The New Tech Avatar

The latest blockbuster from James CameronAvataris the
buzzword on technology in the world of cinema. Introducing the 3D experience on
a larger scale, the movie is said to add a new chapter in the history of movie
making.

While grossing $4.7 mn in the first week itself, it
recorded the highest ever opening for a Hollywood movie in India; and at this
rate it could soon surpass the record of 2012 last month, which incidentally
became the largest ever Hollywood grosser in this country.

People in the movie circles have been talking about the
upcoming 3D experience for some time now as well as the new technology called
stereoscopic 3D vision, which is catching up really fast in the market.

And now Avatar has become the epitome of that. According
to reports, the movie uses performance capture technology, which creates
computerized images from real human action. So every action is more real and
palpable. The footage is built from around 70% computer generated imaginary
(CGI), which means the cast had motion-capture suits that carried sensors. These
sensors enabled the computers to register the movements of the body showing
performance capture.

It is mentioned in a report that for Avatar, the makers of
the movie had designed a different hi-definition 3D camera system. It weighs
around 50 pounds, and uses a mix of two Sony HDC-F950 HD cameras at a distance
of 2.5 inches in order to capture the stereoscopic separation of human eyes. In
other words, it has the two camera lenses that converge on a focal point with
the help of a computer, and helps in smooth camera moves and action sequences.
Incidentally, Prime Focus of India was responsible for significant 2D-3D
enhancement and graphic design work for this Cameron blockbuster.

In an interview on the making of the movie, actors Sam
Worthington and Zoe Saldana said that the entire experience of working on a rich
movie is different. The challenge was that since the recording was following a
motion-capture technology that records a 360-degree view, the actors have more
freedom and they need to stress on the character play than the camera.

A report said that the information from the cameras
produced a digital framework, or rig, of an actors face. "The rig was then
given a set of rules that applied the muscle movements of each actors face to
that of the Avatar. To make a computer generated character express the same
emotion as a human actor, the rig had to translate every arch of a human eyebrow
directly to the digital characters face."

With the new revolution in cinema viewing coming across,
it is not very far that every viewer will become an actor, participating in the
real experience, rather than just listening and watching these stories unfold.

Akanksha Prasad/CIOL

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