Avatar Case Study - Synopsis and Character

By 2154 Earths resources have been depleted and a corporation is mining a mineral called unobtainium on the utopian planet of Pandora. Paraplegic former Marine !a"e #cully $played by #am %orthington& ta"es his t'in brothers place on a mission out(posted to Pandora. )his is inhabited by the 1* foot blue native +avi 'ho live in amongst the lush and dense flora and fauna of the forestland. !a"es mission is to gather intel for the military $led by ,olonel -uaritch played by #tephen .ang& by infiltrating the indigenous natives through the use of an /avatar. 0n return for this -uaritch confirms that the corporation 'ill pay to restore !a"es legs. 1n avatar is a +avi 2 human hybrid 'ho are operated by genetically matched humans3 ,amerons idea is that future technology allo's human intelligence to be placed 'ithin a remote body. 1vatars are used for narrative purposes because the air on the planet is poisonous to humans. 4r. 5race 1ugustine $played by #ignourney %eaver 'ho mentors !a"e as Head of the Avatar Program& +orm $a scientist played by !oel 4avid Moore& and !a"e are posted in the midst of the richest onobtanium in the area. !a"es avatar is attac"ed 'hilst in the forest and he is rescued by a female +avi +eytiri $played by 6oe #aldana&. 7e gets initiated into the 'arrior tribe and falls in love 'ith her. Mean'hile the ,olonel plans to e8terminate the +avis. )his is the catalyst for the soldiers moral dilemma and the 9uest of the film ( 'hose side is he on for the battle of Pandoras fate: !a"es Marine bac"ground enables him to relate to the +avi 'arriors and he to them. #am %orthington 'as cast after !ames ,ameron did a 'orld'ide search for an un"no'n to star as his protagonist. )he core reason being to "eep costs do'n. )he film in fact only boasts one "no'n star actor3 #igourney %eaver 'ho is "no'n for her portrayal in the classic science fiction Alien trilogy. 1lthough the film is arguably sci(fi $and the casting of %eaver could secure this& the film has more generic tendencies to'ards a fantasy film; richly developed e8otic 'orld fantastical creatures character led binary opposites and a 9uest to name a fe'. 0t has been cited as a film about binary opposites $imperialism 2 ecology modernity 2 tribalism 'ar 2 peace freedom 2 colonialism and spiritualism 2 merchandised 'arfare& star crossed lovers $li"e Titanic& and illustrating the theme of 'hite supremacy 2 racism. )he film has been criticised as anti(1merican due to the corporate element. ,ameron denies this but agrees that the humans in Avatar do illustrate the /evil in some human decisions.

James Cameron

#ource; <evin .igenfelser !ames ,ameron is a ,anadian film director and 'riter. 7is most popular 'or" includes;

The Terminator $1=>4& Aliens $1=>?& The Abyss $1=>=& Terminator 2: Judgement Day $1==1& and Titanic $1==@&.

Avatar and Titanic are the t'o highest grossing films of all time. 7is films have recurring films of strong female roles a strong romance subplot the relationship bet'een humanity and technology t'o 'orlds merging anti(military and the fear of suffocation 2 holding your breath.

Production Development
)he origins of the film date bac" to the mid(1==*s. 0n 1==4 !ames ,ameron 'rote an >* page script for Avatar. )'o years later he said he 'ould ma"e the film using computer generated actors after filming Titanic. Digital Domain $visual effects and animation company founded by !ames ,ameron #cott Aoss and #tan %inston in 1==B based in .1 C#1& came on board and the production 'as meant to start in 1==@ for a 1=== summer release. )he main reason this did not happen 'as because ,ameron famously felt that the technology 'as not ready. 7e 'anted the visual effects to help the narrative and felt that technology needed to catch up. 7e then concentrated on refining the technology and 'or"ing on documentaries. 0n Dctober 2**5 Business Week revealed that 20th Century Fox $o'ned by Aupert Murdochs +e's ,orporation& had given ,ameron E1* million to film a /proof(of(concept se9uence for the film to sho' the e8ecutives.

