Filming - TBTR and Avatar

Locations:


Avatar - Hawaii, New Zealand, USA


TBTR - Portland, Pinewood Studios, London, Shepperton Studios, Kent, East Sussex, Surrey


Sets:


Avatar, for the most part, was not filmed in a conventional set - there were hardly any props. Actors had to imagine their surroundings as they were mostly  infront of a green screen, filmig with cameras around their heads to film their expressions.

On the other hand, The Boat that Rocked was filmed on normal sets. For example, it was filmed on a real boat, near Portland. This posed real probelms for the production team, as only a certain number of people coudl be on board at a time, and there was limited space. So, some parts of the film had to be shot on in a studio, with rooms from the boat recreated with more room for a film crew. Locations used also include London streets and bedrooms for listeners. For this, 1st and 2nd units filmed simultaneously.

Good but make explicit connections to the key concepts and draw some useful conclusions. Is ownership relevant for example?

Avatar - Why make it now?

The sci-fi epic Avatar has been with James Cameron almost for ever. He says “It was the dream project that I’ve always wanted to do.” When he finally got the chance to make the movie he was so pleases - he had waited almost five years. “It was the chance to put together all these vistas and cool creatures that have been knocking around inside my brain since I was a kid.”

Cameron began planning Avatar in the 1990s, however the technology that he needed to film and edit in order to achieve such avant-garde visuals was not available, so production only began in 2005. Originally, Cameron wanted to release Avatar in 1999. He needed a $400million budget, but and no studio would give him this. The idea was shelved for 8 years.

After the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was released in 2002, and seeing the CGI effects used on Gollum, Cameron managed to convince the production company 20th Century Fox that his idea was now a viable one.

Cameron and his team, armed with Fox's investment began to develop the technology that he would use to create Avatar. A new 3D camera was developed: the Fusion camera. And after a year and a half of experimentation and refining, the brand new face cameras were ready to capture every fine movement on the actors' faces in order to portray their emotions on screen. The Simulcam, a monitor/camera which converts live action into the world of Pandora in real-time was also developed to enable the director James Cameron to see exactly what the final scene would look like, even while filming.

Production for Avatar began March 2005 and took 4 years to complete.

In summary, it was decided to produce avatar then, as the technology was finally available, as was the immense investment required. With 3D technology quickly becoming popular and accessible, Avatar was the perfect ambassador for such incredible visuals.

Good - relevance of ownership - how does this impact on the development of the technology and the film? Again, you need to connect every point back to the key concepts on the list

How Avatar was made: new technologies

James Cameron makes film to push the boundaries and develop technology. Each of his films get bigger and bigger, more money is spent on them and incredible new technology found to enable the film and editing of them. Cameron introduced the first “motion capture” characters and included the first human movements in CGI in Terminator 2.

It took 4 years to make Avatar, about two thirds of it being computer generated. However, live action filming was also used. Footage was filmed on sets, against green-screen backgrounds. Computers (called Simulcams) transformed the actors into their Avatar characters in real time, so that director James Cameron could see exactly what the final shot would look like. He was able to change the computer generated image immediately, while still on set, such as moving scenery or even location in the virtual world. Essentially, it is a similar technology to what computer games use. Cameron said “it is the most difficult thing I have ever done”.

The production team spent the first year and a half perfecting the translation of facial expression from the actors to their CGI Avatars. They had to develop a whole new technology, as previous methods produced unconvincing results. In the end, the actors wore special head rings, which consisted of thousand of camera only an inch from their faces in order to capture every slight movement.

Avatar was also filmed in 2D and 3D. For this, James Cameron and Vince Page, camera expert, developed a new, lightweight 3D camera called Fusion.

The technology used to make Avatar is extremely convincing: cinema-goers are truly immersed in the world of Pandora, the 3D effects are far from gimmicky. The fact that the technology is unique to Avatar means that it attracted a massive audience.

Do you have comparative material like this on TBTR?

The Boat that Rocked - Production Notes from Program

 

CONCEPT



Richard Curtis

The idea for ‘The Boat that Rocked’ was an original one, written by director Richard Curtis.

Producer Eric Fellner then approached his company, Working Title, and persuaded them to produce the film.

Working Title is allied with Hollywood studio Universal Pictures, meaning they had plenty of financial backing. The link between the companies also provided a guaranteed means of distribution.

Eric Fellner, one of the producers of The Boat that Rocked is also a chief executive of Working Title. He ensured that there were minimum problems when making The Boat that Rocked, from beginning to end.

The director then begins to plan the filming, by creating a script.

The creative team is set up, and casting begins.

PLANNING

The script provides a blueprint

During the planning, the budget must be set.

A major part of the discussions is deciding on “what the audience will find believable”.

TBTR is set in the 1966 – 60s feel

-          People from this era are still alive, so the ‘look’ of the film must be accurate

-          Designers use archives to research

During planning, locations are found, most being 60s relevant in this case, for example government buildings, London streets, listeners’ rooms.

The production designer oversees this; while liaising with the costume department and director.

Sets are carefully planned, then built or altered accordingly. The crew spent 4 weeks filming on a boat in Portland for TBTR, so they had no factor in weather and tide.

Costumes were based on 60s fashion, and its rebellious nature, while taking into account the actor/character style.

FILMING

First, the director looks at the script and breaks it down, while liaising with the producer and cinematographer. Each scene is carefully planned.

A lot of things need to be taken into account – most of the footage is filmed on a boat, so the set size was an issue. Weather also had to be taken into account.

The director uses a CALL SHEET to make sure that the right people were on set at the right time. The call sheet also outlines what equipment is needed as well as what needs to be shot.

In TBTR, some scenes had to be cut as it was impossible to film them on the boat – not everyone could get aboard.

1^st unit and 2^nd unit filmed simultaneously.

EDITING

Putting the scenes together from the day filming begins, so that the director can see immediately what his movie is beginning to look like.

The editor works closely with the cinematographer and director.

Music is added, from the 60s

First cut of the movie is made, which was about 5 hours long. Scenes are cut and trimmed to finally achieve a movie 2 hours and 6 mins in length.