"I just saw Avatar" Thread

[Ketch Rossi]

don't worry about the sensitivity...

its sorto of tough when you have bounced off eternity.


Gives you a bit of a different perspective on life then some people can,
or ever will appreciate.

Thanks Michael!!


On the AVATAR note, las night I just could not go to sleep for the life of me, so exited, motivated, inspired, simply put my BRAIN could just not relax, so much so was the amount of neuron stimulation I got from watching AVATAR 3D on IMAX.


It is true that 3D, well done 3D, does stimulate ones mind.

 

[jimhare]

Exactly right. Avatar had to prove itself, especially with all of the pre-hype. I think it has done that and the word or mouth is going to do more than the marketing ever could.

It's going to be around for a while, and deservedly so.

Saw it again. Yup. Still rocks.
Found some minute issues. Don't care.

This one goes as a landmark into cinema history for sure.


New Moon and Dark Knight were sequels to popular titles.


It will go up. Way up than estrogen-erator movie.





So...anyone still having issues with "cartoon looking", or "blue aliens" ? :ihih:

 

[Hrvoje Simic]

In some ways, Avatar did still have that cartoon vibe to it, but the way that all the elements came together, everything just fits and flows. It's so immersive... The "cartoony" feel that does linger only serves to help with the whole fantastical world of Pandora.

During second screening I paid more attention to other things...and one of the things was photorealism for this movie. Although it was "technically" almost there, to me it appeared as if this look was exactly what was intended. I tried to imagine 100% photorealism in this fantasy tale and I think it would actually suck, in a way Ice Age or Madagascar would suck if animals looked like real animals.

Maybe I'm just biased and more surface transparency in skin tissue for example would not spoil the dreamland experience...but to me it seems that art design was more "fantasy" design then "reality" design, and photorealism would give it a totally different impression altogether (wrong one IMO).

What's fascinating is that fantasy look was still real enough, immersing you into the fantasy, which is an exceptional achievement. Finding the line between fantasy and reality.

One other thing that I keep thinking about is that with the upcoming Blu-Ray 3D format and home theatre 3D systems, just think of what this means for other future entertainment.

I think the immersive revolution at home will require greater FOV screens. Current FOV in home environment is not enough for immersive movie experience, and I think watching 3D on a screen "over there" doesn't cut it. Gaming world currently has the advantage because its FOV is much larger.

Within the next decade there's a good chance that we will have video game environments that are as immersive and detailed as Pandora is in this movie.

Yeah, GPU's can do wonders these days. Too bad Ubisoft - Avatar game developers - managed to come up with a POS. With all they had as a theme, they actually made a game where you go around frantically blasting off critters on Pandora. If you pay closely on a gameplay video you can actually hear the sound of eight figure profit being blown away.

Maybe in the sequel Cameron might expand his creative paws to a gaming world also, with a title which matches the vision from the movie...

 

[Bruce Ingram]

The artist side of me, well, it's still tripping on the visuals. There are moments, more than I can count on both hands, that are just jaw dropping to me. A good amount of those being so impressive because I'm aware of just what kind of talent it took to pull-off (as many on this board are as well).

The writer side of me is somewhat disappointed, but I also know that a film can't always live up to its script or the concepts behind it. Unfortunately, story sometimes has to take one for the team to get a movie out the door. I'm impressed enough with what they were able to put on screen and that they managed to keep a solid telling of the story even with all the visuals stacking on top of it.

The editor side of me prays for the sanity of the poor souls that had to make the editing decisions on this film. I get a sense that there were plenty of sleepless nights hoping they had made the right choices. I think, with the time restraints and the overall theme of the story, they did. I sure wish I could see the first or second cut, though.

My producer side knows they really, really wish this film could have been longer, but again the realities of budgets and distribution are what they are and even someone as big as Cameron can only do so much to move them. Even Cameron has a boss. I doubt an extended cut on DVD is an option, but I can hope.

The movie fan side of me is totally satisfied. Not perfect but, damn, that was a fun 2.5 hours and I'd like to see some more please.

 

[Steven Caesare]

Wait sunshine? Sunshine was about as cerebral as a commentary of WWF fighting strategy.

I disagree.

Much of Sunshine was suspense regarding what would heppen in hte envirnment, trying to figure out what had happened abaord the dead ship, and the moral dilemma the characters faced in deciding what to do after they became aware of the ship.

Was it the worlds brianiest film? No. Bu I'd suggest it was a much more "cerebral" experience than Transformers I/II, Star Trek, Cloverfield, etc...

Incidentally, I liked some of those films too... but they had entirely different execution styles.

-sc

 

[Steven Caesare]

Saw it again. Yup. Still rocks.
Found some minute issues. Don't care.

This one goes as a landmark into cinema history for sure.


New Moon and Dark Knight were sequels to popular titles.


It will go up. Way up than estrogen-erator movie.





So...anyone still having issues with "cartoon looking", or "blue aliens" ? :ihih:

Only a bit. The skim was still a tad to "sheeny" for me, but it's a minor nit to pick on what I think was a spectacular visual experience.

