72-year-old visual effects legend, Douglas Trumbull, has spent decades "looking for the future of movies" with an emphasis on higher frame rates. 24 frames-per-second has been the standard for films since it offered optimal sound clarity, but that was when most movies were shot on film. Now that digital has taken over synch sound recording isn't an obstacle. Trumbull, who has believed for a long time that higher frame rates equals higher enjoyment for the audience is pushing for 120 frames-per-second and has even produced a short film, UFOTOG, to prove his point. But which feature film will be the guinea pig? Could it be James Cameron's Avatar sequels? Maybe. Trumbull will be screening his short film to Avatar producer Jon Landau.
“I know that Cameron admired Showscan [Trumbull's earlier invention of a large-format high-frame rate projection system] and that he is a huge advocate of high frame rates [HFRs],” Trumbull said. “The use of HFRs for Avatar would be very appropriate and very successful."
He added: “I don't know if Cameron is interested [in using MAGI for the Avatar sequels]. He's in seclusion writing the screenplay for Avatar. I am talking to Jon Landau, and we plan to have a screening [of UFOTOG] soon.”
In 2012, Peter Jackson tried to push frame rates by releasing
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in select theaters, showing it at 48 fps. The reviews of that experiment were mixed, but Trumbull believes it would've been even better if it had pushed the envelope even further with 120 fps. Trumbull believes that at a higher speed the movie screen disappears and the audience feels as though they are watching something that is taking place just outside their window.
AVATAR takes us to a spectacular new world beyond our imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption and discovery, as he leads a heroic battle to save a civilization. The film was first conceived by Cameron 14 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not yet exist. Now, after four years of actual production work, AVATAR delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film, disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story.
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Stephen Lang
Director & Writer: James Cameron
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