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James Cameron has been rather vocal recently about his intent to film the next Avatar movie not only in 3D, but at a higher framerate, 48 to 60fps.  Why, you ask?

Without getting way too technical (and boring), a faster frame rate theoretically offers a much smoother viewing experience for action heavy scenes with far more detail. However, the problem with faster frame rates in the past is that for less motion oriented sequences, the effect can be somewhat jarring. But Cameron is already figuring out a way to make the leap to even more real looking effects and is set to show off a demonstration sometime today.

Sure, it increases realism to get the film closer to “human eye” framerates, but does it really do anything for 3d? Cameron seems to think so, but I tend to agree with this tweet from @5tu:

Telling me “3D benefits from more fps” is like saying that hitting me in the face with a bat benefits from a good running start.

via ‘Avatar’ Sequels To Arrive With Long-Awaited Higher Frame Rates; Cameron Eyes Brazil For Inspiration > The Playlist.

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The UK’s “Sky Channel” has the honor of being the first television provider to broadcast Avatar in 3D to the home this weekend, February 5th.

Not much more information than that (Is is the Theatrical, or Extended release?).

Sky 3D – What can I watch? – What’s on Sky 3D?.

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Creating a lush forest wilderness is a challenge in its own right, but creating one to match the vision of James Cameron in Avatar would drive even the most dedicated modeller mad.  In trying to find a simpler solution, ILM stumbled across an unannounced product ‘SpeedTree Cinema’, which fit the bill perfectly.

“I knew within 15 minutes that this was what we were looking for,” Bluff said. “In the past, we had never been able to control down to a leaf or a twig, where with SpeedTree we could. We were able to grow and manipulate a tree to the exact specifications of a film where literally every scene had been meticulously pre-visualized by Mr. Cameron’s team.”

Once Bluff’s team knew SpeedTree was the tool they would use, they set to work, quickly churning out the trees they needed by the dozens. “Starting in the morning with five models from your library, one of our artists had 40 trees done by lunchtime,” Bluff said. “Those 40 trees comprised about 80 percent of the trees we needed for the entire film.”

They created a 23-second flyover demonstration which floored James Cameron, and eventually became the first 23 seconds of the film.

via SpeedTree® | “Avatar” User Profile.

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Fans of Pandora will find themselves browsing eBay in search of those fancy Avatar 3D BluRay discs, as new information says that the previously known Panasonic deal is actually an exclusive deal until February 2012.

Panasonic has confirmed to me that it’s nabbed the exclusive global distribution rights to the blockbuster title until February 2012. Until that point, it will only be available as a retail incentive to buyers of the brand’s 3DTVs and Blu-ray players.

That is an amazing duration on such a deal.  Panasonic no doubt paid a bundle, if it’s true.  I’m not very familiar with the ‘AVZombie’ site.

via Panasonic ties up Avatar 3D Blu-ray until Feb 2012, no retail release planned for 2011.

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Looks like the earlier reports of Avatar exclusively on Panasonic Viera televisions was right, because you can run out right now and buy a nice Panasonic Viera 3D TV and get the ‘Panasonic 3D Ultimate Pack’ including the rare disk and 2 3D Glasses.

If you’re hoping to score the 3D Blu-ray version of Avatar, you’ll have to cozy up to Panasonic and purchase a Panasonic Viera 3D TV. If you do, you can choose to receive one of two bundles:

• Full HD 3D Blu-ray Player plus Panasonic 3D Ultimate Pack
• $295.95 towards a Blu-ray 3D Home Theater System plus Panasonic 3D Ultimate Pack

If the $1000+ price tag is too much for you, then you can try your luck at eBay where the disks are going for $300-$400.

via Avatar 3D Blu-ray Finally Ships (Sort Of) – HotHardware.

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News that James Cameron is not only planning a sequel to Avatar but a Trilogy has been taking the internet by storm this week. However, one small detail I noticed in a VentureBeat article announces something I find far more interesting.  Cameron always tries some new technology in every movie, and it looks like the Avatar sequels will be no different.

