Podcast: MarketSaw Vs. Fanboy Confidential III

Jim here. Hey guys - I've got a recent podcast done by Maurice over at Fanboy Confidential with Michael and I talking S3D. We talk AVATAR, 2D to 3D conversions, whether S3D is here to stay, what the future might look like for S3D and entertainment and even some cool ideas for future movie/gaming development.

It clocks in at 128 minutes - check it out!



Direct link is here. Enjoy!

Avatar Podcast: Discussion of Footage, Avatar Day, and the Future of 3D!

Michael here. Yesterday I had a great discussion with our friend Maurice Mpayamaguru of Fanboy Confidential about all things Avatar and 3D. Maurice and I both saw the 24 minutes of footage at Comic-Con, but his reaction (although still extremely positive) wasn't quite as jubilant as mine.

We debate over how much of a game changer Avatar will be, the current status of the hype/buzz, the significance of Avatar Day, our opinions on Fox's marketing efforts so far, potential future Cameron projects (including Battle Angel), The Hobbit in 3D, and we predict where 3D and movie technology will be heading over the next few decades. And a whole lot more!

Listen to the Podcast below:



Direct download link

Also, just in case you don't already know, Apple.com/trailers has a countdown to the Avatar trailer. According to the clock, it will go online Thursday morning at 7:00 AM PST.

James Cameron Podcast & More News from "Produced By"!

UPDATE 06/08/09 - I was asked by a PGA public relations representative to please take down the audio.  I am complying.

Hi, Michael here with a podcast of James Cameron's "Seeing the Future In 3D" panel that took place this morning at the inaugural Produced By conference.  Once again, I was lucky to get in.  As is always the case, Cameron is a fascinating listen.  I am grateful that he chooses to share his thoughts and experiences, and feel privileged to hear him speak with such depth and passion about the stereo technology he helped will into existence.  In the session he delves deeply into the nuances of the technology, artistic techniques, economics, and potential future of stereo filmmaking.

This is a must listen: 

::AUDIO REMOVED AT REQUEST OF "PRODUCED BY" MEDIA RELATIONS::

The audio quality is fuzzy (something to do with the ambient noise in the room I would imagine), but not hard to make out if you turn the volume up.  Headphones and a quiet room also help a lot.

Some new pieces of info:

-Cameron said that he has "officially shipped all our turnovers to the various effects vendors."

 -WETA is doing "well over 100 minutes of pure photoreal CG for the film", and ILM is doing a large number of shots as well.  Plus a few well respected smaller effects vendors.

-They are "out of the woods" in regards to the effects, and are "on good track to be there on December 18.  I get to breathe again, and get to do cool things like today.  I feel like I've been in a cave for a year."

-Real D President and Co-Founder Joshua Greer told us that the tally of Real-D screens will be 3227 screens worldwide by the time Ice Age 3 releases, (and about 4000 including other 3D systems).  By Avatar's release, he expects 5000 Real D screens, and 6000 to 7000 including competitors.

Other news from Day 1 of Produced By:

1) A nearly finished sequence from Roland Emmerich's epic disaster movie 2012 was previewed during the "Collaborative Proccess of Visual Effects: From Previs to Post" panel.  The sequence takes place during a 10.5 magnitude earthquake, following a family as they escape their collapsing house and drive into a city whilst dodging falling skyscrapers, tumbling highways, and giant pillars of earth that rise from the ground.  The surface ripples and cracks as huge waves of seismic force wreak havoc on everything.  The visual effects in this sequence are astounding, and the scale of what is happening is massive.  The team studied in detail how various structures, trees, etc would react to such a 10.5 quake, and the results are apparent in how scary and real the footage seems.

2) 3ality Digital Systems founder & CEO Steve Schklair told me that he was recently down in New Zealand shooting 3D test footage with Peter Jackson.  Of course, Steve was mum on what project the test footage was for.  But the following was made clear to me - Peter Jackson's next directorial effort will be in 3D!

I'll be back at the conference tomorrow for Day 2, where I will be talking further with Schklair, as well as attending panels on 3D Stereoscopic Production and Motion/Performance Capture technology.

Thanks very much to the PGA and the Produced By organizers for putting on such an educational and exciting event.

James Cameron Q & A Podcast from Aliens / The Abyss Event!

Michael here. I had almost given up on getting into Friday night's Aliens / The Abyss (in 70 mm) double feature with James Cameron at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. The event had sold out over five weeks ago. When I arrived at the theater, I was among a bunch of people looking for someone to sell them a ticket.

Anyway, I got lucky and had the awesome experience of seeing Aliens and The Abyss projected in startlingly vivid 70 mm. Between movies, Cameron talked with the audience about his past films, Avatar, 3D, The Dark Knight, the Simulcam and more.

Listen below for 43 minutes of Q & A with James Cameron!

A few highlights:

1. Cameron said we would see our first glimpse of Avatar "very soon." His tone of voice seemed to be hinting that we would, in fact, be seeing something very soon.

2. The 2D and 3D versions of Avatar will have different aspect ratios. The 3D version will be the full 16 x 9 ratio in which the movie was shot (Cameron explains how the extra screen height benefits 3D). A 2D cinemascope ratio version will be extracted from this 16 x 9 footage for 2D theatrical exhibition and 3D exhibition on screens which can't handle 16 x 9.

3. On Avatar: "It's great to be back in the saddle making a movie- and making a movie that I know - win, lose, or draw, whether it's a good film or not, I know there's going to be images in this film we're making right now that are going to Blow. People. Away...They'll be like, 'what the f#ck?"...cause we say that when we see the shots coming back from WETA Digital. They sent us a shot last week, and I said, 'this is ridiculous!' So, I don't know if it's gonna add up to be a great film, but I already feel proud that there's some cool stuff in it."