Filmmaker aims for speed to enrich 'Avatar 2' images
By David Germain, Movie Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) --James Cameron plans another innovation for his next “Avatar” installment: shooting at double or more the film speed that has been Hollywood’s standard since the 1920s, a move he says will greatly improve 3-D images.
Cameron, whose 2009 sci-fi blockbuster raised the bar for digital imagery and put the 3-D craze on the fast track, said Thursday that “Avatar 2” would be shot at 48 or 60 frames a second to reduce an effect called “strobing” that can blur moving images, particularly those in 3-D. For more than 80 years, the norm has been 24 frames a second.
In a demonstration for theater owners at their CinemaCon convention, Cameron played 3-D footage he recently shot at 24, 48 and 60 frames a second to show the better quality of high-speed filming.
The footage of medieval dinner and fight sequences shot at 48 and 60 frames a second were noticeably superior.
At 24 frames, blurriness was very evident when the camera panned or dollied along the dinner table and when two knights dueled with swords. The fuzzy images greatly diminished at 48 frames and virtually vanished at 60 frames.
“I was stunned when I saw it, at how clear and crisp it was,” Cameron said. “If 3-D is like looking at reality through a window, we’ve taken the glass out of the window.”
New digital projectors rapidly being installed in theaters can handle the higher frame speeds with no more than a software upgrade, said Cameron, who wants faster filming rates to become the standard for 2-D and 3-D movies.
While 3-D has been a blessing for studios and theaters that charge a few extra dollars for the added dimension, many movie fans complain about eyestrain from blurry 3-D images. Faster film and projection speeds will help eliminate that problem, Cameron said.
“Avatar” is the biggest modern blockbuster, with $2.8 billion in theatrical revenues worldwide. Cameron has no definite timetable for his two planned “Avatar” sequels, but the second film in the franchise still is years away from theaters.
“I’m still just writing the script, so I’m a minimum of 18 months out of having to shoot something,” Cameron said. “I’ve got a bit of time to get this sorted out.”
Looking To Make Video Games More Immersive, Some Studios Turn To AI For Increased Interaction
For decades, video games have relied on scripted, stilted interactions with non-player characters (NPCs) to help shepherd gamers in their journeys. But as artificial intelligence technology improves, game studios are experimenting with generative AI to help build environments, assist game writers in crafting NPC dialogue and lend video games the improvisational spontaneity once reserved for table-top role-playing games.
In the multiplayer game "Retail Mage," players help run a magical furniture store and assist customers in hopes of earning a five-star review. As a salesperson — and wizard — they can pick up and examine items or tell the system what they'd like to do with a product, such as deconstruct chairs for parts or tear a page from a book to write a note to a shopper.
A player's interactions with the shop and NPCs around them — from gameplay mechanics to content and dialogue creation — are fueled by AI rather than a predetermined script to create more options for chatting and using objects in the shop.
"We believe generative AI can unlock a new kind of gameplay where the world is more responsive and more able to meet players at their creativity and the things that they come up with and the stories they want to tell inside a fantasy setting that we create for them," said Michael Yichao, cofounder of Jam & Tea Studios, which created "Retail Mage."
The typical NPC experience often leaves something to be desired. Pre-scripted interactions with someone meant to pass along a quest typically come with a handful of chatting options that lead to the same conclusion: players get the information they need and continue on. Game developers and AI companies say that by using generative AI tech, they aim to create a richer... Read More