No Wonder It Took 13 Years To Make This

James Cameron and #avatarthewayofwater achieve some astounding visuals. Maybe unlike anything ever made before. Let's have a look at why exactly there's so a drastic difference in cgi compared to other modern movies.
#film #videoessay #jamescameron #moviereview
Subscribe if you enjoyed! Thanks for watching!
0:00 Avatar: The Way Of Water
1:29 What's The Difference?
2:36 Good VFX Takes Time
5:13 But Good VFX Is Not Enough
7:57 What This Tells Us

[@daninbox]

It didn't just take him 13 years to make Avatar 2. It took him that long to conceptualize and write 4 movies, as well as film 2.5. We won't really be able to grasp all the work he's put in till 2028, when the Navi are on Earth and the entire story is over.

[@BonCT]

The Earth is dying... maybe humanity will move to Pandora in the end

[@randomly_random_0]

@@BonCT i think that's where this franchise is goingn to and the final will be na'vi and humans will coexist in Pandora. Humans will be teaching Na'Vi their technology while the Na'Vi will teach humans how to respect the environment. Pretty exciting.

[@djbobby224]

@@randomly_random_0 or maybe they will bring a piece of eywa to earth to fix it

[@MSaleh-vy8rr]

My prediction is that the few of humans from earth will be avatars and try to live on Pandora, like a human and Navi hybrid city built in Pandora to coexist.

[@daninbox]

@@BonCT Maybe. I think one way or another the Navi will meet regular humans. Meaning not just military, but families and friends.

[@luke1119411]

Whether you like Avatar or not, there's one thing you have to admit. It shows clearly, that James Cameron doesn't just make them for money. These are passion projects for him, and you can tell just how much he cares for the movies.

[@tydendurler9574]

Oh ok, is that why Spider is such a BS character with horrible acting? Is that way tons of shots, plot bits AND sound effects are exactly the same as in the 13 year old prequel? Is that why they bring back the baddy from the 13 year old prequel in the lamest way possible, have him fight Jake in the end (of course), lose (of course) but be saved for the 27 sequels coming (of course)?!? Is that why the plot is as a matter of fact NON-EXISTENT? Is that why... I could go on and on and on and...

[@ma.2089]

That and it’s most likely that he actually pays his VFX artists well for their time and probably doesn’t make them do crunch. Something that doesn’t exist for the rest of the industry

[@joshbecker9051]

Is that why he put 0 effort into the writing of the story?

[@erik8936]

@@joshbecker9051 13 years to make the same plot again but this time it's wet and jake has a family. also he somehow with no plot managed to stretch out an extra 20 minutes of runtime

[@trackandhp7]

@@erik8936 All of you come off as dunces in this comment section because no one has ever claimed to watch avatar for the story.

[@shawndalequianzon9144]

"While we all seat and complain about the over reliance of vfx in modern movies, James Cameron chooses to construct his entire movie around visual effects, only proving in fact that vfx have never been the problem". I never realized it in this perspective, thank you for putting it into words

[@dontquestionmysanity5402]

The only problem I had with it was the ending fight between the cornel and Jake it was too much and looked so unrealistic one only time that something in the movie took me out that and the fact that the new tribe speaks perfect English which is a huge downfall for me it makes it seem like any other movie with a clan of newly discovered humanoids and it makes them feel human and not alien

[@shawndalequianzon9144]

@@dontquestionmysanity5402 I also share some of those aspects of the film where it couldve been done better, but this video is mostly about the visuals, which is where most of the movies resources was poured into, and I love the movie because of that, flawed but beautiful

[@calebc7858]

@@dontquestionmysanity5402 about the English thing,it was either that of subtitles. They’re all speaking in Navi but like jake said at the beginning he’s gotten so good at it it’s like English now, which is when the movie switches from subtitles to English, to illustrate that. Id personally be ok with subtitles the whole movie but I understand why they chose to do it that way.

[@rapidrabbit11485]

@@dontquestionmysanity5402 So it's not exactly that the new tribe speaks perfect English. It's really easy to miss but when Jake is narrating in the beginning and there are subtitles of what the kids are saying, he quickly says "their language started to seem like I was hearing English" and from then on anytime the Navi` speak, it's in English. There was a good movie reason for the language to be alien in the first movie, because Jake didn't know it. However, it is easy enough to move it over to English as Jake is the perspective we are getting this story from, and it is English to him at this point. It also kind of sucks to have subtitled stuff in 3D, so I'm for it.

[@clemente3]

Did you even watch Avatar 2

[@cgmehta8264]

As a VFX artist myself, this man is 100% correct. Our CGI can look PERFECT, but with the time restraints that we face, it almost NEVER will, unless more directors allow CGI teams to take the time they need to perfect their shots.

[@themightyalpaca313]

As somebody who enjoys CGI films, like Avatar, I too wish directors would allow the artists more time.

[@adamisdracora2091]

its not the directors they got a budget and shit and deadlines to meet of course it CAN look perfect but it isnt monetarily feasable this is the reason why James Cameron said they needed to make two billion with avatar 2 to even break even on the costs because 13 years of work means a LOT of money needed to fund the studios, actors, artists, rent, equipment and so forth

[@daedalus-N7]

As a VFX person then. Any explanation to why all of the explosions and fire were completely and utterly terrible? And didn't even remotely match the rest movie?

