Forbes sat down with Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett, members of the VFX team behind James Cameron's Oscar-nominated sequel 'Avatar: Fire And Ash'.
The team worked on two films simultaneously – the first one for six years, from 2010 to 2016, and the second one just over three years ago. This prolonged working relationship allowed them to gain expertise in specific areas such as Na'vi animation, culture, and performance capture.
In their interviews with film editors like Myron Kerstein, who worked on 'Wicked' and 'Wicked: For Good', they realized how much easier it was for the Avatar team due to Cameron's unique approach. He shoots everything with performance capture, which gives them a visual representation of what the two movies are going to be.
Their collaboration allowed the team to become experts in areas like live-action character performance, especially in scenes where characters need to interact extensively – like Spider and other humans interacting with the Na'vi or the Navi’s interaction with Quaritch.
The key difference between 'Avatar: Fire And Ash' and its predecessor is the level of realism achieved through stereo 3D. The camera now takes into account how our eyes adjust when we look at objects in three dimensions, resulting in an immersive experience that makes it difficult to distinguish between live-action and CGI.
Eric's job was also to match every frame with Spider’s hair and clothing perfectly as well as match the facial expressions of his fellow characters with the digital doubles.
The team relied on a process they developed over six years – which is why the shots look so realistic - allowing them to work more efficiently due to familiarity with the characters, their animations, and performances.
According to Eric, there was one particularly challenging scene where we had to match every hair strand or fingernail detail in his 3D digital puppet. Daniel mentioned that their collaboration allowed them to make improvements, like adding texture to Varang's face that people didn't expect would work so well.
Overall, this extended interview offers an insight into the team’s creative process and how it has evolved over time due to their extensive experience working on Avatar sequels.
The team worked on two films simultaneously – the first one for six years, from 2010 to 2016, and the second one just over three years ago. This prolonged working relationship allowed them to gain expertise in specific areas such as Na'vi animation, culture, and performance capture.
In their interviews with film editors like Myron Kerstein, who worked on 'Wicked' and 'Wicked: For Good', they realized how much easier it was for the Avatar team due to Cameron's unique approach. He shoots everything with performance capture, which gives them a visual representation of what the two movies are going to be.
Their collaboration allowed the team to become experts in areas like live-action character performance, especially in scenes where characters need to interact extensively – like Spider and other humans interacting with the Na'vi or the Navi’s interaction with Quaritch.
The key difference between 'Avatar: Fire And Ash' and its predecessor is the level of realism achieved through stereo 3D. The camera now takes into account how our eyes adjust when we look at objects in three dimensions, resulting in an immersive experience that makes it difficult to distinguish between live-action and CGI.
Eric's job was also to match every frame with Spider’s hair and clothing perfectly as well as match the facial expressions of his fellow characters with the digital doubles.
The team relied on a process they developed over six years – which is why the shots look so realistic - allowing them to work more efficiently due to familiarity with the characters, their animations, and performances.
According to Eric, there was one particularly challenging scene where we had to match every hair strand or fingernail detail in his 3D digital puppet. Daniel mentioned that their collaboration allowed them to make improvements, like adding texture to Varang's face that people didn't expect would work so well.
Overall, this extended interview offers an insight into the team’s creative process and how it has evolved over time due to their extensive experience working on Avatar sequels.
I'm loving the seamless blend of live-action and CGI in 'Avatar: Fire And Ash'! The attention to detail is insane, especially with Spider's hair - who knew they'd match every strand? 
It just goes to show how much expertise Eric and Daniel have gained from working on Avatar for over six years. I mean, it's like they're speaking the same language when it comes to performance capture and character animation. The way they can adjust their camera work to account for 3D depth is pure genius! 
It really makes you feel like you're right there with the Na'vi, interacting with them in a super realistic way. The fact that they could add texture to Varang's face without it feeling weird is just mind-blowing - it's clear their collaboration has paid off big time! 
I'm intrigued by the fact that James Cameron shoots everything with performance capture, which makes the transition from live-action to CGI so much easier. That's a game-changer! 
what i think is really cool is how the stereo 3d makes everything feel more immersive 
Matching every hair strand or fingernail detail must've been a wild challenge, but their collaboration made all the difference. It's awesome that they could fine-tune their process and create an immersive experience that feels like we're right there in Pandora 
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. And it makes sense that their collaboration made the sequel look even more realistic, especially with stereo 3D 
so they could just work on making the characters look cool while he's doing all the hard stuff behind the scenes 
...the level of realism in 'Avatar: Fire And Ash' is insane, I mean its almost indistinguishable from live-action now 
I mean, who knew that matching every hair strand or fingernail detail would be a thing? 
. Six years is a looong time, dude 
to be working on one film and then just another three years for the next one? That's dedication! 
Their process of matching every detail, like Spider's hair and fingernails, is crazy precise 
. I think what sets Avatar apart from other movies is that realism with stereo 3D 
. It makes it feel so immersive, you can't even tell where the live-action ends and CGI begins 
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I'm so hyped for 'Avatar: Fire And Ash'! 
. It's clear their collaboration with James Cameron has made a huge difference - that performance capture approach is genius! 
I love how the team's experience and familiarity with each other's work allowed them to create something so seamless between live-action and CGI. My daughter would totally geek out over Spider's hair and facial expressions - it's like they're living, breathing characters! 
And what's with the performance capture thingy? Sounds like a lot of work just to match every frame of some guy's hair... 
! Sounds like Cameron's unique approach paid off big time. How did we know he was shooting with performance capture? Was there a source that confirmed this info? Can't help but wonder if there were any leaks or inside info that contributed to the team's expertise 
. Anyway, it's cool to see how their experience and process evolved over time 
. It just goes to show that long-term relationships can lead to some incredible results 