-sc

 

[Tom Lowe]

Well for me... Having blue aliens no longer means that the movie will suck. In fact, I want to embrace more new films with blue aliens!

In some ways, Avatar did still have that cartoon vibe to it, but the way that all the elements came together, everything just fits and flows. It's so immersive... The "cartoony" feel that does linger only serves to help with the whole fantastical world of Pandora.

One other thing that I keep thinking about is that with the upcoming Blu-Ray 3D format and home theatre 3D systems, just think of what this means for other future entertainment. Within the next decade there's a good chance that we will have video game environments that are as immersive and detailed as Pandora is in this movie.

I think I'm going to see it again tomorrow...

:cheers2: :wink5:

I knew you'd come around, Jeff.

 

[Roberto Lequeux]

To be perfectly honest, I felt 3D on Avatar was often a little bit too pronounced for my taste.

While I thought 3D was masterfully used throughout the film, I also feel that I would personally use a slightly lower base. Though so many shots were flawless, by far most of them... but there were several moments when there was too much 3D depth, and it felt out of place.

I also feel I would tone down many of the lesser beats just a tiny little bit, so as to have a bit more contrast left for the most important beats of the story to stand out just a tinie tad more in the 3D layer.

There could be a concern with people feeling cheated after paying more to see it in 3D if they don't get "a lot of 3D"... if so it is a shame, but it also makes lots of sense at this point in time. I suppose that might be changing in the coming years.

At the same time I think there could have been a few more shots with extreme depth in the final battle, not many, just a few more. Toning down other moments and leaving the battle as-is would have also achieved the contrast I would look for.

OK, enough Monday Night quaterbacking James Cameron from me. ROFL (!) :rolleyes5:

To end on a positive note (with so many to chose from):
I love how 3D was used for with the General on his first WTF moment! Heck YES! THAT WAS @%#ing AWESOME!!! There is something that a super wide CU lacks, going wider and tighter doesn't help but hurt instead. Apparently pushing foreground 3D has ALL of that magic with none of the side effects!!!!! I watched it for the second time in 3D by myself and I nearly pulled on the arm of a stranger to ask him if he saw that! :shocked: That was the moment when I thought to my self Crap! I really gotta learn this 3D stuff!!!

Again, thank you James Cameron for manifesting such a fantastic concept. 1.9D would have been fine.

 

[Eren Ozkural]

The only two shots that felt...not gimmicky but where stereography was very pronounced was when a bead of sweat floats in front of Jake's face in Zero G and the POV shot where Selfridge is looking directly into the camera.

I didn't feel uncomfortable or anything but they seemed like the two shots that called attention to themselves purely for stereo reasons.

EDIT: Just realised that this will be an invaluable thread for stereo research during pre production on any film. Once you're familiar with Avatar on 3D Blu-ray etc. you can see gauge peoples reactions to certain shots and know what kind of screen they saw it on, what they thought of other shots etc. to help steer you towards going for a desired stereo efect that the audience will find pleasing.

On the other hand, I can't remember ever seeing a push-pull shot in a 3D movie...and I try to catch as many as I can. Am I being forgetful or is there a reason behind this? I'm assuming that since the central/in focus object doesn't really "move" inter ocular problems wouldn't exist. But then again I'm not a stereographer. Maybe I should do a test in AE...

 

[Roberto Lequeux]

But in that case I thought it was perfectly justified. It serves to set up the rules of the ride.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

I don't mind the occasional "cool" 3D effect to show off the process as long as it isn't tacky and unmotivated (like having Brendan Fraser spit his toothpaste into the lens from the POV of the sink drain, in "Journey the the Center of the Earth". That was on the level of "Doctor Tongue's 3D House of Pancakes".)

 

[Shawn Nelson]

David, presuming you've seen Avatar, would you recommend 3D for your next project if the director were to ask your opinion?

 

[lee caropolo]

which IMAX theatre? I tried to go see for the second time and was told it was sold out for the week at both 34th & 42nd street locations

Hey chil i went to the one at lincoln square. 1:20 am . Supposedly they are the only theatre equipped with the correct projector for imax! As my friend says all the other theatres aren't really imax. Would have been nice to see it at the ziegfeld. Going again on wednesday!:001_tt1:

 

[Eren Ozkural]

But in that case I thought it was perfectly justified. It serves to set up the rules of the ride.

Oh definitely, as I mentioned earlier. I appreciate how Cameron helped the audience dip their toes into the third dimension...

1st Shot: Very wide shot of a dreamscape/jungle. Almost no stereo effect whatsoever. Maybe none at all.

2nd Shot: ECU Jake's eye. Subtle stereo effect.
3rd Shot: Cu Jake/sweat. The focus pull allows our eyes to adjust to changing convergence mid shot in a space without a lot of visual information.
4th Shot: Jake is pulled out of stasis and we have a wonderful twisting shot showing the stereo effect at it's fullest with lots of depth cues.

It's like the scene where the lab techs are testing the Avatars' hand/eye coordination. This process allows our eyes to kind of calibrate themselves gently, get used to this new viewpoint rather than throwing us out to the stereo jungle

 

[Roberto Lequeux]

the stereo jungle

And what an amazing tool 3D is for when this finally happens. The first few shots of Jake walking through the jungle with his machine gun was a PERFECT 3D sequence.