[@rawwad]

I am director and art director working on the games cinematics, and I know the struggle very well, me and the very talented team I am working with, we can imagine the best of best in the CGI. But it always come to time and budget restraints, always.

[@PhO3NiX96]

I mean if the clients knew from the begining what they wanted, we would avoid wasting money and time and nights of sleep redoing what has been done because they changed their minds on something..... FX Artist myself aswell. I'm not targetting Marvel or DC specifically because all clients end up doing this very thing at some points but Marvel and DC are the best examples of changing their minds at the end of the deadline

[@pseudonymousbeing987]

HES NOT SAYING THANOS IS BAD HE'S SAYING THANOS IS MADE BY THE SAME PEOPLE AND TECH THAT MADE AVATAR AND THEY'RE ALL WORKING ON THE NEXT LEVEL

[@pseudonymousbeing987]

I actually appreciate that you include the fuller clip with the context that shows Cameron's quote you used at the beginning is incomplete. Good job Cutaway, the opening is striking though misrepresented, but you do clarify later.

[@cutaway]

I gotta hook the viewer somehow😂

[@The_Story_Of_Us]

Oh and also the performance capture done with Thanos is conceptually and technically inferior to the work on Avatar 2 and hell, even Avatar 1… The Planet Of The Apes trilogy is also excellent in how much human emotion and nuance it captured. Video games are also doing fabulous job comparatively like in The Last Of Us: Part II and God Of War: Ragnarok.

[@krakendude2]

But also Disney and Marvel suck and deserve all the shit talking

[@The_Story_Of_Us]

@@scoot1711 I’m not talking about the modernity of the tech or the lighting details like stubble and shit, I’m talking about the capturing and translation of expression through performance capture. How much of a performance you can capture balanced with the emotional complexity of the underlying performance. It’s a marvel movie and you’re mocapping this stoic, evil villain. Yeah he has some emotional scenes, but like you can go back to Avatar 9 years prior and the tech is still doing more. Oh right of course, that’s just for the 2009 film, if you compare Thanos to the Way Of Water stuff, it’s even moreso. The tech is objectively better and Cameron’s guys do even more with it. Oh and Thanos is only the most technologically advanced if you factor in stuff that isn’t directly related to performance capture, again like lighting details, stretching pores, texture and design (with all the creases in his face and the stubble and stuff like that). If we talk about the whole point of performance capture (capturing emotion), even some VIDEO GAMES are doing a better job than Marvel with Thanos because the directing ambition and performance conception is higher. The Avatar movies, a number of video games, they capture an emotional range and nuance greater than they did with Thanos and that takes the technical undertaking to new levels of complexity. It’s inherently more in fact because these deal with more human character, Thanos is not a relatable character, he’s a complex character, but not a grounded one, he’s a compelling character, but not one that emotionally ropes you along with him. In fact if you still call Thanos “the greatest” after I remind you of Caesar in War For The Planet Of The Apes, I’m going to just have to call you flat out wrong…

[@shinobi221]

The world of avatar is so immersive that i literally forgot i was watching a movie where everything is computer generated.

[@hawkeyemihawkgettingmoneylord]

How? Did the bad plot not take you out or the share boredom of act 2?

[@shinobi221]

@@hawkeyemihawkgettingmoneylord Maybe because i was just focusing on the vfx part as i have not seen this level of vfx in any other movie.

[@catnoirlover1719]

​@@hawkeyemihawkgettingmoneylord What are you on about? As long as the Humans in this movie dies, this won't even be boring at all At least better than a movie that half of them got slow mo shot and annoying sound every 2 second a certain character appear The wait is worth it

[@hawkeyemihawkgettingmoneylord]

@@shinobi221 makes perfect sense you were busy looking at how pretty everything is to notice how horrible the plot is. Jesus christ have some dignity you just consume content without carry about the quality.

[@hawkeyemihawkgettingmoneylord]

@@catnoirlover1719 I mean what I said how can anybody be immersed in this movie with the plot is garbage. I don't understand I was bored in the first act alone I can't comprehend having 100% focus for the full 3 hours.

[@RizzaRazzu]

I think Davy Jones still one of the best looking CGI characters ever.

[@cutaway]

Davy Jones is a work of art

[@undead890]

Davy Jones was easily a decade ahead of his time. It's now at the point where I can kind of see some of the CGI elements in his model, but for 2006, it still holds up extremely well.

[@Eddierath]

"Do you fear death?"...."to the depths". Jones was just Beautiful man.

[@fiwz7840]

That wasn't CGI , it was a real octopus ! :D

[@melvinch]

Not one of the best. It's the only best.

[@rapidrabbit11485]

Two things: 1) This did not take 13 years to make, principal photography did not start until 2017. Also, for bonus points, a reminder that they actually shot BOTH this one and the next one during that time. 2) It's already grossed $800 million in 2 weeks - there is zero question on whether it will break even. It will far exceed that, especially when it re-releases to play before the next one comes out. I'd also like to add that the RT Audience Score is sitting at 93%, so all these vocal people saying it sucks don't have a clue what they are talking about. The hate for this movie is immensely overblown.