Bet'een !anuary and 1pril 2**? the director 'or"ed on the script for Avatar. )his included the culture and language for the +avis. 4r. Paul Frommer ( 'ho 'as a linguist at C#, ( created the 1 *** 'ord vocabulary 'ith ,ameron. )he research continued 'ith the main stars learning more about their characters and the fictional environment. For e8ample #igourney %eaver met 'ith !odie #. 7olt $'ho is a Professor of Plant Physiology& to understand ho' botanists sample plants and ho' organisms such as those on Pandora 'ould be discussed in the real 'orld. ,ameron 'as very "een to e8plore the design of the residents of Pandora and 'ent beyond the unusual B4 renders. 7e 'or"ed 'ith fantasy illustrator %ayne Barlo' amongst others to capture the characters better $see image ( for more information please see The Art of Avatar: James Camerons Epic Adventure by 1brams Boo"s&. !uly 2**? sa' ,ameron announce that Avatar 'ould be released in mid(2**> and that he planned to start principal photography by February the year before. Weta Digital came on as the visual effects studio and #tan %inston $'ho had collaborated 'ith ,ameron on The Terminator Aliens Terminator 2: Judgement Day in the past&.

)he production design actually too" t'o years 'ith t'o different designers loo"ing at t'o separate areas of the art'or" $the environment of Pandora and the human element&. 0n 2**? ,ameron said that he 'ould be using the Reality Camera System to film Avatar in B4. )hese 'ere cameras invented by ,ameron in collaboration 'ith the 4irector of Photography $Gince Page& and Sony. )he /reality 'as that humans see in B4 and ,ameron 'anted this e8perience for the film. 0n order to capture the /stereoscopic vision 'hich the human eye can meant that the camera lenses needed to be Hust @*m apart. )his resulted in the 3D-T camera by #ony 'hich /telescoped the images. )o further capture vision li"e us the cameras 'ere also able to allo' the lenses to cross and uncross Hust as our eyes do 'hen 'e trac" an obHect. )hese cameras 'eighed less that an 0M1I camera $1=.5lbs compared to B2=lbs&. For the film these allo'ed t'o 74 cameras in a single camera body in order to mimic human depth perception. 2*th ,entury Fo8 had concerns mainly due to the delays and costs 'ith Titanic. ,ameron responded offering to cut his fee if the film 'as a failure. 7e then decided to shop about and too" initial /proof(of(concept film to Disney. )hey tried to ta"e on the proHect and then Fo8 decided to fully commit 'hen ngenious !e"ia bac"ed the film in Dctober 2**?. 1s a result 2*th ,entury Fo8s financial side 'as no' less than half of the E2B@ million budget. )he end of 2**? sa' ,ameron e8citing the media 'ith descriptions of the ne' Jvery ambitious sci( fi movieK film being an Jold(fashioned Hungle adventure 'ith an environmental conscienceK $article&.

Production

)he principal photography too" place in 1pril 2**@ in +e' 6ealand and .1 ,alifornia. 0t 'as a #0$ % &0$ combination of full live action shots and ,50 including motion $or performance& capture and miniatures. ,ameron had been 'or"ing on motion 'apture animation for over a year before 4ecember 2**?. )he motion capture 'or" lasted B1 days. 0t is no' called (per)orman'e 'apture* as the camera /captures the e8pressions 2 performance of the actors and is able to transmit this data to real time computers. )his means that the 'hole of the actors performance from a raised eye( bro' flaring muscles in the face to a subtle emotion in the eyes can be transferred to the ,50 character. 0n addition to this ,ameron used different cameras to ensure different angles of the live action 2 performance capture so the GFI team had a lot of information and detail to 'or" 'ith. )his 'as pushed to its limits for the clima8 of the romance 'hen !a"e $as a human& touches the +avi +eytiri. )hey had to ensure there 'as appropriate lighting 2 shade to ensure this combination of ,50 and live action loo"ed convincing to the audience.

