Build an Avatar Scene with James Cameron

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on November 28, 2009

Fox Movie Channel (via Hulu) has released a brand new 10-minute long behind the scenes look at James Cameron’s upcoming film Avatar, which has already been called a “game-changer” by industry insiders who attended a recent private screening. And while I don’t know if everyone on the blogosphere (or yours truly) is ready to throw in on the “game-changer” claim, we will know soon enough. Most press will screen the film on December 10th.

But until then, we all have only the many, many behind the scenes featurettes that have already been released. Thanks to these featurettes, we know almost the entire plot of the film — luckily it’s a three-hour movie and there’s probably plenty left to be discovered. One particular sequence that we’ve seen a lot it the banshee sequence, when Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and Jake (Sam Worthington) fly together on the mythical bird creatures through the forest of Pandora. It’s a cool sequence, but the visual spectacle (to me) isn’t as impressive as what went into bringing it to life. There are very few filmmakers like James Cameron, whose work celebrates the art and magic of filmmaking. This featurette is a great example of such things. See for yourself below.

Avatar is in theaters December 18, 2010.

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