[@kitanat9944]

Man I’m glad to hear that, this movie blew me away and immersed me unlike anything before. It was really moving for me personally.

[@AstroSully]

Facts brother!

[@vspecmaster]

It's just internet cynicism imo, like obviously it's not Citizen Kane but I feel like you have to lack a soul to outright hate it lol

[@jardam9466]

My friend does not like this type of movies (sci-fi, action, fantasy horror). I met her the other day and she told me that her boyfriend took her to see Avatar 2. After first hour she removed 3D glasses and tried to sleep. 🙂 There are people who have different taste in movies. And yes, there are people who hate just because...

[@rapidrabbit11485]

Update, it crossed $1 billion today. One of only 6 movies to do that within 2 weeks.

[@TheMrTeaParty]

i hate that so many want the film to flop because the first movie is 13 years old or that the story is simple but then complain when movies they like don't put as much effort into the films. if this movie succeeds not only will we be rewarded with 3 more masterpieces to come but also it will show big name companies that if they put in just as much work and time they will succeed as well so show the studios we support good quality films .

[@gawkthimm6030]

but its not a "masterpiece" if the writing, story, plot and characters are simple, predictable, cliche and overdone.

[@lexa968]

@@gawkthimm6030 The same could also be said with superhero movies earning billions which many also consider as masterpieces. The same predictable, cliche, and simple plot with magical artifact/chemical transformations, first battles, inner turmoil/reflections, final showdown with the villain and emerging as victorious. Predictable yet they're good and has garnered wide acclaim, aside from also being enjoyable to watch. A masterpiece does not have to be unique or have complicated plot to be considered one.

[@gawkthimm6030]

@@lexa968 yes I agree, I mostly avoid paying for any superhero movies because I dont want to encourage the poorly written ones, but when one emerges that has some well written characters I support those financially

[@level9drow856]

@@gawkthimm6030 you mean like 99.9% of all stories in the history of man kind?

[@gawkthimm6030]

@@level9drow856 yup, thats why I pirate everything and then after having watched it, I judge if I want to support them financially, if its not good enough writing, characters plot, etc, to my liking, I dont pay

[@walmanthegreat]

This movie is just stunning . Some scenes I could not tell were don’t on a computer . Only thing that told me it wasn’t real was the fact that blue aliens don’t naturally exist. The attention to detail was crazy

[@seanp8220]

The blue men look like stick insects they dnt move convincingly at all and their voice is too loud and badly applied ..as it always is with cgi creations.

[@pureluck8767]

Movie was trash 🗑️ dude

[@jdbhatts2912]

You're right about everything except the blue aliens don't exist part

[@wlos4029]

Similar beings might be real, people of our time will never know. The Universe is unimaginably large.

[@Swintifico]

@Leo Kwak sharp eye ya got, the movie was really immersive for me

[@morbincentral3607]

This movie is a must see in 3d. I swear the visuals combined with the 3d is so good that it feels like your there and you can physically touch it. Loved this movie

[@heni63]

I LOVED IT TOO!! Just amazing

[@dahlionn2119]

I got a headache the second time i watched it and i got cold at one scene where it was raining, this Movie is insane

[@sabrinarose1871]

Seeing this movie I could feel myself becoming physically uncomfortable during intense scenes. As if my fight or flight was kicking in. I had no idea why it was affecting me that extensively. the film is genuinely made to make you believe this is all happening in real life

[@Seven_1865]

Do you feel this way during a live action movie

[@overlordfemto7523]

It just means your gullible bud. You are easily manipulated and fooled by illusions. You are a very agreeable person that will never rock the boat. You’re a really good consumer :) keep buying more products.

[@sabrinarose1871]

@@overlordfemto7523 Nah I actually believe in going against the conveyer belt most people live on in this toxic society. All I did was leave a genuine comment. I'm far from agreeable in this turbulent world. Thanks for the lack of insight, bud :)

[@amog8202]

@@overlordfemto7523 and yes, strongly immersed=idiot, I'm such a genius compared to everyone else, no one's friends with me because they're all jealous.

[@overlordfemto7523]

@@amog8202 man I didn’t know gullible was synonymous with dumb. You’re a really good consumer :) you don’t even know what the definition of words are, companies love that. You lack any semblance of individuality.

[@customgolf3212]

I took my mother who is 79 years old to ser it. One of her comments afterwards: "Where did they find all those tall skinny actors?'. So I guess Cameron suceeded😊

[@rodcab2973]

I got lost in the movie. The run time was not nearly long enough. Every second was an experience. Every frame a masterpiece.

[@sash9249]

He also wrote a full 1.5 screenplay just for the actors to fill in when happened in those 13 years between 1 and 2. Crazy.