Cameron said the big change is that he wants to natively author the movie in a higher frame rate, not at the traditional 24 frames per second that current movies are filmed at. He will do it at 48, 60, or 72 frames per second.

“The projectors can do it,” he said. “That’s another bump we will do.”

The projectors can do it, but can they do 72fps in 3D? (144 FPS)  Can the cameras shoot high-enough resolution at that framerate?

Guess we’ll find out.

via Why two more Avatar movies will be good for tech innovation | VentureBeat.

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At the 67th Venice International Film festival, the Persol 3D Jury gave the award for the most creative stereoscopic film of the year to two films:  James Cameron’s “Avatar” and Chris Sander’s “How to Train your Dragon”.  As for Avatar:

As stated by the Jury:

“A landmark in movie history, as well as a technological wonder, Avatar has done more than any previous film to establish both the commercial and the artistic viability of the new three-dimensional cinema. It is no exaggeration to say that with Avatar, James Cameron has succeeded in projecting an entirely new world for viewers to explore in depth”.

“How To Train Your Dragon, on the other hand, demonstrates what can be done with 3D. More visceral than other examples of 3D digital animation, How To Train Your Dragon uses stereo filmmaking to provide an exhilarating experience. The viewer has the sensation of soaring through space. Narrative is transcended as gravity is defied”.

via La Biennale di Venezia – Persol 3-D Award for the most creative stereoscopic film of the year.

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James Cameron is filming a short documentary 3-D movie about the Xikrin-Kayapo tribe which lives in the Amazon jungle. This tribe is fighting a proposed dam on a nearby river which they say will destroy their hunting grounds. The president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has already said that the hydroelectric dam on the Xingu River will be built.

Cameron said that the plight of the Xikrin-Kayapo tribe – which he has already chronicled in one short documentary – reminded him of that of the Na’vi, the blue-skinned aliens whose planet is exploited by a mining company in the blockbuster film. “I want to return to meet some of the leaders of the Xikrin-Kayapo tribe who invited me back,” he said, adding that he had first met the group during a tour of the Amazon to promote Avatar. “I want to take a 3D camera to film how they live, their culture.”

Cameron says his short film about the tribe will be included on the DVD version of Avatar, which is scheduled to be released around Christmas. The new, extended documentary will be slotted around filming of a sequel to Avatar, which is already under way. “The Brazilian Indians, who were desperate, I couldn’t turn away,” he added.

via The real ‘Avatar’: Cameron shoots Amazon tribe in 3D – News, Films – The Independent.

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If the 2D Version of Pandora wasn’t enough to satisfy your Avatar cravings, and you’ve been anxiously awaiting the 3D BluRay to come to market, then you might want to hurry out and get yourself a nice Panasonic 3D Viera plasma.  It seems that Panasonic has brokered a limited-time exclusive so that the 3D BluRay will initially only be available to Panasonic Viera owners.

At launch, running through an undisclosed period of time, the disc will only be available to consumers who purchase a Panasonic 3D Viera plasma TV. The promotional offer will likely take the form of a variety of bundles onto the purchase of Viera 3D TVs and related equipment, although exact details are still to be announced, the company said.

via 3D ‘Avatar’ to Blu-ray in December; exclusive to Panasonic 3D TVs | Crave – CNET.

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Avatar made its splash in the theaters and is now available on BluRay (albeit in a featureless baseline edition), and articles are all over the internet about how the many designers and VFX companies pulled it together.  io9 has taken all of their articles and pulled them into one master collection of everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the making of Avatar.

We ran the results of our interviews with the Avatar design team over a few months before and after the film came out, but this is the first time we're collecting it all in one place. Avatar probably had more designers working on it, for longer, than any movie before it. When you realize how much intense concentration went into every tiny facet of this movie, you gain a whole new level of appreciation for Cameron's mania.

via They built Pandora: The ultimate guide to Avatar’s designers.

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