Na'vi Photoshop Tutorials

I've been doing a little bit of searching. These are a few of my favorites. The first is definitely the most in-depth.

http://www.webdesign.org/photoshop/photo-editing/angelina-jolie-as-a-na-vi-from-avatar-movie.18062.html

http://www.naviblue.com/hometree/forums/13-Avatar-Fan-Made/61961-Avatar-Tutorial-!#61961

http://www.webdesign.org/photoshop/photo-editing/na-vi-avatar-photo-manipulation-exclusive-tutorial.18015.html

And here's a fabulous video by mateo785 of his process. Note, it is not a complete tutorial because there a lots of steps left out, but for an experienced hand, it's a great reference and inspiration.

Na'vi Name Generator

Kaltxi everyone. So I've been looking at the few available Na'vi name generators, and there really isn't much selection. So I thought I'd make my own, using names from the movie, game, and variations on similar languages to Na'vi. Check it out. It's pretty fly.

The Better Na'vi Name Generator 

Cameron Talks Science of Avatar

At Caltech this past Tuesday, James Cameron got together with heavy-hitting scientists to discuss the science behind Avatar.  Cameron explained his theories behind giant flying dinosaurs, floating rocks, and space travel with assembled specialists.  He was quick to acknowledge that the film is science fiction, but the explanatory “reverse-engineering”, as he described it, occupies a staggering 400 to 500 pages on the film’s wiki.

Some things, like the science of unobtaniam, was consciously designed from the beginning (in case you didn’t know, it’s a room-temperature super conductor used in yet-to-be-built fusion generators).  Others started with a “cool image,” like the moon circling a blue gas giant or men jumping out of hugheys (not the first time Cameron has tackled images of Vietnam in Sci-Fi).  When a reporter mentioned the “Epic” story, the directory quickly pointed out that many films attempt a mythic arc but are unsuccessful.  When asked for an example he said, “Krull.”  The student asking had never seen it. Whether or not all the pieces fit, it became apparent that Cameron really knows his engineering/physics/botany/biology/etc.  He waxed scientific on everything from undersea thermal colonies to high energy magnetic systems.  Cameron also mentioned what his future film plans might be.

Cameron was joined at the panel by Jess F. Adkins (Geochemistry), John P. Grotzinger (Geology), Jared R. Leadbetter (Microbiology), and Robert Hurt (Astronomy).  Before the scientists revealed their impressions of the film, Cameron reminded the audience that it’s science fiction and is meant to create a sense of wonder.  His priority was to make a compelling story, and then to create a scientific backstory to back up the film’s evocative images.  An example is the blue Na’vi, admittedly inspired by Hindu philosophy.  Cameron even wanted multiple arms but that proved too difficult for the actors.  He went with blue and invented backstory along the way.

SPACE TRAVEL
One of the first items addressed was the opening sequence with the spaceship ponderously drifting through space.  Cameron said that he wanted to have the spaceship travel below the speed of light, to avoid “warp speed” and other standard tricks that ignore Einstein’s scribblings.  His craft is propelled through the chilly void by a beam of energy, shot from earth of course.

This causes the ship to approach obscene velocities, but still not enough to span the galaxy.  But that lead to another problem.  If a spaceship can’t travel through a new-rave dance party on its way to work, then its final destination had better be pretty damn close.  They made it as close as possible.  Pandora “exists” in the Alpha Centauri system, the nearest to earth at a paltry 4.5 light years.

UNOBTANIUM?
Unobtanium has actually been around for a while as a euphemism used by disgruntled, budget-strapped engineers.  Cameron co-opted the term for use in the film.  The “hard” science of Avatar envisages unobtanium as a really, really expensive room temperature super-conductor.  But in an interesting aside by the director, he said its main function was metaphor.  Whether it’s furs, gold, or spices, “there’s always some damn thing that some group needs that some group has, that causes them to get in a ship [go there]... and shoot them.”  Cameron then said that the aforementioned summary is the past five hundred years in a historical thumbnail.  Everyone clapped.

JUNGLES AND FLOATING ROCKS
The scientists really started to speak up when the discussion got out of space and into the glowing jungles.  Grotzinger, a geologist for NASA, asked about the dearth of volcanoes.  Cameron responded, “sequel, sequel…”  In fact, they had planned a lot of Volcanism, but it got lost among deadlines and art-departments.  The molecular biologist, Leadbetter, said he got really excited when he saw the soldiers put on gas masks.  Cameron explained that the air of Pandora is toxic with sulfides (as one scientist pointed out, that would produce one hell of an acid downpour).  The air is also very dense, otherwise the creatures we see flying so gracefully would fall to the rocks below.  As for the floating mountains, well, they’re held up with magnets.

The magnetic field around the Tree of Life is so strong that it lifts the nearby, Unobtanium enriched rocks into the air.  Cameron acknowledged one of the slight problems with this idea is that such a field would be so strong it could rip the hemoglobin right out of your skin.  Spontaneous self-explosion does require a certain poetic license.

