film.

Avatar 2 Is The First Movie Ever To Shoot Performance-Capture Scenes Underwater – Avatar introduced “performance capture,” which added multiple performers, facial expressions and lip movement. The first Avatar film was only made possible by the invention of performance-capture technology. James Cameron couldn’t have made the movie without it. He wanted to explore the unseen ecosystems of Pandora.

The Plot Involves A Second R.D.A. Invasion – According to the plot details that have been released, Avatar 2 will be set 12 years after the first film. Jake Sully has settled down and started a family with Neytiri following the Na’vi’s victory over the R.D.A. (the invading human military force that brought Jake to Pandora in the first place).

It’s The First Of Four Planned Sequels – James Cameron is planning for the Avatar saga to span five movies. After the second movie, there are three additional sequels slated for subsequent years. Most major cast members – including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver – are contracted for more installments.