Avatar Background: Unveiling the History and Making of James Cameron’s Epic Film

James Cameron's 2009 film, Avatar is a work of art and science fiction no less. It is a great depiction of a futuristic yet controversial Pocahontas tale. Aliens (humans) invade a distant moon known as Pandora in search of a rare mineral known as Unobtanium. Jake Sully is offered a new life by trying to "win over the hearts and minds of the natives."[ CITATION Jam09 \ 1033 ]Unfortunately for the humans he finds his place among the indigenous of Pandora and helps drive the humans away in order to save the Na'vi lifestyle. I believe it represents hope to change our ravenous lifestyle and to become a whole. You can find this same political statement in many movies of the same genre, unity.

There was a lot of inspiration for this film. I feel that all of his films from Xenogenesis, 1978 to Titanic, 1997 influenced Cameron to stick to the exploratory, Sci-fi genre. Although these films were a major influence, Syd Fields book, Screenplay played a bigger role showing Cameron that he could incorporate science into the art. Cameron states, "The tables would be covered by books of animal biology and animal anatomy."[ CITATION Jam10 \ 1033] This really gave him a chance to expand and bring his ideas to life.

Cameron had started writing Avatar in 1995. Unfortunately, after shooting Titanic Cameron realized the technology he wanted was not available at the time. After years of developing a fusion camera system he was able to create the unique look he wanted. "We completely revolutionized internally, our stuff", says Cameron.[ CITATION Jam 10 \ 1033] He wanted the audience to have a lucid feeling of being in the movie; "Were trying to create a window that draws you into a reality". For example, flying with the banshee, soaring high in the Hallelujah Mountains.

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After he had the equipment necessary to shoot he used many earth like objects to design everything Pandoran. Cameron emphasizes, "Every creature, every plant, and every tree."[ CITATION Jam10 \l 1033] For example, the Hallelujah Mountains were inspiration from mountains in "Zhangjiajie National Park in China."[ CITATION Fou \l 1033] It's amazing to think this film was almost entirely computer-generated imagery.

As earlier stated, Cameron was limited to the technology at the time. After tweaking and testing his camera he was able to begin shooting in April 2007. The pieces of technology that really made Avatar groundbreaking were the use of three-dimensional cameras and performance capture. He wanted to make 3-D the new norm as a result from his film. He did a great job of integrating 3-D while at the same time not overdoing it. Cameron states, "Were not trying to throw tennis balls bouncing off your forehead through the whole movie."[ CITATION Jam10 \l 1033] Performance capture is a relatively new CGI tool used to capture the facial expressions, and the nuance of the moment. It makes CG markers obsolete in my view.

It took two years to design the stunning animations and technology that pull Avatar together. In order for all of the animations to be worth the effort Cameron used an array of shots and angles. For example, he used a lot of B-roll to capture the forest, floating mountains, and much more that left the audience in awe. It was a jaw dropping experience to see these near realistic objects. The quality of the special effects reaches the other side of the Uncanny Valley. Another example would be the bust shot web-camera Jake Sully talks to throughout the movie. These are reason enough for Avatar winning three best visual effects, and cinematography awards.

If it takes two years to make all of the special effects needed you would think they would want the audio to be original too, right? For most of Avatar you will find the music to be the original work of James Horner, the composer. His music made the scenes very uplifting, suspenseful, and even gives you the goose bumps. There are a few sound effects you can find in other movies like Jurassic Park. There isn't many but just about every encounter with Pandoran wildlife sounded like a T-Rex or Velociraptor. I didn't find these from mountains in "Zhangjiajie National Park in China."[ CITATION Fou \l 1033] It's amazing to think this film was almost entirely computer-generated imagery.

As earlier stated, Cameron was limited to the technology at the time. After tweaking and testing his camera he was able to begin shooting in April 2007. The pieces of technology that really made Avatar groundbreaking were the use of three-dimensional cameras and performance capture. He wanted to make 3-D the new norm as a result from his film. He did a great job of integrating 3-D while at the same time not overdoing it. Cameron states, "Were not trying to throw tennis balls bouncing off your forehead through the whole movie."[ CITATION Jam10 \l 1033] Performance capture is a relatively new CGI tool used to capture the facial expressions, and the nuance of the moment. It makes CG markers obsolete in my view.

It took two years to design the stunning animations and technology that pull Avatar together. In order for all of the animations to be worth the effort Cameron used an array of shots and angles. For example, he used a lot of B-roll to capture the forest, floating mountains, and much more that left the audience in awe. It was a jaw dropping experience to see these near realistic objects. The quality of the special effects reaches the other side of the Uncanny Valley. Another example would be the bust shot web-camera Jake Sully talks to throughout the movie. These are reason enough for Avatar winning three best visual effects, and cinematography awards. If it takes two years to make all of the special effects needed you would think they would want the audio to be original too, right?

For most of Avatar you will find the music to be the original work of James Horner, the composer. His music made the scenes very uplifting, suspenseful, and even gives you the goose bumps. There are a few sound effects you can find in other movies like Jurassic Park. There isn't many but just about every encounter with Pandoran wildlife sounded like a T-Rex or Velociraptor. I didn't find these says to Jake, "It is hard to fill a cup which is already full."[ CITATION Jam09 \l 1033] I believe this means you can't teach purity to someone that is impure or savage, unlike Jake.

The second correlation, is the use of the word, savages. Both natives call the intruders savages because they watch them lose purity as they eat through the natural resources the planet offers. The intruders see the natives as savages only because they have not conformed to the organized but corrupt lifestyle of the humans and English settlers. In the aspect of culture both natives are moralistic and believe in borrowing, not bartering. This is a powerful life lesson we can all take to heart.

The level of acting in this film is an easy ten out of ten. This movie had some well- known actors and some not so well known actors. Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang played their roles very well fighting for control over Jake Sully and the Na'vi. Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington did an amazing job developing their relationship in the movie. Since the filming took over a year they were really able to get into character.

There is a certain level of symbolism in every aspect of Avatar, and the first and most important symbol is Pandora itself, creating a powerful political statement. The planet was most likely named after Pandora's Box to represent more than just Earth. It represents the humans opening up the darkness and impurities that we set out not to become. We eat through our natural resources and destroy our planets fossil fuels like a pack of ravenous wolves. In this case, Cameron is trying to keep us from losing our purity in hopes that we will embrace nature. I believe this is James Cameron's attempt to not only depict the butterfly effect, but to play his own role as one person trying to make a difference in today's savage society.

Works Cited

1. Avatar. Dir. James Cameron. 2009.Cameron, James. Avatar: Interview with James Cameron Discovery News. 12 Jan
   Pandorapedia. 2010. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.<www.pandorapedia.com>.
2. Service, Mail Foreign. "Found! The stunning mountain that inspired Avatar's
   'floating peaks'." 27 Jan 2010.

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