Summary
VFX supervisor Robert Legato explains howThe Aviatorlaid the groundwork for James Cameron’s 2009 filmAvatar.The Aviatoris a 2004Martin Scorsese filmthat chronicles the life of famed Hollywood producer and aviation expert Howard Hughes. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role and features a supporting cast including Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Ian Holm, and Danny Huston.
Speaking withCorridor Crew, Legato explains howThe Aviatorpaved the way forAvatar.
Legato recounted that after working on digital effects forThe Aviator, he approached Cameron to suggest that he could apply the same technique for a motion capture film. As he worked on this method, he realized the liberties this new method of combining VFX and motion capture had. After bringing this to Cameron, the director was convinced he could successfully makeAvatar. Check out part ofLegato’s quote below:
In the meantime, I was showing him this gag. I said ‘if we now got a motion capture stage, then I could handhold the camera and walk through the scene, I could see the actor live in my composite. I could do steady cam, I coudl do a crane shot, I could do any shot I want.
So I showed it to Jim, and he got fascinated by it.
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It is fascinating to see how a comparatively lower-scale film likeThe Aviatorcould breed a visual feat such asAvatar. Earlier in the video with Corridor Crew, Legato details the making of the famous plane crash scene inThe Aviator. With a budget too small for advanced CGI, Legato was forced to rely on miniatures and crazy camera rigs. He combined this with editing to create the suggestion of movement through the sky without the heavily CGI animated frames that typify films today. To have a lower-technology film such as this lead toAvatarjust five years later is a feat.
When it was released in 2009,Avatararguably had some of the greatest visuals ever to hit the big screen. Relying on motion capture and CGI, Cameron, Legato, and theAvatarteam created a transformative film that launched audiences into the immersive world of Pandora. This spectacle stunned audiences, between the sleekblue skin of the Na’vito the mystical creatures of Pandora. Though motion capture had been used before for characters like Gollum inLord of the Rings, it had never been done like this before.
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Avatarforever raised the bar for the CGIof films that came after it. This included its sequel,Avatar: The Way of Water, which transported audiences to a different part of Pandora, where Jake Sully and his family meet the water-dwelling Metkayina tribe. Using water effects,The Way of Watermanaged to significantly step up from the previous film, earning copious praise. Generated from Legato’s thought process forThe Aviator,Avatarwill continue to have a deep legacy in film VFX.
Avatar
Cast
Avatar is a 2009 science fiction film directed by James Cameron. Set in the 22nd century, it follows a paraplegic Marine sent to the moon Pandora on a mission. He becomes conflicted between his orders and defending the indigenous Na’vi civilization.
