Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1495092
5 0 P E R S P E C T I V E | M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 2 3 1000 hp, seaworthy boat engineered and built from the ground up by NZ vehicles Art Director Alister Baxter. Including these vehicles, sixty-five detailed sets were built on the hard surface side to service the concurrent photography of Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar 3; forty-three of them play in The Way of Water. Unsurprisingly, a number of sets (both proxy and camera-ready) found their way into large wave tanks and into the depths of dive tanks, introducing drama but also careful planning around actor safety. To help departments coordinate and make sense of it all, we brought in LA-based tech visualization specialists from Proof, and Casey Schatz who would lead the tech vis charge in NZ. Props and weapons, both practical and digital, were another focus on the hard surface side. It was my pleasure to work closely with propmaster Brad Elliott and artists in both LA and NZ to realize the designs, which were beautifully finished in NZ with help from Melissa Spicer and multiple fabricators. The first Avatar set a very high standard for realism in its firearms, and we strove to meet that spirit while pushing in fresh directions. Members of our troupe with Special Forces training consulted on weapon ergonomics, and blank fire was used extensively even in performance capture to help the actors. Those were some loud days on stage… Motion graphics in the immersive, holographic world of Avatar also demanded extensive attention, since contrary to common practice, they would not be added "at the end," but rather formed critical actor blocking and camera composition guides, studied and manipulated by Jim during the scouting and capture processes. The production recruited and supervised a small team of great graphic designers from Cantina Creative, who would work in close connection with the Art Department and virtual production to conceptualize and detail these important visual pieces. And as with any digital design asset, I then worked closely with Weta FX, who added their own artistry as they brought the graphics to life. I feel that graphics and holograms are important for the human world, because like the avatar link of Avatar, they offer a technologically mediated view into the beauty of Pandora and nature. For some humans like our ally scientists, this glimpse is enough to change the course of their lives. Conclusion This has been an epic journey of imagination, design and creative collaboration, and we are thrilled to finally share some of it with our brothers and sisters in the ADG. We consider ourselves unbelievably lucky to have worked on such a grand canvas, with a genius like Jim Cameron, and with a wonderful crew both in and outside the Art Department. The way audiences have embraced Avatar: The Way of Water makes all the years and all the hard teamwork feel very much worthwhile for the whole group. Thanks for your time and interest, and thanks to our wonderful teams. We can't wait to share all the other things Pandora's future holds in store. ADG A. MAKO SUBS IN SEADRAGON MOONPOOL. CONCEPT ILLUSTRATION BY FAUSTO DE MARTINI. B. SEADRAGON WET FOREDECK. SET PIECE BUILD EXCLUSIVELY FOR SPIDER TO CLAMBER BACK ONTO THE SINKING SHIP. SET PHOTO. C. SEADRAGON SINKING. CONCEPT ILLUSTRATION BY JONATHAN BERUBE BASED ON FAUSTO DE MARTINI MODEL/RENDER. D. HIGH CAMP. CONCEPT ILLUSTRATION BY ANNIS NAEEM. PHOTOSHOP. A