 

[Jesse Korosi]

I just came back from the theater.
That was incredible to say the least.
I have been to a few 3D movies where the glasses icon on the bottom of the screen would pop up to let the viewer know to put on there glasses for a few specific scenes. It will be interesting to see how long it takes before we are looking back at that to laugh.

I cant wait to see the movie again based on the fact that I was surprisingly able to let go and get submerged in the film without the critical eye that I normally watch movies with!

 

[Jeremy_Sawatzky]

Thanks Michael!!


On the AVATAR note, las night I just could not go to sleep for the life of me, so exited, motivated, inspired, simply put my BRAIN could just not relax, so much so was the amount of neuron stimulation I got from watching AVATAR 3D on IMAX.


It is true that 3D, well done 3D, does stimulate ones mind.

Ketch, i couldnt sleep either, ur the only one so far on this thread that i think enjoyed the movie as much as me, granted u are a successful filmaker and im not...yet u were probably POURING over ideas in your head going to sleep, i just wanted to go live on pandora rofl. on another note why is no one commenting on the soundtrack for the movie??? the music was my favourite part BY FAR- not to say the whole movie wasnt ASTONISHING. I absolutly loved the flying scene just because of the music, i just wanted to close my eyes but i couldnt because it looked so incredible. there is this underlying chorus that occurs in most of the major scenes and i absolutly love it. I will probably see this movie 4 times and on top of that i will buy the blueray for sure. and i wont torrent it. they deserve my money. Now im just excited to go see it again. :biggrin:

 

[David Mullen ASC]

David, presuming you've seen Avatar, would you recommend 3D for your next project if the director were to ask your opinion?

It just depends -- shooting 3D is more work, needs more crew (you have a lot more camera bodies to deal with, and more footage), it may be the wrong format for a small intimate shoot on a short schedule. It would be a little like proposing that a small indie movie shoot in 65mm -- it might be cool, it might look fantastic, but it may not be justified. You don't want to be jerking-off by picking a format just because it's cool, if it's more work and expense as well.

Also, it tends to mean shooting digitally, though in theory one could still shoot on film.

For example, the last two movies I interviewed for both were gritty urban dramas about low-life characters in small rooms, and they were mainly performance pieces, the directors expressed a desire for the camera style to be simple and unobtrusive. So those weren't projects where my first thought would be to propose 3D.

However, I also believe in the notion of avoiding cliche by making atypical choices. In many ways, the best 3D directing I've ever seen, besides Cameron's work on "Avatar", was Hitchcock's directing of "Dial M for Murder", which is a small suspense drama set in a few rooms. Based on a stage play, rather than "open it up" for the big screen, he shot it in 3D, though most people haven't seen it that way. He does his normal trick shots using composition to build suspense, but the effect is increased in 3D. For example, in one scene, Ray Milland has to steal a house key from Grace Kelly's purse and Hitchcock put the purse in the foreground and Grace Kelly in the background, distracted because she's talking to someone else as Milland keeps trying to reach into the purse. In 3D, that purse in the foreground takes on even more dramatic weight and power.

So it would be interesting to do a small suspense drama or thriller in 3D. But for a straight drama, it may be a distraction.

 

[Ketch Rossi]

Ketch, i couldnt sleep either, ur the only one so far on this thread that i think enjoyed the movie as much as me, granted u are a successful filmaker and im not...yet u were probably POURING over ideas in your head going to sleep, i just wanted to go live on pandora rofl. on another note why is no one commenting on the soundtrack for the movie??? the music was my favourite part BY FAR- not to say the whole movie wasnt ASTONISHING. I absolutly loved the flying scene just because of the music, i just wanted to close my eyes but i couldnt because it looked so incredible. there is this underlying chorus that occurs in most of the major scenes and i absolutly love it. I will probably see this movie 4 times and on top of that i will buy the blueray for sure. and i wont torrent it. they deserve my money. Now im just excited to go see it again. :biggrin:

He he Jeremy, definitely tone of ideas were going true my head, but i'm far from being an affirmed Filmmaker, will be one soon, that I can guarantee, but not yet.

One of the reason was that I was truly blown away by the reality and closeness of Pandora's situation to many of our own, very sad and absolutely true.

I'm in the process of finalizing few projects, of which I can't yet discuss, but when I will more of an understanding of why I couldn't sleep will come to know.

I have been working against a strong current, as making a 3D film, as David mention is not always the right choice, especially for the Independent Filmmaker like myself, no matter if I have a studio or not, I'm not a Major studio, not yet, but nonetheless Avatar has inspired me to continue to push forward to make my first Drama film a 3D film, so will see.

On the sound Tracks note, yes totally agree, I had goose bumps more then once, coming from the action, the message felt at the particular moment for what was happening, and as well in more then one occasion do to the ramping sound tracks entirely transporting me in a world of emotion.

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

I think I'm in Avatar withdrawl.

But my fix is sold out and I don't have any free time.