James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ Sequels To Feature Underwater Motion Capture

Director James Cameron’s Avatar sequels will reportedly feature underwater motion capture.

The filmmaker previously suggested that at least one of the proposed follow-ups would find the heroes exploring the oceans of Pandora. In order to make that happen, producer Jon Landau revealed that Cameron will utlilize “performance capture in water.”

The Avatar producer recently spoke at 2013 NAB Technology Summit on Cinema. He stated that the process would be used since “we can simulate it visually but can’t simulate it experientially for them.”

Landau added:

“We want to take advantage of the technologies brilliant people are putting out to make the next two movies even more emotionally engaging and visually tantalising, and to really wrap up the story arc of our two main characters.”

The producer also touched on the problems many visual effects studios have experienced in recent years. Landau explained that companies need to be more competitive while their clients need to be a bit more flexible than they have in the past.

“The question becomes, how do we create more efficiencies? It might be a reduction of jobs to stay competitive … there are other ways to do it without taking advantage of people you’re working with,” he stated.

While not much has been said about the forthcoming Avatar sequels, James Cameron told Play Goes Fast that he still intends to bring the stories to the big screen. The director added that he had closed down the development division of his production company to focus on the projects.

Cameron told the publication:

“I was talking the other day with Peter Jackson and said, ‘You had it easy dude. You had the books when you did the second and third Lord of the Rings. I have to create my own books in my head and extract a script from it. I’m deep into it and I’m living in Pandora right now. There is that start up torque where you feel it’s coming to you. Then you build up momentum. That’s when it gets fun. The characters talk and it’s writing itself. I’m almost there right now. It’s building fast.”

Are you looking forward to James Cameron’s Avatar sequels? What do you think about the director’s desire to use underwater motion capture for the movies?