Sujay Thomas

This letter is from Walter Murch, seen at left, the most respected film editor and sound designer in the modern cinema. As a editor, he must be intimately expert with how an image interacts with the audience’s eyes. He won an Academy Award in 1979 for his work on “Apocalypse Now,” whose sound was a crucial aspect of its effect.

Maybe a bit of an overstatement in the title, but it’s a good explanation by a seasoned film veteran, of why the current technology that’s being pushed for film, isn’t a viable option.

“The good Avatar 3D experience happened because James Cameron is a technically savvy director, and thus the 3D aspect of Avatar was technically well executed. When done right it allows the viewer to more seamlessly enjoy a 3D film.”

Avatar, by the way, is now available to pre-order on Blu-ray and DVD.

TL;DR: It’s goooood amazing.

Update: Reviews are beginning to show up on Rotten Tomatoes and they are stellar.

This clip shows the process of creating Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: An IMAX 3D Experience that features approximately 12 minutes of 3-D footage.

“The first step is masking out objects in the scene so that we can turn those objects 3-D,” says IMAX’s Eric Robinson as he shows off the software. “The next step is, re-create the scene in 3-D so that we can generate depth information from that. Our proprietary render system generates a new image, which is offset from the original.”

Seems like a lot of work when they could’ve just filmed it with 3D cameras in the first place, but whatever.

On August 21, the world will get its first look at director James Cameron’s motion picture epic AVATAR, when Twentieth Century Fox and Cameron debut the film’s trailer everywhere – while select cinemas and IMAX® theaters will screen extended footage prepared by the renowned filmmaker for this global “Avatar Day” event.

The worldwide trailer launch will be presented in all formats, including IMAX® 3-D, IMAX® 2-D, digital 3-D, digital 2-D, and 35mm 2-D. The trailer will also be available online.

!!!

http://www.avatarmovie.com/

(note the controls under the video)

“Reactions are starting to leak out of today’s presentation at CineExpo in Amsterdam, and, shock of shocks, they’re of the “Holy Fuck!” variety.”

“The audience afterwards was stunned. Everyone just gasped, wondered and just couldnt believe what they saw. [Cameron] is so proud of this movie and still handles it with great suave like he just folded a paper plane. I am just mindbaffled how a genius like that can contain himself with something like this.”

Awe-inspiring stuff. When you are running through the bioluminescent forest at night, moss lighting up under your feet, you will think you are dreaming.

@dt4storms: Still in awe of meeting James Cameron… Avatar will change movie industry forever.. thank you Jim

@gjkooijman: is mindblown

@gjkooijman: saw 40 minutes of James Cameron’s Avatar footage at the Cinema Expo tonight. THIS WILL CHANGE MOVIES FOREVER. Trust me, it will.

@NafRas: OMG keep this in mind James Cameron’s AVATAR this Dec. it’s gonna rock the way u see movies! Preview @ cinema expo leaves me wanting more

@sperling: It’s official! The footage from “Avatar” shown at Cine Expo was amazing. Absolutely stunning in 3D. Should be a huge hit.

@UCSNord: “Avatar” footage at #cinexpo: CGI was photorealistic, characters look really real. Believe the hype, this movie will be massive!

@UCSNord: Fox’s product presentation at #cinexpo offered about 15-20 mins of “Avatar” footage in 3D, presented by Cameron & members of the cast.

@UCSNord: “Avatar” footage at #cinexpo was presented by Cameron, Weaver, Worthington, Saldana and Lang, who all attended the after-party.

@UCSNord: Footage from “Avatar” at #cinexpo was stunning, literally jawdropping. Amazing visuals unlike any before seen, with incredible detail.

@UCSNord: The screening room was packed, I’d say about 1500 to 2000, around there. Genuine excitement and an amazed crowd.

Here are some pictures (not of footage).