1ll the actors 'ere professionally trained to aid their character 'or" ranging from horse riding to the dialect of +avis. )he cast 'ere even sent to tropical rain forests in 7a'aii so they could e8perience the 'orld of Pandora. By using motion capture ,ameron 'as also able to direct his stars in real time. $7e even invited Peter !ac"son and #teven #pielberg to have a go.& 0n order to instruct the actors fully 'ithin the B4 ,50 bac"drop /simulcam 'ere used ( this combines the B4 camera 'or" 'ith virtual cameras. )his meant that the ,50 images 'ere superimposed over the live action ( very much li"e real avatars. 1nother technological issue 'as the amount of data 'hich needed storing. !i'roso)t created +aia 'hich is a 4igital 1sset Manager $41M 'hich manages tas"s li"e cataloguing storage and distribution of multi(media productions&. )o illustrate the amount of data a /server farm 'as

created 'hich 'as 1* *** s9. foot and it used 4 *** ,- servers. Each minute of the film ta"es up 1@.2> gigs of storage. )o ensure that the film 'as completed on time 5eorge .ucas .! / n"ustrial .ight 0 !agi'1 'or"ed 'ith Weta to get the battle scenes completed.

Distribution
0t can be hard to find e8act figures but the cost 'as estimated at some'here bet'een E2>* ( EB1* million to produce and E15* million for mar"eting. The e! "or# Times even cited the cost of the film 'as nearly E5** million. )he production budget costs seem to be recognised as;

EB** million for ,50 and principal photography E2** million for promotion mar"eting and distribution E5** million for total film movie production budget

)his meant the film needed to ma"e hundreds of millions to ma"e bac" its money. +ormally 'hen you discuss a films budget the mar"eting is not included. For the financial investment of Avatar Fox 'or"ed 'ith both ngenious Film $as said& and the investor group Dune Capital !anagement. )his 'as to hedge the ris" of losing money. )hey also filmed in +e' 6ealand for ta8 reasons and this saved them EB* million ( Hust by filming a third of the live action footage there. 1lso the e8pense for the technology is not part of this E2>*L budget. ,ameron used some of his o'n money for this and the cameras 'ere used in other films including The $annah %ontana & %iley Cyrus 'est of 'oth (orlds Concert Tour and since in the recent Adventures of Tintin: The )ecret of the *nicorn.

)he public hoped that the mar"eting 'ould be as innovative as the film. )he first image of the film 'as released in 1ugust 2**= and film magaMine Empire claimed e8clusive images for the Dctober 2**= issue. 1t the 2**= San Diego Comi'-Con 25 minutes of the film 'ere screened in B4. 0t 'as here that ,ameron announced that (23atar Day* 'ould be in the 21st 1ugust 2**=. )his 'as 'hen the trailer for the film 'as released for all sites. )he !attel toy merchandise and official 4biso)t videogame trailer 'ere also revealed. ,ameron said; Were going to do something unprecedented. Its a social marketing experiment. Were going to take over as many IMAX ! theaters" and other selected ! theaters #orld#ide" on August $% and #ere going to let an international glo&al audience come see %' minutes of Avatar for free. Its going to &e Avatar Day (article). #everal trailers 'ere released 'ith 12= second released online on the 2*th 1ugust follo'ing in Dctober by a 21* second for theatres and then online. )hese all gained positive revie's. )he teaser 'as one of the most vie'ed in the history of film reaching top position on 1pple.com 'ith over four million streams on its first day on the site. (23atar Day* brought in four main channels for the audience to access the film as an 53ent !o3ie;
1.

ntera'ti3e Trailer; )his brought in further interaction 'ith multiple feeds and the opportunity to access further content. 0t 'as made using 1dobe 10A and allo'ed different options for the vie'er to purchase tic"ets

2. So'ial !e"ia6 Avatars Faceboo" had nearly 1.B million fans My#pace had almost >* *** friends and )'itter had over 25 *** follo'ers. 0t 'as the most t'eeted film in !anuary 2*1* and brought in lin"s to the soundtrac". Nou)ube had 11 million vie's and Flic"r had over 1 million vie's. #ee Faceboo" My#pace )'itter Nou)ube Flic"r
3. 23atar 7))i'ial Website; )his had the usual images blogs and 'allpaper do'nloads