[@T1tusCr0w]

As an artist this is so true. My 10 hour drawing & paint will be good. Really good. But all art is this level now or mocked. My 40 hour stuff is amazing though. It always stands out. But a few times I have done personal stuff that I keep going back to go over and refine. I have maybe 4-5 200+ hour bits of art. And I don’t even remember how I did them now. They amaze me. They are so refined I can’t even recognise much "art" in them. Thing is that last 15% is another 150 hours… when time is money it doesn’t exist. What you get at 20 hours is what you get. Edit- Dune is the only thing I’ve seen that’s totally nails the effects to realism ( or close ) in as many years as I can remember. ( haven’t seen avatar 2 yet but watching 4k trailer on my reference grade tv impressed me very much )

[@galaxydeathskrill5607]

just reading this comment as an amateur artist (mainly drawing fantasy animals and animals in general) seeing the word 150 hours or 200 hours per drawing, I just know I would be spending these hours on games, and that scares me

[@krono5el]

everything now looks 10 years dated compared to Way of Water, its insane : D

[@crunchybanana252]

This reminds of something I heard somewhere, about it taking just as long to learn the last 1% of a language (speaking like a native) then to be able to read and write and understand everything else or something like that

[@TimotheosFraser]

​@@galaxydeathskrill5607 Oh! I know what you mean. Eventually you come to a point where you realize what means more to you, and you'll naturally spend more time on what feels more important. Guilt is not a good motivator though. If you spend 100+ hours on a drawing simply because you feel like you "have to," it won't be fulfilling. We're all at different places, and you can move at your own speed.

[@Alex_...34565]

woah. I would LOVE to see your art.

[@AstroSully]

One of the most immersive cinematic experience I've ever witnessed. For that 3 hours it felt as if I was in Pandora. Absolutely brilliant!

[@tayzk5929]

This has to be trolling? It looks like trash.

[@Navi_Silver]

It's been 13 years since we saw the first Avatar movie that laid the groundwork. The detail that people don't really pay attention to is what has been in the works all this time that we have been waiting for Avatar 2: The Way of the Water. James Cameron got a head start by working on the next movies as well, at least on 3 and 4. It's actually more complex than you could think, all the time it took him for conceptualization and writing. I'm looking forward to seeing what the sequel will be like. Well, the thing is that we won't see the full fruit of his work before 2028 if everything goes well by then and if the success is still there for the big finale.

[@switchcapturebutton]

Yeah I mean think how long it's taking George R. R. Martin to write one book, or how long it took Tolkien to write Lord of the Rings (12 years). There's no source material for the team to work with, so all of it had to be written from scratch.

[@hawkeyemihawkgettingmoneylord]

I definitely can tell he wrote multiple movies just by how this movies plot made little sense.

[@pavanjotsingh1578]

Jc said that avatar 3 will show the darker side of navi that not all navi are good

[@BrainConduit123]

I was only able to the film in 2D, but my take away is that this was a CGI masterpiece. I kept thinking they could have cut corners here and there but they didn’t. Some of the battle scenes in the water were so life-like, I kept asking myself how the hell did they do that. This was truly magic.

[@nicktubby9710]

They definitely cut corners. Is that irony about the boats? Because that was some of the worst CGI in the movie. Those boats were bouncing around all floaty on the rocks, lol. They definitely skipped the physics when creating some scenes.

[@Phaileen001]

@@nicktubby9710 I felt the same, I thought it was shotty

[@edwinvillalobos7159]

@@Phaileen001 most of their vehicle cgi is weird like that the train scene around the beginning where they raid and derail it really pulled me out cuz it was choppy and not at all like how a real train would derail

[@Phaileen001]

@@edwinvillalobos7159 Yep, I felt that too, but the worst offenders were the boats for me. Also I felt that the framerate was off. I now read that it's a mix between 28 and 48 FPS. Just wasn't working for my fairly good eye for graphics

[@connorself]

People out forgetting the physics of Pandora are wildly different from earth, lower gravity+super conductor planet would be a funny little combo

[@user-yl4lf9mh1w]

seeing it in 3d imax is one of the most immersive experiences i've ever had.

[@Johnny2Feathers]

I saw it in Dolby cinema 3D and I felt like the immersion wore off after about 2-2.5 hours. I wonder if it’s different seeing in imax 3D.

[@EliTheBigGuy]

You should see it in 4dx

[@dagenlouis8479]

Another element people don't really take into account is the quality of the material delivered to VFX houses. LEI spends a LOT of time working out the blocking, interactions and motion from the performance capture data to give Weta the best possible starting point. This is also where having directors who understand the VFX process and can construct scenes and moments with the vfx house in mind is incredibly valuable and it's why we see such drastically different quality in CGI from Marvel. They've started hiring directors who don't actually understand the back end peocesses for the VFX houses they ship shots off to

[@cutaway]

This is a fantastic point

[@maryfaceeggo]

As a VFX Artist that has worked on too many sloppily filmed projects - PREAAACH

[@dagenlouis8479]

@@maryfaceeggo can't recommend Lightstorm enough. I believe we are hiring in the new year for the next round of films

[@mrinalrohilla2654]

Can I just say. This was the perfect time to release this movie. We live in a oversaturatred comic book movie world. Also this was a good story with messaging. This was a great platee cleanser.

