James Cameron Interview

I was recently reading an article about an interview with James Cameron on www.oregonlive.com.  James Cameron has directed such major motion picture hits as “Titanic”, “Avatar” and “Aliens”. During the interview the interviewer said that Cameron’s major achievement in this film was that he had crossed the uncanny valley. The meaning of that term is explained in the article but it basically means that computer generated character are very close to looking real but are seen as artificial because the subtle eye movements that we see in living people are not present in these characters.  Cameron said that first set of shots done with CG was bad but after weeks of tweaks they had the first scene finished. James Cameron was asked if the technology has changed since the film was complete and he answered by saying yes and that the technology was changing during the production as well.  He said some of the little details that they had to put in are now automatic but also saying that there is not a huge advancement in technology. When asked about lessons he has brought from Cameron’s days of working for Roger Corman, Cameron mentions that the technical process of filmmaking has changed. Cameron said, “We don't shoot on film any more. We don't do any in-camera effects. We don't use opticals. The entire process has been fundamentally rewritten.” He does however say that the essence of film make is the same when it comes to the concept of conveying your story and gathering your cast.

            This interview is very informative and talks a lot about Cameron’s perspective behind doing his movies. It gives an incite about how he sees some issues like the BP oil spill. In the interview it says that Cameron got a few scientists and officials to brainstorm ideas about solving the issue. They ignored the result until two months later. Cameron goes on to explain that this issue relates to “Avatar” because it is basically about how people see what humans do environmentally to be an improvement but that in reality it is just making it worse.