but it also had its o'n %i"i for Pandora called Pandorapedia 4. Cross !arketing6 Dn Dctober B*th to coincide 'ith the opening of the first B4 cinema in Gietnam 20th Century Fox allo'ed !egastar Cinema to screen 1? minutes of the film to the press. )hen a trailer 'as premiered during a Fox screening 4allas ,o'boys 1merican football game. )his 'as on one of the 'orlds largest video screens and 'as considered to be the 'orlds largest live trailer vie'ing of its time. Fox also promoted it 'ithin their sho's li"e 'ones $'ith !oel 4avid Moore having a recurring part& and Adult )!im $using 6oe #aldana& )he Co'a-Cola Company 'or"ed 'ith Fo8 to mar"et the film. )he focus of this 'as the 1G)A.com site and ,oca(,ola 6ero cans and bottles could interact 'ith B4 technology 'hen they held up the soft drin"s to a 'ebcam. !attel introduced Avatar action figures and there 'ere distributed in !'Donal" /7appy Meals in countries including the C#1 and ,hina. Dne issue 'ith the mar"eting 'as the fact that JFo8 ble' itK $article&. Fo8 released the teaser before the screenings of (23atar Day* but since then ,ameron has sho'n that the controversy itself 'as good publicity for the film. 0t is also interesting that the mar"eting of the film 'as mainly done on FAEE social net'or"ing sites especially 'hen you consider 'hat the mar"eting budget 'as. )here 'as a daily budget of

E1> *** for the +oogle 2"8or"s mar"eting and 'e "no' that there 'ere huge billboard 2 )G 2 radio advertisements to go alongside the more creative approaches to promotion of the film.

Exhibition
Avatar 'as released to over 14 *** screens. 0t is seen as an (53ent !o3ie* 'hich means that the actual release of a film is seen to be a maHor event in itself. )his is normally a film 'ith 1 list stars e8pensive visual effects and a ne's'orthy budget. 1lthough this film did not have maHor stars billed in it !ames ,ameron is a celebrity himself and the reputation of Titanic plus the /introduction to B4 'as a huge dra' for the public. 0t 'as released on )hursday 1@th 4ecember 2**=. 0t earned EB 5B@ *** in the C#1 and ,anada. )he initial B4 release 'as to 2 2** screens. )he film earned O2? @52 *== on its opening day and E@@ *25 4>1 in its opening 'ee"end. )his ma"es it the second largest opening film after + Am ,egend ( the highest for a B4 film. )he !29 opening also bro"e records 'ith 1@> theatres earning appro8imately E=.5 million ( this ma"es 1BP of the films domestic gross $at the time& on BP of the screens. )he 'orld'ide gross 'as E214.? million in five days. 1fter incredible ta"ings the film is no' 14th on the Box 7))i'e .ist $Bo8 Dffice MoHo& 'ith the adHusted gross of E@@2 2*? >** after tic"et inflation. )his is important as tic"et prices 'ere higher due to the increased price of B4 tic"ets. )he average price of a B4 tic"et 'as B*P more and some 0M1I tic"ets 'ere E1>.5* a go. )he 0MB4.com figure for its 'orld'ide bo8 office figure $25 +ovember 2*11& is E2 @>2 2@5 1@2. )he delayed release date 'as mar"eted to mimic Titanics release but there are a fe' more financial per"s as a result of this decision. 0t enabled theatres to install the relevant B4 technology in their sites. )here 'as a saturate" release in the C< as 5*B cinemas screened the film in 'ee" one and 4>5 in 'ee" t'o. )his allo'ed the audience to choose 'here to see it $more choice of venues& and therefore producing a greater result at the bo8 office. 0n the C#1 =*P of the tic"et sales 'ere for B4 ( illustrating that many 'anted to see 'hat the fuss 'as about and 'ere happy to pay more for the e8perience. Dther films on that 'ee"end included;

)t- Trinians 2 $pre(teen audience& (here The (ild Things Are $family 2 fantasy audience&

,ameron said that the au"ien'e appeal 'as those 'ho 'ere aged />(>*. Nou can see that the core male audience and those interested in B4 'ere easier to attract as a result due to the other films on at that time. %ith the C< 12a 2 C#1 P5(1B certificate this 'as a film that families 2 friends could go to see over the ,hristmas holiday. Dther films on at the time 'ere;

ativity. ,a! Abiding Citi/en Paranormal Activity e! %oon

2012 $see FilmEdu case study&

Films 'hich competed 'ith Avatar after its initial release include;

