[Cinementary] The story of the 'water man' who wrote history with 'Avatar'

"I'm the King of the world".

James Cameron, who was giving his acceptance speech after winning the 70th Academy Award for Best Director for "Titanic", shouted this last word and went in.

("Titanic" swept a whopping 11 awards this year) Perhaps it was mainly because I saw this scene repeatedly, but the image I had of James Cameron that he would be a slightly arrogant and emotional person was 'accepting the real thing' Preconceived notions have been shattered.

James Cameron, whom I met at the interview site, gave off the impression of a serious and academic professor.

“‘Avatar 2’ is a very different movie from the previous one because it is about a generation of refugee parents who have to protect their children and a generation of children who are in a period of turmoil. ."

James Cameron calmly explained his new work.

I think there will be disagreements with James Cameron's assertion that "Avatar 1" and "Avatar 2" are very different movies.

Also, at that point, the success of "Avatar: Road of Water" will be decided.

Movies are ultimately up to the viewer.

While watching "Avatar: Road of Water," I thought, 'What is a movie?'

I remembered the question called.

Film has been a 'spectacle' since its inception.

Spectacle, which is derived from the Latin words 'spectare' meaning 'to see' and 'spectaculum' meaning 'performance, theater', is a word well suited to the medium of film invented by the Lumiere brothers in the late 19th century.

The essence of film before it settled down as art was

was

(“Arrival of the train” is all about the train running and stopping and getting on and off the passengers, but to people at the time, the “motion picture” itself was a great visual shock, that is, a spectacle)

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"Avatar" is basically a movie that embodies the 'spectacle' spirit.

That's James Cameron's film philosophy, I think.

In the final trailer (English version) of “Avatar: Road to Water,” the copy “Experience the

event” appears.

I'm pretty sure James Cameron was involved in this subtitle.

It was in the early days of film that the old-fashioned word 'motion picture', which is not 'movie', 'cinema', or 'film', was brought in among the many words that refer to film. This is James Cameron's declaration that he will deliver the excitement and surprise that the audience felt.

(The word 'event' used together is also meaningful.)

Like Edison, the king of inventions who made the kinetograph, and the Lumiere brothers who invented the cinematograph, James Cameron is also an engineer (he developed the technology necessary for film, such as filming equipment and CG, together with experts in the field). conceives and produces), as well as a producer and director.

Even in Hollywood, which is already highly specialized, it is a person who makes money by making films as an inventor, producer, and director, just like filmmakers in the early days of cinema.

In fact, James Cameron's film that personally had the biggest visual impact was not "Avatar" but "Terminator 2 (1991)" using morphing techniques.

no see.

Even if there is a hole in the face from being hit by a gun, it immediately recovers, and a part of the body turns into a knife, or a 'liquid metal' that transforms into a completely different person.

metal)' The appearance of the villain 'T-1000' was close to a wonder.

At the time, it was a great and extraordinary spectacle that only Hollywood could create.

James Cameron's attachment to and exploration of spectacle, especially spectacle featuring a subject as

as water, began in earnest with "Abyss (1989)," the first CG material in history.

Although it was the only film directed by James Cameron to fail at the box office, the digital special effects that personified the movement of water tried in "Abyss" continued to affect "Terminator 2", "Titanic", and "Avatar". developed.

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Most of the story of "Avatar 2" unfolds in the water.

The movement of water and the acting of the actors are realistically implemented through James Cameron's proprietary motion capture (James Cameron named his own motion capture that captures the actor's expression 'performance capture') and computer graphics. High Frame Rate (HFR) and High Dynamic Range (HDR) make it look smoother and clearer.

If the Lumiere brothers started filming at 16 frames per second (16 fps), and now almost all films are made at 24 frames per second, James Cameron in "Avatar 2" inserted many scenes shot at a high frame rate of 48 frames per second.

In addition, the problem that an infrared camera could not motion capture the suits with markers worn by the actors underwater was solved by using ultraviolet LEDs, and the problem of the water surface reflecting the markers like a mirror was solved by spraying small plastic balls in the water.

In addition, by using a virtual camera and a simulcam system that renders CG-made backgrounds and characters in real time and shows them along with the live-action filming screen, it is filmed using a virtual camera and simulcam system. I directed it.

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The specifications of "Avatar: Road of Water" completed in this way are 3D×4K×HFR×HDR.

This spec feels like a formula proving that this movie is James Cameron's movie, and his movie is a spectacle.

James Cameron, who recently appeared on EBS's "The Great Class," introduced himself this way.

He introduces himself as a 'maker', not a director or a producer.

His identity does not stop at being a film director.

James Cameron, who started his career under Roger Corman, the king of B-movies in Hollywood, who wrote the book "How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Didn't Lose a Penny," saw himself as a producer beyond being a producer. You seem to think of yourself as a person who 'makes a movie' as it is.

He is also a true explorer, having descended into the world's deepest ocean, the Mariana Trench in the Challenger Deep, in a single-person submersible he built himself 10 years ago.

He was mankind's first solo dive to the Challenger Deep.

James Cameron, obsessed with technology and the sea, confides in "The Great Class" that he has two ways to acquire the skills he needs to make films.

The first is to create new technology yourself.

The second is to "watch the landscape".

It's about being inspired by what other technologists, creators, directors and artists have done.

James Cameron has broadened the horizons of visual expression in film by mixing these two methods.

In the past three years, when James Cameron was working hard on "Avatar," the coronavirus that hit the world and the resulting boom in streaming services raised huge question marks about the future of theater and film.

This year, the Cannes Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival also addressed this topic through forums.

Then, how does James Cameron, who has written a new history of cinema since the 1980s, view this situation?

James Cameron insisted that "Avatar 2" is a movie that must be experienced in the theater.

He said that he often watches streaming services, but that the 'cinematic experience' is on a different level.

"Avatar 2", which opened for the first time in the world in Korea on the 14th, is sold out from special theaters such as Dolby Cinema, IMAX, and 4DX.

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Recently, "sight&sound", a renowned film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI), updated its list of the 100 greatest films of all time in 10 years.

Belgian director Chantal Ackerman's "Jean Dillman" (1975) beat Alfredo Hitchcock's "Vertigo" to reach number one for the first time.

Sight and Sound 100 is a list that has been updated every 10 years for 70 years since 1952.

(This time, "Parasite" was ranked 90th for the first time as a Korean film)

"Avatar" was not on the list.

"Top Gun: Maverick," which was a huge worldwide hit this year, wasn't even on the list.

However, from the perspective of 'movie is a spectacle', I predict that both films, which released sequels after 13 years and 36 years respectively, will easily enter the top 50 best spectacle movies of all time.

Both movies emphasized "only in theater" in the trailer.

Is "Avatar 2" a good movie?

If you ask me, I can't help but tilt my head.

What is it?

calls out the question.

But if you ask me if "Avatar 2" is a spectacle worth seeing, I can confidently say yes.

By the way, I recommend that those who like movies or dramas where the perfection of CG is important do not watch this movie.

After watching "Avatar 2", you may not be able to put up with the level of CG in other movies.

Probably because all the CG is obtrusive.