[@advaitjayaprakash4317]

You couldn't have said it better 😂

[@tubejack4812]

Hahaha. You probably didn't watch good movies if you think Avatar2 had a good story. LOL

[@GamingEntertainment12]

@@tubejack4812 I watched a lot of good movies and still enjoyed it 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@SydneyScream]

@@tubejack4812 it’s a good story simply bc it gets you to care about the Na’vi and the whales . All film is about is getting you to care about characters not to mention James Cameron being able to capture the feeling of “wonder” on film with all those kitty scenes underwater

[@AnonymusPlayerHD]

@@SydneyScream well you get to care for some of them indees, but for tohers i couldn't care less and all because of the tremendous amount of plot holes that this script have created. Dont get me wrong i enjoyed the movie pretty much, but is undeniable how stupid the script can get at some times, just to force some sequence that james cameron want to show. The first movie had a much better story

[@MomentsWithZhi]

2 minutes into the movie and I remember having the thought "woah..this is a new movie watching experience" The effects, the 3D, the immersion was unlike anything I've ever seen before. The team behind Avatar has pushed movies to new heights.

[@zerog1037]

Yes back in 2009

[@CHFOP-ik1vs]

New hights in bullshit storytelling. The behaviour of the characters and the premise of the movie reminds me of a kindergardeners worldview.

[@MomentsWithZhi]

@@CHFOP-ik1vs I was specifically commenting on how they've pushed the technology of digital effects to new heights though I'm sure we all enjoy movies differently

[@raymondsolli1789]

was literally sitting on the edge of my seat the entire movie, 10/10 was absolutely worth the wait

[@SishId]

I feel that the story left more to be desired, but you really just can’t go not appreciating what has been achieved in terms of CG work, dedication and performance

[@robbo580]

This documentary is so good, there should be a documentary about it.

[@mako9324]

Like half way through I realized “oh man this is basically like watching and extremely good animation, this is ridiculously good”

[@princoral]

I finished the video and was extremely confused when I didn't see comments.. this deserves attention! very well constructed, subscribed ❤

[@cutaway]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@c4arm]

the number of times i wanted to cry whenever i saw an underwater scene was astronomical, it just looked so pretty on the big screen and with the 3d glasses it just made it even better.

[@teresmajor7956]

After leaving the movie (seen on IMAX 3D) I felt like I just came back from vacation. The immersiveness was like nothing I've experienced because you can't tell CGI from Reality and the whole experience was magical.

[@trifix]

I was trying to exaplain the experience to my wife after having watched it last night in 3D. Your explanation of how it just becomes people in a living world after a while hit the mark. Also the rendering is soooo good that you forget about it actually being a 3D-rendered movie after 30 minutes. One thing especially that blew my mind was the underwater scenes and the simulation of water. Looked awesome!

[@hj-redravenheng3822]

Saw it today, and was totally blown away by the smooth cinematography simply taking in the world-moon of Pandora. My only regret is not seeing more of Polyphemus (the blue gas giant Pandora orbits). The sound design was sublime - the audience gasped several times at both visual and audio cues. A three hour roller coaster ride. Again!

[@EngineeringPilot]

Zoe doesn’t get enough credit for her emotions, she’s up there with actors like Giancarlo esposito

[@muffinman3052]

Never bet against Cameron. The man has an impeccable track record. Even if he's a bit insufferable at times you can't deny he knows what he's doing

[@gabebedolla4646]

Honestly seeing the movie in HFR 3D was an incredible experience. From the moment the film started to the very end I could not get over how everything looked, I’m truly grateful to be able to live in a time where something like this is possible. I’m going to see it again in IMAX HFR 3D on Tuesday 😭😭

[@ven8013]

how does this not have more traction

[@cutaway]

Hopefully it will!

[@hawkeyemihawkgettingmoneylord]

Because he's giving the movie to much credit Avatar 2 is an averge movie.

[@TheVentrexian]

This happened to me 13 years ago lol I forgot the na'vi weren't real, it looked like nothing I'd ever seen. Same happened this time too, freaking love these films.

[@amanofnoreputation2164]

It's simple. It feels real because they made an Avatar; a body: the cameraman. VFX are like spirit. The camera is like the body of the experience. Body or spirit alone either lack possibility or doesn't feel grounded respectively. But together you get this.

[@hawkeyemihawkgettingmoneylord]

When I was watching the movie didn't feel real at all because of the dumb plot points.

[@tdcjackhammer]

@@hawkeyemihawkgettingmoneylord good for you bra

[@hawkeyemihawkgettingmoneylord]

@@tdcjackhammer not really kinda of a disappointment.

[@tdcjackhammer]

@@hawkeyemihawkgettingmoneylord i absolutely loved it :) cheers!

[@dylanj.domachowski5369]

Let's hope they decide to put in an intermission so we can see the whole movie without needing to miss a moment. Let's also hope the movies make enough money to justify all of them releasing. BTW my favorite scene was when the ships from earth were landing. That was so freaking sick.

[@racool911]

Not sure why you would need to leave in the middle unless you got to go to the bathroom, and that's only for people who don't go beforehand

[@nathanknight2508]

@@racool911 I wouldn’t blame him, it’s a 3 hour movie and he probably had a soda or small bladder.

[@clint5406]

The middle hour was the intermission. It only features the beautiful water and the children swimming in it, with no plot elements whatsoever. You could pee during that scene, it'll take just 3 minutes or less Though your point is valid, coz how could someone pee during the most immersive scene in the movie

[@spartansquid5931]

Ah yes, the ships that utterly destroy huge swaths of land simply by *landing.* The ones that the humans could use to completely wipe out the Navi whenever they feel like it but don't for some reason, yet the movie expects us to believe the Navi are the superior combat force who are totally capable of winning.