Alvin and the Chipmun#s2 The )3uea#3uel )herloc# $olmes o!here 'oy

+ine months after the film 'as released Avatar: )pecial Edition 'as then screened at the cinemas again. )his 'as nine minutes longer than the original and added a fe' fuller scenes $including even more s'eeping shots of Pandora and an intimate scene 'ith !a"e and +eytiri. 0t did not display a ne' side to the film but rather gave people another chance to $pay to& see it. Before the film 'as released there 'ere very mi8ed thoughts on ho' the B4 production 'ould be received. #ome film critics and online communities thought it 'ould be a disappointing return at bo8 office 'hilst others sa' it as a real game changer $director 2 actor !on Favreau& in cinema. ,ameron had obviously e8perienced the success of his previous films and the 'orld'ide success of Titanic 'as a clear goal. )he main surprise 'ith Avatar 'as ho' the film continued to maintain its bo8 office results for several 'ee"s. Dne reason for this 'as the timing of its release. By being released in 4ecember it did not have much competition 'ith the usual 'ea" !anuary films. )his had 'or"ed for Titanic and it 'or"ed for Avatar. Films are not normally released at this time as the Dscar nomination results are announced in late !anuary $and have been since 2**4&. )he fact that the film 'as B4 'as another pull. )he mar"eting of the film 'as that this 'as a film that had to be seen in the cinema3 it 'as a film for the audience to Hudge $rightly or 'rongly but it meant people had to see it& and the novelty factor of 'earing B4 glasses $to see if the e8perience 'as all it 'as crac"ed up to be& had a huge impact on the audience ( meaning some 'ent 2 paid more than once to see it. 0n terms of critical reception the film did 'ell. Rotten Tomatoes gave it >BP gaining an average of @.4 2 1* $currently 'ith 2>2 revie's&. Many critics highlighted to similarities it had 'ith other films $mainly Dances !ith (olves and Pocahontas& 'hilst others thought it 'as the 1merican colonialism theme or the B4 technology that pulled in the cro'ds. Time magaMine ran"ed it as number 1* in their /Best Movies of the 4ecade.

4espite being nominated for = 1cademy 1'ards it 'on 'est Art Direction2 4isual Effects and Cinematography. 0t gained 4 nominations for the ?@th 5olden 5lobes and > B1F)1s nominations. 0t seemed to lose out on Best Picture and Best 4irector a'ards and instead gained accolades for #pecial Effects and Production 4esign. 0t is interesting to note that the C# release day for 4G4 and Blue(ray sales 'as not on a )uesday so it could coincide 'ith Earth 4ay $22nd 1pril 2*1*&. ,ameron 'as "een to raise a'areness for environmental issues ( and it also added further publicity for the film. )he C# Blue(ray sales smashed first day launch records 'ith 1.5 million against The Dar# 5night $see FilmEdu case study& 'hich sold ?** ***. 0t then repeated this success in the C<. For more numbers please see this lin". Dn ,hristmas Eve 2*1* the film had its B4 )G premiere on )#y.

otes

Dfficials in ,hina changed the name of a pea" in 6hangHiaHie to 1vatar 7alleluHah Mountains Palestinian protesters dressed as +avi to stress their cause ,ameron has discussed creating t'o se9uels to Avatar and has signed a contract 'ith Fo8 to direct these. 7e had said that if the film made E41 billion he 'ould create a trilogy3 it made more than E2.@ billion 'orld'ide $ O1.@ billion&. )hese are currently planned to be released in De'ember 20:# an" 20:;. )hese 'ill be produced by ,amerons .ightstorm 5ntertainment and 'ith 2*th ,entury Fo8. Both #am %orthington and 6oe #aladana have signed up and #igourney %eaver confirmed to the BB, that she 'ill return. %eta and 0.M had 'or"ed together on previous proHects3 Contact 4an $elsing and Eragon.

