WARNING: If you haven’t seen Avatar or Princess and The Frog, there could be spoilers.
Before that I would like to show you my animatic on Jon’s (Awesome Wells) music video. I’m working on the design and style of the characters at the moment so everything is a bit unmethodical. I’ve showed this to Jon and he likes it and suggested to add something dark. Here is what I’ve done so far.
I finally got to watch Avatar in 3D last night. It was amazing. I didn’t read up on anything much about the technical aspects because I know that my brain will constantly analyse everything (I still did). The world of Pandora was so imaginative with the forest and creatures looking slightly familiar with our own world but extra special obviously. I want to be in a helicopter and fly through the floating Hallelujah Mountains. I want to have an avatar! The technology they had on the film was so cool. I really want one of those transparent concave screens. Also, forget USB sticks! They just have to transfer a file from one screen to a portable screen with one swoop. Everything is just pure coolness.
While the visual effects and compositing is fantastic, I was more curious about Jake’s bare atrophied legs. I was wondering if Sam Worthington is a real life paraplegic as this was the first time I’ve seen the actor. I thought it would be so amazing if it was CG or a very well made prop. This is something I have to check out because I know for sure that Worthington is not a paraplegic. He could be a dedicated actor like Christian Bale for The Machinist but I doubt that there is a method to make his physical appearance possible.
UPDATE: I’ve got this source from MTV.com. “John Rosengrant at Stan Winston’s studio took a mold from the legs of a paraplegic who had about Sam’s skeletal size, and then we created rubber legs,” Cameron said. “Sam’s actual legs are tucked down through the chair.” Prosthetics! Wow…
I’m liking the Native American/African tribe vibe going on with the Na’vi and the story is a bit like Pocahontas, but lots of things are inspired by others. It went a bit Braveheart/Hollywood-ish near the end but it’s still a very good film. 9.5/10!
Another animation I saw recently was Disney’s Princess and The Frog. A very impressive 2D comeback too! I wasn’t sure if everything was made in 2D as there were some parts of background and minor animated bits that could have been done in 3D. I think it was set in a 1930s New Orleans so they had really catchy jazz tunes. Also, I have to get me some gumbo, jambalaya and beignet! I wonder what they’re like in real life because they looked so tasty in 2D. I was having trouble with the firefly’s Cajun accent, I wondered if our Japanese friend understood what they were talking about with the heavy accent. If I was little, I would have been petrified of the voodoo shadows because they were rather scary but not as bad as hypnotised Aurora in Sleeping Beauty (watch below). I mean THAT was scary. One thing bothered me, all the time that Tiana was as a frog, everyone else was carrying on with the Mardi Gras as if she wasn’t missing. I’m just nitpicking.
