Today I went to see Avatar in Digital 3D and simply sat there in awe watching a movie so beautifully done. Frankly I have not been mesmerized by a movie like that before, and Avatar indeed pushed the limits of digital effects. 2010 is going to be 3D rage for your home and if this movie is an example of it, I am jumping on this wagon and buying the technology that brings a totally amazing and unforgettable experience.
Sony HD cameras were used to bring the magic of 3D appear so realistic in this new blockbuster movie. However those HD cameras had to be modified some and here is an interesting piece of info I dug out from the Wired magazine, this is how it all started.
Cameron believed there must be a way to do it better. What he really wanted to talk about was his vision for the next generation of cameras: maneuverable, digital, high-resolution, 3-D.
Inventing such a camera wouldn’t be easy, but Cameron said he was ready to break new ground. He mentioned a mysterious, long-gestating film project that would bring viewers to an alien planet. Cameron didn’t want to make the movie unless viewers could experience the planet viscerally, in 3-D. Since no satisfactory 3-D cameras existed, he’d have to build one. He’d brought Pace on the Pacific adventure to ask if the underwater cameraman wanted to help. His goal seemed kind of extreme, but Pace thought it sounded interesting and signed on. “Jim had a clear ambition on the dive trip,” Pace says. “It was fun, but I didn’t really know what I was getting into.”
Two months later, Cameron sent Pace a $17,000 first-class ticket from Los Angeles to Tokyo, and soon they were sitting in front of the engineers at Sony’s hi-def-camera division. Pace was there to help persuade Sony to separate the lens and image sensor from the processor on the company’s professional-grade HD camera. The bulky CPU could then be kept a cable-length away from the lens — rather than struggling with a conventional 450-pound 3-D system, a camera operator would just have to handle a 50-pound, dual-lens unit.
Sony agreed to establish a new line of cameras. After three months, he had fitted the lenses into a rig that allowed an operator to precisely control the 3-D imaging.
The camera performed well, delivering accurate 3-D images that wouldn’t cause headaches over the course of a long movie.
According to PRnewswire “Avatar” used eight Sony HDC-F950 cameras for primary acquisition. Additionally, Sony HDC-1500 cameras captured speed shots during live action, with the then recently available F23 camera also used for specific shots.
“It was important that the actual shooting of the movie wasn’t impacted by the fact we were doing it in 3D, and these cameras allowed us to do that,” said Pace. “They allowed us to create a unique and completely immersive 3-D experience. I don’t think it could have been done any other way.”
I highly recommend checking this movie out in 3D ($11 bucks was so worth it) and be prepared for an exciting experience of 3D that very soon will be a part of your living room.