Avatar and 3D

#ource; !ohn #hearer 2 5etty Dne of the maHor industry per"s of B4 is the amount is costs to convert a film and ho' much they can get through increased tic"et sales. 0t costs on average EB* million to convert a film and they can increase tic"et prices to ma"e up this amount. 0t is also 'orth considering the impact of B4 home media and the future of B4 technology on mobile phones. E9ually a lot of the Pandora flora and fauna already e8ists and is ready to be reused for the ne8t t'o films 'hich represents savings for the production team and its budget. 1nother positive feature of B4 is that it is harder to copy therefore deducing video piracy 'hich cost the industry billions every year. 0ronically $as of Dctober 2*11 Avatar in 24 is the most pirated movie of all time 'ith 21 million illegal do'nloads $referring to Bit )orrent&. B4 technology has been around since the mid(1=th ,entury. 0n 1>44 4avid Bre'ster introduced the /#tereoscope for ta"ing photographs and in 1>51 a B4 photo of -ueen Gictoria 'as sho'n at )he 5reat E8hibition. 0t 'as four years later 'hen the <inematoscope $or #tereo 1nimation ,amera& 'as invented. 0n 1>=4 %illiam F. 5reene filed a patent for the B4 process using t'o screens side by side. Cnfortunately the audience had to 'ait and the first movies 'ere screen in 1=22 $The Po!er of ,ove no' sadly lost& 1=B5 $first colour B4 movie& 1=4@ $first Aussian B4 movie ( 6obinson Crusoe& and the first feature length B4 film '!ana Devil hit C#1 screens in 1=52. )he 1=5*s sa' the B4 boom of these films before it seemed to go out of fashion. 0n the 1=>*s there 'as another boom 'ith films such as 7riday The 18th Part +++ Amityville 8D and Ja!s 8D. 1gain there 'as another lull before Avatar. %e no' have a B4 only )G channel #outh <oreas #"y B4 'hich launched in 2*1* and B4 televisions are no' available on the high street. 0t is 'orth mentioning that in 2**B ,ameron did create a B4 documentary 9hosts of the Abyss that 'as a tour of the Titanic 'rec"age. 0t 'as this that helped to create the basis for his B4 feature film Avatar. 2**= sa' a resurgence of cinema(goers mainly due to the release of films li"e )tar Tre# $arry Potter and the $alf:'lood Prince and )lumdog %illionaire. )he release of Avatar enabled the year to be a bloc"buster success in terms of ta"ings for the C< bo8 office. 4igital B4 films too" over 1*P of the bo8 office stubs despite being only BP of the films released.

)here is no' a post(Avatar B4 debate. Mainly that B4 does not necessarily add anything to a film ( for Pirates of the Caribbean: ;n )tranger Tides 8D . 0t does ho'ever 'or" 'ell in theme par"s and some people thin" this is its natural home. )he industry have gone some 'ay to ma"e things better for the audience 'ith the old red and green paper glasses being replaced 'ith /AayBan style blac" plastic glasses. But another reason that 2*12 may continue to be less impressed 'ith B4 is that #ony has no' announced that the #tudios 'ill no longer put up the bill for supplying the glasses in C# sites. )ensions have been created 'ith e8hibitors as they have already paid for the proHection upgrades and converting their screens to B4. %hen you understand that the glasses can cost 5*P of the theatre tic"et you can see that this is going to have a huge effect on the cinema o'ners. )he idea is that the public 'ill pay separately for the glasses at the theatre creating more money for the e8hibitors. )he issue is that many people no' prefer to 'atch 24 mainly to the cheaper tic"et price. $Fo8 tried to do this too but met 'ith firm opposition from its e8hibitors&. )he script for Avatar 'as never really going to 'in many a'ards but the technology used 'ould. )he combination of the old $B4& 'ith ne' $performance capture& allo'ed it to bring a different visual e8perience for the public. 0t is argued to have changed cinema $!ames 4yer from Empire for e8ample& but it has also been criticised as really using the old form of B4 to create an event movie $Mar" <ermode film critic&. )he arguments either pro or anti(B4 seem to be balanced. 4irectors are voicing their opinions on B43 Martin #corsese for 'ith $ugo 'hereas ,hristopher +olan is /anti and is instead supporting 0M1I as the real cinema e8perience 'ith his e8hibition and distribution of the Dar# 5night films $see FilmEdu case study&. Films also dont necessarily need to be big budget li"e Avatar as seen 'ith the 4< Film Coun'il support for )treet Dance 8D. )he spe'ta'le is the C#P for the film and it is clear that Avatar 'as created to push the B4 technology for'ard. 0t can be argued that the B4 boom has no' plateaued 'ith 4* films being released in 2*11 but only three 'ere in the top ten and arguably their success 'as more that they 'ere se9uels. )hese films also earned less than they did in 24. 0t 'ill be interesting to see 'hat happens to both B4 in terms of the industry and ho' the se9uels to Avatar 'ill affect e8hibitors in 2*14 and 2*15.