[@blackthumbnail7570]

Are you kidding me! Just 600+subscribers you have? This is one of the best videos I've seen. So informational. Wish you a speedy growth buddy!!!

[@rogersjgregory]

I think it only took around 4-5 years to make, and they shot Avatar 2 and 3 simultaneously. The actual reason why the effects look better is simple: standards. James Cameron's standards i.e. what he accepts as good work, are a lot higher than most filmmakers. Also, he gives the teams enough time to complete the work, whereas other studios will rush the product, or give the fx teams a ridiculous timeframe to complete shots in. No one rushes James Cameron.

[@adronius147]

You know, despite its simplicity (though being simple does not make a story bad at all, just look at every classic tale ever), I still thought the story was rather good. As someone who isn't particularly emotional (quite the opposite), it still got me deeply emotionally invested in the characters, many scenes were rather moving, the payoffs were always very satisfying and the ending left me feeling whole. I was even impressed by the attention to detail in many of the scenes about tiny things that very often get overlooked but when actually taken into account only increase immersion further. In fact, let's admit, the point of this movie wasn't to tell an extremely deep and life changing narrative, the point was to immerse the audience in an entirely alien world, which it did extremely well, and the story was just another vehicle for that, and the fact that it was still _good_ is just another point of evidence of how thoroughly well done this movie is.

[@benjaminparent4115]

The first movie was a classic stories, cliché not interesting, and the message quite stupidly naive, but that wasn't the focus the movie, and it worked I have no trouble watching Avatar again. It is a fun movie. The second movie though they started dropping the ball. Maybe it is just me but they were obvious plothole. The RDA whaler literally said Tulkun never fought back and that's why they were able to whale them so easily. But the main Tulkun character in the movie was banished from society for leading an assault against a whaler ship, and leading everyone to slaughter. Even if the wasn't the same whaler ship that got attacked, and even if it sunk, I think word would have gotten around that Tulkun can fight back. It completely cheapen the pay off of Payakan figting back during the last act, and how the whaler character realise he shouldn't have messed with Tulkun. Also it is bit of plothole how human easily go down at the end of the movie, their is a litteral flashback in the middle of a movie, showing how much of threat is a single whaler ship. You see them slaughter a bunch of Tulkun and Na'vi like they were nothing it is framed as an incredibly violent combat that completely traumatized Payakan, and a compelte slaughter. But during the climatic fight of the movie the human get crushed. The navi beat them easily it is barely an inconvenience, I am not even sure more than five Na'Vi visibly died during that last battle, and a single Tulkun was enough to crush the ship. This ties to another problem that now the Human are barely a threat and it really hurt the overall narative, it is hard to feel like the heroes are doing great feat and are competent when the antoagonist do not even look like they are threatening or hard to beat. I am not even sure the soldier Avatar have a single kill to their name throughout the whole movie and yet they they are the main antagonist, they all die easily being barely a threat. In first movie humans were that hellish force that nearly crushed the Na'Vi, it took everything they had, plus Eywa rebelling to just push back a small security detail for a mining operation. But now the humans are here in full force and well they suck, they don't seems threatening at all, every confrontation is them getting crushed and it hard to believe they are a threat when they are never showned to be a threat.

[@csguak]

It takes 12 years round trip to visit Pandora. Hopefully they got enough footage for Avatar 3, so we don't have to wait another 13 years for the film crew 😔

[@LightninBolt]

That was enjoyable and a well made point about the way imitating the real life limits of standard camerawork influences how CG is implemented

[@shadowunderm7165]

wow how does this not have more veiws

[@samhumphrey5389]

I suffer from panic attacks and I had a huge one in the theatre when I went to watch it for a 2nd time in imax 3D. I suspect the crazy intensity and immersion had a part to play. LITERALLY mind blowing. Although it ruined my day haha

[@jellybean7283]

I also had an emotional break down while watch so I can relate. The movie was amazing and overwhelming in a really good way

[@entertainingandfun2719]

You said it bro! One of the best break downs out there right now.

[@skadoosh5045]

Thank you Cutaway! This was an amazing summary :)

[@mrwhite1437]

Avater 2 Was Amazing..My Favorite Film Sequal Of all Time

[@crunchybanana252]

I saw it in 3d and the foreground really popped and it was just so good and just wow. Really want to see a 3rd in 3d

[@Kaarssteun]

Let's not forget this is a masterly crafted video on an underrated channel. Props!

[@Andimax11]

I really hope the next avatar has some long one shots on it. Can you imagine the level of immersion they could achieve with motion capture, incredible visual fidelity, and long uninterrupted shots that make you forget your watching something that is edited

[@bentoby2123]

Great video! I think one point that is missed is that WetaDigital has literally broken new ground in CGI with this movie. The engine to simulate the water physics with how it interreacts with skin, hair, fabric, on a large scale and especially on a small scale with closeups, etc. has not been possible. There are patents for the methods they used to create the water, it's that new. James Cameron may have his name known by all who see Avatar, but Weta is the studio at the forefront of CGI right now that made this movie possible at all and they deserve a tremendous amount of credit in what they've managed to achieve.

[@corneliusmaze-eye2459]

You nailed it. This is why James Cameron is on the money

[@AlifMunim]

The most baffling thing about all of this is that you have under 1k subs - super well-crafted video essay!

