When "Avatar" came out in 2009, James Cameron helped reinvent the way both 3D and motion capture are used in film.
Now, he'll be taking that technology one step further in the next two "Avatar" sequels.
Producer Jon Landau revealed at the 2013 NAB Technology Summit on Cinema that James Cameron will use motion capture performance in water in the upcoming sequels.
“We could simulate water [in computer graphics], but we can't simulate the actor's experience, so we are going to capture performance in a tank," said Landau.
Motion capture records the actions of actors in order to replicate it into digital models in computer animation. Normally, it's used above ground, and was utilized in the first "Avatar" to make actors Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington into blue Na'vi.
“We want to take advantage of the technologies brilliant people are putting out to make the next two movies even more emotionally engaging and visually tantalizing, and to really wrap up the story arc of our two main characters," said Landau.
Landau is a producer on the next two "Avatar" sequels and has worked with Cameron on "Titanic."
Last year, Cameron completed a solo dive to the deepest part of the ocean in the Mariana Trench as part of an expedition on deep-ocean research.
This has led some to believe that Cameron's dive had something to do with "Avatar."
Landau says that isn't so.
He also shared they are also considering using high frame rates (HFR) in the sequels.
Peter Jackson first experimented with HFR when releasing "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" last year.
Normally, audiences view films at 24 frames-per-second (fps). Jackson filmed "The Hobbit" in 48fps.
The technology received a mixed reception from audiences. Some claimed the experience left them feeling sick, while others praised Jackson for the fluidly of character movement on screen.
Landau, who was impressed with Jackson's use of HFR, didn't see any reason to not make films at even 60fps.
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