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.”
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More