[@Memoiana]

The phenomenon you describe is the same as when you watch any animated movie. You end up immersing yourself in the story

[@manfelt2959]

In terms of story, it’s good, but can be better. The thing that tips me off is the effing graphics. I watch it on IMAX, i just have no words for it. So immersive. So beautiful

[@bronnyredding8860]

I agree the story is good, a solid 7.5 out of 10. But the mind-bendingly immersive animation and the general themes of the story make it a truley breath taking experience

[@anthony.a4]

so well explained! definitely deserves way more views!

[@CidTheNadie]

you earned a sub. brilliant video and very well put!

[@AvinashKunjamboo]

bruh how do you only have 845 subs this was insane. keep pushing!!

[@Laila5234]

Just watched Avater 2 TWOW It was Beautiful...The best Cinema Experience

[@impatrickt]

Rialto wasn’t developed for Avatar. It’s been around since the Venice 1. Most Venice productions use it, it’s a big reason the camera is so popular. Let’s you break down a big cinema camera into something that nearly resembles a mirrorless. Top Gun Maverick also used it for the cockpit.

[@Spathephoros]

Critics keep unironically telling me how real what I'm seeing looks despite the fact that I can see it not looking all that real

[@dy3001]

Watched this, thought you'd have hundreds of thousands or atleast more than a million subs. Only to see you have 2.9k. Great job on making such a great video! The quality is worthy of many, many more subs.

[@joshuaquan4091]

definitely agree. One thing about the camera movement is that how the camera moves and displays cgi can totally take away any and all realism in the cgi itself. For example in the Hobbit trilogy Peter Jackson always had amazing visuals and the best environments. But he would oftentimes do these ridiculously fast and inhuman zooms and pans around something. Dol Guldur for example always was shown this way. It subconsciously is recognized as 'oh yeah this is obviously not real'. there's no weight behind the camera bc its like a drone shot basically; and we all know the drone didn't shoot this bc this place doesn't exist. the shot would have been too much more believable if the camera was moved in a more human way; like at a relatable speed that is believable. So for me at least those shots always pulled me a bit out of my suspended disbelief. The angle the speed its all connected and just as important as how good the cgi is. These all work together to sell believability. The speed and the level of detachment with which a camera is used can make or break the immersive ness of it and is something that avatar, dune, LOTR, and the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy do extremely well. this remains the gold standard for a perfect partnership w expert camerawork and peak cgi

[@GyanPrakash]

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER feels so real that you can't even question it. It's like you're watching a real-world location and real NA'VI, yet nothing that shows there really exists in real life.

[@dalyad4534]

psychologists literally were diagnosing ppl when the 1st movie can out with a syndrom called “post-Avatar depression syndrome” because the feelings it provokes, we connect to deeply- sorrow from feeling disconnected from nature, worries about the future of our own planet and feeling dissatisfied with modern life. its insane the tech that made these movies im excited for the new ones coming

[@morganjones593]

The algorithm has found you my man. Excellent work so far. Keen for more.

[@someguywhocanfly]

The CGI is amazing and realistic but I definitely could still tell it wasn't real. Facial expressions were sometimes a little stiff and everything was too perfect. Nice looking water flowing over limbs and fins but never an ugly break or messy splashes of foam

[@Kyrieru]

Yeah I feel like a lot of the mocap animation had the same problems as most modern games. At the end of the day realism is just really damn hard, and an animator's touchups are pretty obvious.

[@Jaimyx77]

Nice job!

[@Spartan11117777]

Everytime the Navi People fly around on the Dragons anywhere, I always imagine seeing Ratchet & Clank Helicoptering in the background somewhere.

[@ScruffyWarlord]

This video is underrated. You need more subscribers.

[@zijielim4652]

The real problem was the lack of motion blur in the fight scenes. At that particular moment I just felt like a video game catching on high frame rate. That being said it was a creative choice

[@Stoirelius]

Why did they chose this?

[@Gweriaa]

@@Stoirelius The reason why it feels so weird for many is simply because movies decided to stick to 24 fps cuz it worked + was cheaper, not because its * better *. I believe he wants to achieve new heights because high framerate is indeed better - even if its weird at the start

[@Stoirelius]

@@Gweriaa I didn’t experienced high framerate. What I experienced was framerate drop at some points (battles).

[@Gweriaa]

@@Stoirelius Yeah, i would've liked a constant high framerate too

[@LukeLovesRose]

James Cameron is the master of 3D cinematography and Avatar is the purest and simplest example of his craft

[@Arvolve]

Good video, loved the film as well! I'd add that doing the layout of the shots in previs, way before the bulk of CGI is done, makes everything less expensive by cutting corners where possible - it's common to mostly only build what they were certain it was going to be seen, otherwise it'd be too costly to build a full world just for the off chance of changing the shot. That said, given the scale of this movie, I wouldn't be surprised if they actually built a whole lot than what was seen just to create a more cohesive world.

[@WhittaII]

Never watched either Avatar but I've always respected James Cameron's dedication to his craft. Never really put much thought into how incredible these films are til now. Thanks!

[@xander9460]

It's SO GORGEOUS! Anyone on the fence if they should see it in theaters. This is THE movie you should experience in Imax 3D... Out of ALL the movies in existence, go see this one in theater.

