Avatar 2 to pioneer 'underwater performance capture'

The technical team behind 'Avatar 2' are to pioneer a new style of motion capture which is take place underwater.

Jon Landau, the producer behind James Cameron's 'Avatar' and 'Titanic', revealed the plans at the NAB Technology Summit on Cinema in Las Vegas.

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“We have kept a team of digital artists on from 'Avatar' in order to test how we can create performance capture underwater,” he said.

“We could simulate water [in computer graphics], but we can't simulate the actor's experience, so we are going to capture performance in a tank.

“We are looking at [techniques including] what we did before with reflective markers.”

It's not yet known what the new performance capture techniques will be used for, but Landau added that Cameron's recent expedition to the Challenger Deep, the lowest known point in the Pacific Ocean, was not 'Avatar'-related, as previously rumoured.

“He is an explorer. Yes they filmed. It had nothing to do with Avatar,” he said.

[Related story: Underwater setting natural for Avatar sequel]

Landau also broached the controversial issue of faster frame-rate technology, as seen recently for the first time in Peter Jackson's 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'.

“It is a better experience for the audience,” Landau said. “Nobody should dictate to a filmmaker whether they should make films at 24, 48 or 60fps since the technology now exists and can be presented with the same cinema equipment.

“What Peter Jackson presented, is what Peter Jackson wanted to present. Audiences went to 'The Hobbit' expecting the same tone as the 'Lord of the Rings' films, but 'The Hobbit' is a different film with a different story and a different tone, and Peter Jackson made absolutely the right creative choice [in shooting 48fps] for him and should be respected for that.”

“3D is evolutionary not revolutionary, and it will take time to come to market,” he added.

The remarks bolster speculation that Cameron will use the higher frame-rates for his planned 'Avatar' sequels.

At the earliest, 'Avatar 2' will be due for release some time in 2015.