SCIENTISTS ARE GOOD GUYS
Throughout the dialogue, the scientists expressed their gratitude that Cameron hadn’t portrayed them as “Ted Kazinski” while simultaneously creating a palpable sense of wonder and discovery in the film’s characters.  Cameron agreed that he’s, “...tired of hollywood showing scientists as evil or boring lecturers”, and going further, that they have, “...poetry in their souls.”  It was fascinating to watch the director trail off into latin-speak and sea floor terminology.  Hard to follow at times, but there was a clear sense of mutual respect.  Moreover, it was relieving to see a filmmaker, who cares so deeply about knowledge, engaging with university personnel and scientists.  When Cameron later fielded questions from students (ignoring some of the older, established journalists), he brought an informed opinion to bear on each climate/environmental topic, even occasionally, and courteously, correcting the questioner.

SEQUEL
Cameron is aleady planning a sequel.  He plugged Fox’s Avatar Tree Initiative (which, regardless of how cynical you may be, is a good thing).  I doubt that Murdoch, or whoever, would be interested in a post-facto environmental PR event unless there was some Avatar promo value. After all, they are planting a million trees.  Cameron was quick to point out that even one million was a drop in the bucket.

After the panel I asked Cameron if he would return to films with darker themes, after the environmental victory of Avatar.  He said that he is really interested in developing the world of Avatar and working on the story, then quickly added he hasn’t officially decided yet.
 
courtesy of   http://blogs.indiewire.com

More Videos from Avatar

Prequels & Sequels

So, Avatar fans the world wide are eagerly waiting for the release of the Avatar DVD's, both regular and Extended.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal director James Cameron revealed the release date for Avatar on DVD and Blu-ray. Cameron said that we can expect the usual DVD and Blu-ray release in April, and then a 3D version will be released in November with all the special features, deleted and unfinished scenes.

“It’s all right on schedule,” said Cameron. “We’ll do the Blu-ray and the standard def DVD April 22nd, that’s our plan as of right now, and that’ll be pretty much bare bones. And then we’ll do a value-added DVD and a 3-D Blu-ray in I think November sometime.”

He also spoke about the DVD and Blu-ray release to MTV:
“The unfinished scenes look like a cheesy video game,” Cameron said. “They’re the performances — you can really see what the scenes would have been — but it doesn’t have that magical realism of the finished film.”

Among the deleted scenes will be footage focusing on the main group of Na’vi humanoids of Pandora, the introduction of other Na’vi clans, and the ritual hunt for a colorful creature called a Sturmbeest in which Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) takes part.

“It’s all wonderful stuff, but it was sort of bogging down the middle section of the movie,” Cameron told us back in December. “So there’s plenty for a value-added DVD experience on this film. Of course, we’ll have to go punch it all up and get it all mixed and stuff like that.”

By November Samsung, Panasonic and Sony should have home 3-D television systems available for purchase, along with 3D Blu-ray players, so if you’re wealthy and want to splash out on the latest tech then you’ll be able to see Avatar in all its 3D glory.

Here's an article listing all of the goodies that were cut from the movie.
http://io9.com/5446538/everything-that-was-cut-from-avatar-sex-drugs-and-suicide

But that's not all. James Cameron is also thinking of writing a Novel. A prequel. Below is the article talking all about it.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2010/02/16/2010-02-16_james_cameron_to_pen_avatar_prequel_novel_says_producer_jon_landau.html

A Sequel to AVATAR
Will there be a sequel to AVATAR? Yes, there is great news for all AVATAR fans. James Cameron has confirmed that there will be a 3D sequel to AVATAR. In fact, he envisions a trilogy for the story, which will follow the main characters of the original movie, Neytiri and Jake. He announced that information even before the film came out. After it became the epic success that it did, in January 2010, Cameron once again confirmed, when asked if there will be a sequel, "Yes, there'll be another."
In April of 2010, James Cameron went into greater detail. He told The Los Angeles Times, "Part of my focus in the second film is in creating a different environment, a different setting within Pandora.” He went on to state that he will explore Pandora's oceans in its sequel. While the beloved rainforest of the original film will still be in its sequels, the oceans will be prominent as well. Fans who remember all of the neat and original surprises of the rainforest can only imagine what he may envision for its oceans.
While a release date has not been set for its sequel—and the actual production on it has not even begun—there will definitely be a sequel. However, knowing Cameron’s penchant for perfection, it just may be a longer time coming than anxious AVATAR fans hope for.

http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/01/08/avatar-sequel-confirmed-by-james-cameron-and-heres-what-wed-like-to-see/

Promotional and Misc. Images

Basically this is all of the leftovers. Pictures I forgot to squeeze in here or there, and a few other interesting tidbits. Definately worth a look.

 

more after the Jump...