The tech of Avatar
Paul Furber
New film technology is everywhere in James Cameron's latest hit.

We at Digital Life believe Avatar to be the first 3D film that was worth watching. The fantastic sets, the straightforward but engaging story, the incredible resolution and detail of Pandora: all would have been great even without the 3D. James Cameron added the extra dimension with a special camera he helped invent, using a huge green-screen studio as the backdrop on which the actors could work. Only about 25% of the film was traditional live-action - the rest was CGI, using real-time feedback. Cameron looked through the camera and got an immediate view of what the finished film would look like.

There was a big challenge with realism. Ask anyone in 3D graphics what the biggest problem with humans is and they'll tell you: The Uncanny Valley. It's a term that refers to the small but very noticeable gap between computer-generated people and the real thing. We're wired in a million different ways to recognise a real person so when something's not quite right, we notice. It's a problem that James Cameron bumped up against. Early tests of main character Jake were lifeless and creepy. So Weta - the special effects studio responsible for the Lord of The Rings effects -  added cameras to the heads of his actors that would capture their facial expressions down to the last detail. Another year of fiddling and tweaking and the final result is what you see on film.

Cameron wanted to make the picture 20 years ago but it was only when Weta brought the character of Gollum to life in 1999 in the Lord of the Rings trilogy that he realised that it was possible.

Will Avatar be the watershed for both 3D and CGI? We think so.