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A Breakthrough in 3D Production: Making Avatar

Attention to detail includes detailing faces on a pore by pore level.

By TJ Warren

The recent blockbuster Avatar not only blew away previous record blockbusters but brought significant change to the 3D industry. James Cameron created a breakthrough methodology in 3D movies by using stereoscopic cameras viewed through stereoscopic  lenses. However, the sheer amount of rendering that went into this movie, as well as the detail of the 3D rendering is of particular interest to us at DK.

Before the making of Avatar, Cameron did not like how emotion was displayed in previous 3D rendered characters.  Previous technology allowed tracking of facial expressions by placing sensors on major muscles of the face. To Cameron this was not enough as it resulted in relatively emotionless characters. The human brain is capable of deciphering and remembering a huge array of facial expressions to highly exacting detail. To accommodate this, Cameron rendered his characters on an amazing pore by pore level.  This degree of detail, along with the sheer amount of back grounds used in the movie, took an incredible amount of processing power.

One of the most time consuming parts of 3D animation is making the image into a format that can be used on normal TV, computer, and movie screens. The Avatar render farm comprised of  40,000 processors was needed to run 24 hours a day for over a month to render the entire film. Additionally, with the sheer amount of 3D animation used in this movie, Cameron needed a way to synchronize the 3D animations with the actual actors being filmed.  To do this he developed a special camera which has an LCD screen showing the animated background in the shot.

The popularity of Avatar, along with the beautiful quality of the work of the designers, has brought tremendous attention to the 3D animation industry and shows what can be done with 3D technology.

Relevant links and references:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4339455.html

http://www.clickthecity.com/movies/?p=5496

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2009/12/11/innovative-new-d-tech-james-camerons-avatar/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/8421468.stm

http://www.examiner.com/x-32162-LA-Business-Tech-Examiner~y2009m12d21-Behind-the-scenes-of-blockbuster-movie-Avatar-the-technology

http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2009/12/22/the-data-crunching-powerhouse-behind-avatar/