Q1:How was the film produced to appeal to the audience ?

In 1994 James Cameron wrote a 114 page script for Avatar, his inspiration being 'every single science fiction book I read as a kid' - inevitably the story of Avatar would appeal to sci fi lovers.

August 1996
Cameron announced the filming of Avatar would begin after he completed Titanic.
The film would:

• make use of "synthetic" (computer-generated) actors.
• involve at least six actors in leading roles "who appears to be real but do not exist in the physical world
  
  
  

Budget – Although the budget has been disputed by many sources, a studio spokesperson, speaking with film website The Wrap, said that the budget "is $237 million, with $150 million for promotion, end of story."

In depth research and planning has gone into creating the world of Pandora in order for it to be believable and realistic, thereby creating a new race and culture that the audience can be fully immersed in:

- From January to April 2006 Cameron worked with renowned linguist professor Dr Paul Frommer to develop a Na'vi language and culture for the indigenous race on Pandora.

- Also, to create the human mining colony on Pandora, production designers visited a -drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico in June 2007. They photographed, measured and filmed every aspect of the rig, which was replicated on-screen with photorealistic CGI.

- James Cameron sent the cast off to the jungle for bonding boot-camp exercise before shooting.

Cameron's production company 'Lightstorm Etertainment' signed on with 20th Century Fox for the film's production. In December 2006 Cameron revealed the technology he produced to make the film:

Cameron's virtual camera allows him to observe directly on a monitor how the actors' virtual counterparts interact with the movie's digital world in real time and adjust and direct the scenes just as if shooting live action,unlike previous motion-capture systems where the digital environment is added after the actor's motions have been captured.

‘The Volume’ - a motion-capture stage 6x larger than any previously used enabling full performance capture. To achieve this, actors wore individually made skull caps with a tiny camera attached, located in the front of the actors' faces, which collects information about their facial expressions and eyes, which is then transmitted to the computers.

He also gave Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson a chance to test the new technology. Spielberg and George Lucas were also able to visit the set to watch Cameron direct with the equipment.

Being produced in 3D: The live action was shot with a digital 3D Fusion Camera System developed by Cameron and Vince Pace. More than 1000 people worked on the production.

"When you see a scene in 3D, that sense of reality is supercharged. Avatar takes place in another world & you'll feel like you've been 2 that world." - James Cameron

In spite of the hype over 3D Cameron firmly believes that the narrative can’t be sacrificed for technology. A large no of people will still see it in 2D so it’s the emotions, characters and the story that come first.

January 2007

The press release described the film: "Avatar is also an emotional journey of redemption and revolution. It is the story of a wounded former Marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rick in biodiversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival" and "We're creating an entire world, a complete ecosystem of phantasmogorical plants and creatures, and a native people with a rich culture and language"Cameron described the film as a hybrid with a full live-action shoot in combination with computer-generated characters and live environments.

A new fantasy world appeals to everyone who wants to escape their own lives for a few hours. And the live action mainly appeals to males who love explosions.

Posted By Patricia

Edited by Sheera