[@samitabbakh8409]

It would be interesting to watch your breakdown about Dune movie in a future video. Just like Avatar 2, I think it is also a masterpiece.

[@genrihlanevsky6612]

Great content. Keep it up !

[@jowieonit]

This guy completely described what my senses were doing to me after watching this film. I have a hard time walking and driving home because everything felt so real!

[@KirkpatrickSounds]

Film is a masterpiece from start to finish.

[@mihailos8701]

Although I was never forgetting that everything is visual effects, it was very convincing, and my brain on my own wanted to associate navi not with cgi, but with real people in make up. I never fell for that, but I always knew that it's on my mind. Interesting experience

[@thecryptobiologist68]

Also everybody’s talking about that one out of context quote about the 2 Billion number, that’s the total needed for 2 and 3 to be successful because both were filmed at the same time on the same giant budget.

[@Phoenixgates]

Great video, good stuff

[@JonathanDavisKookaburra]

it needs to make 2 billion because they developed tech that will now allow them to make a new one every two years now. so it has a heavy financial burden, and the following films can be far more profitable. the studios know this so if it doesn't get there it won't be a disaster.

[@wheelzwheela]

The CGI can be amazing…. But, if the plot sucks the movie sucks.

[@sihyun1925]

13 years was way worth the wait. i can't believe i'm saying this but it was even better than the first one. a true masterpiece!!

[@schaschia6332]

this movie was my big reason to go back to cinemas after covid. and you betcha imma watch it again cause im a sucker for immersion and biology

[@seanp8220]

Why don't you queue up for the metaverse then

[@dko-JackSkalington]

I went with my wife, going back again with my mate.

[@knl654]

Just saw the movie, it feels like the movie was shot on a distant planet with different species, didn’t even feel like it was CGI, the movie is so brilliant. It is perfect movie to watch this holiday, movies like these need to cross billions instead of bad cgi movies.

[@RapidObsessor]

i'm sorry, yes this stuff is great work for the artists who actually worked on it, but y'all are setting yourselves up for game of thrones level embarrassment. "it'll all come together, it won't make sense till all 5 movies are out, his mind is on a higher level" bro it's a technically well crafted visual experience. that doesn't mean it's a good story.

[@jovee6155]

Sony's cameras did alot of heavy lifting for Top Gun as well. Same cameras were used to shoot the cockpit sequences

[@rodrigob]

Great essay, thanks!

[@vanthadoun1]

as beautiful and incredible as the VFX of Avatar twow is, there will always be Martin Scorsese or Quentin Tarantino saying "its a theme park, there are no movie stars" I don't understand the vitriol from one movie maker to the other. Movie making is a craft. There is a blueprint, a design, and so many people putting all their efforts into making an idea into a reality. we dont go see movies to see the mundane, we want to escape the mundane. People like James Cameron has allowed us to escape the mundane. So yeah, I will pay $20 to see something new and magical vs paying $18 to see aging actors with crappy de-aging process in a mobster movie (because we havent seen that before)

[@Arielelian]

Artists have been doing that to other artists for centuries; be it oil painting, water color, sculpture, photography, graphic arts, etc. It's human nature. Every artist feels "passionate" about what they deem pure art to be and will look down on any other art that doesn't fit that mold.

[@Ted_________]

You have said, “Shots actually became less impressive because my brain was no longer wow’d by what it saw.” The conclusion I have reached in response to people’s reactions to Avatar 2 is as follows: James Cameron has now created, dare I say already mastered, a level of sensual immersion and storytelling that we didn’t realise was ever there. Movies that feel so real, we forget it’s not. This will now be a new level of filmography that we will look for in new films, similar to the calibre of Avatar 2. A new frontier for cinema

[@dave_thebrave]

we need 13 years, but we still miss your channel.

[@Ecceptor]

The final scene inside boat completely made my mind blown

[@arnoldmunez5057]

I can’t believe so many people turn into 70 IQ children for this overrated movie. As someone who has worked in computer generated graphics, this is no masterpiece. They needed 2 billion dollars, and over 10 years for this, and it isn’t even animated! For god’s sake, I know most people don’t understand this, but the reason why it looks so real……. Is because it is. It isn’t animated like a Pixar movie, these are just real people with 4-8k texture mapping on top of them. While this is difficult to make a movie with still, it isn’t hard if I give someone 2 billion and over 10 years. I would EXPECT graphics of this quality with that amount of time and money. So since the graphics of this movie are unimpressive given the time and money, what is left? A very mediocre movie, it is pathetic how you people turn into children over good graphics. This isn’t a good movie, it is a good video game cutscene that lasts 3 hours, because just like video game cutscenes it is extremely high res, with little to no substance.

[@mysticmarble94]

LMAO ... As a VFX developer myself ... it's funny how you talk a big game but get it immediately wrong ... The movie Avatar 2 : The Way Of Water had a budget between $350 and $400 milion ... It definitely did NOT take "" 2 billion dollars "" to make the film !

[@Oscar_The_Magnificent]

when watching it I kept thinking damn this looks like a video game

[@konggig]

Great video you deserve far more subs!

[@emmalynncraft9636]

"Every single shot has gone through Grammerly" LMAO 😭