‘Avatar 2’ Producer gives behind-the-scenes look at CGI tests, improvements in lighting
Oscar-winning producer Jon Landau offered a behind-the-scenes look at some of the early tests toward making James Cameron’s Avatar sequels at the Autodesk Users Group event during CG confab Siggraph.
James Cameron directing Sam Worthington on the set of “Avatar – 20th Century Fox
He noted that through Lightstorm’s relationship with Autodesk and Weta (which was the lead VFX house on Avatar), the partners are working to advance virtual production tools and techniques.
He added that what he was showing was work in progress as they are “still not there.”
He started by taking the attendees back to Pandora, showing the quality level of the work that Cameron viewed to make decisions on the original film.
He then showed a series of clips, starting with a live capture created on a stage last November, which was set on Pandora and featured a human as well as the Na’vi. “This was our first foray into what we wanted to do,” Landau told the audience, pointing to noticeable improvements in aspects of the image including lighting and shadows.
Ultimately our goal is to get to this on stage [for live capture],” he said. “This is gong to allow Jim to light the scenes and make the process more efficient … and focus on what is most important—the close up. Movies about storytelling.”
Landau added that these advancements are “a great thing for young filmmakers. We are about preserving the filmmaking experience … I think the future is very bright for Autodesk and for filmmakers.”
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