Avatar was directed by James Cameron and produced by 20th Century Fox. It had a budget of $237 million and was filmed using performance capture technology developed by Cameron. The film was distributed worldwide by 20th Century Fox in December 2009 on over 14,000 screens. It became the highest grossing film of all time with $2.78 billion in global box office sales. While praised for its visual effects, the film also received some criticism for its plot and messaging.

1. This unit should be approached through
contemporary examples in the form of case
studies.
Case Study:
Avatar


2. 

3. The technologies that have been introduced
in recent years at the level of production
Pre-Production


4. Written and directed
by James Cameron
• The Terminator (1984)
• Aliens (1986)
• Terminator 2 (1991)
• True Lies (1994)
• Titanic (1997) - $2.16 billion


5. 1994 - Cameron came up with the
idea for Avatar – ‘taken inspiration
from every science fiction book I
have ever read’
August 1996 – planned to commence
filming - $100 million and 6
computer generated actors.


6. Cameron decided that the
technology was not adequate enough
to bring his vision to fruition – began
to develop technology himself
2005 – 20th Century Fox gave
Cameron $100 million to help him
develop technology


7. 2006 – worked on a culture and
language for Nav’i – linguist Dr
Frommer, botanist Prof Holt
Designers, illustrators, artists,
sculptors – Weta Digital – separate
designers for Nav’i people and the
environment


8. Developed his own Reality Camera
System to film in 3D – 2 hi-def
cameras in a single camera body to
create depth perception
Late 2006 - 20th Century Fox lost
confidence in the project – Walt
Disney Studios - co-production with
Ingenious Media and Lightstorm
Entertainment


9. The technologies that have been
introduced in recent years at the
level of production.
Production


10. 2007 – Filming began in LA and
New Zealand – 60% computer
generated, 40% live action sequence
Actors trained in activities specific to
their character (horseback riding,
archery, combat) and learnt Nav’i


11. Motion capture animation - actors
filmed – eyes, facial expressions, etc,
transferred to digital counterparts -
Spielberg ‘digital make-up’


12. Sam Worthington
Zoe Saldana
Sigourney Weaver
Stephen Lang
Michelle Rodriguez
Giovanni Ribisi


13. The issues raised in the targeting of national and
local audiences by international or global
institutions.
The importance of cross media convergence and
Post -
synergy in marketing.
Production
Marketing


14. August 14th 2009 – exclusive photo
August 21st – trailer released (210sec)
August 23rd / 24th – press conference
October 23rd – new trailer (210sec)
November 1st – 3.5 min trailer –
Dallas Cowboys game – largest live
film trailer viewing in history
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1_JBMrrYw8 

15. Coca – Cola – worldwide promotion –
‘AVTR.com’
Bones – Fox Network – characters
seen waiting for release of Avatar
Interview on Fox programme ‘Adult
Swim’
McDonalds – ‘Avatarize Yourself’


16. Ubisoft Montreal – ‘James Cameron’s
Avatar: The Game’
Mattel Toys – Avatar Action Figures
McDonalds Happy Meal toys
France – Avatar stamps


17. The issues raised by media ownership in
contemporary media practice.
Distribution
By 20th Century Fox – UK, US, Aus


18. The issues raised in the targeting of
national and local audiences by
international or global institutions.
Exhibition


19. Premiered in London – December
10th 2009
Released worldwide December 16th
Official budget - $237 million
14000+ screens
$77,025,481 – first weekend
$2,782,275,172 – total worldwide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km2UpEcSUGY


20. The ways in which candidates’ own
experiences of media consumption
illustrate wider patterns and trends
of audience behaviour.
Critical
responses


21. Commercial success – highest
grossing film of all time
April 22nd 2010 DVD release - 19.7
million DVD and Blu-ray discs sold
in first 3 weeks of release
November 16th 2010 - re-release with
extended features
October 2012 – release of 3D DVD


22. Won 3 Academy Awards – Best
Animation, Best Cinematography,
Best Special Effects
Won 2 Golden Globe Awards – Best
Motion Picture (Drama), Best
Director
Won BAFTA – Production Design
and Visual Effects


23. Other filmmakers – Spielberg ‘the
most evocative and amazing sci-fi
movie since Star Wars’
Positive critical reviews in
newspapers
Investment in sequels – Avatar
Trilogy


24. ‘flat dialogue’ ‘obvious
characterisation’ ‘3D spectacle, 1D
storyline’ ‘impossible to watch
without being whacked over the head
by the director’s ideological hammer’
Derivative ideas– ‘Dances With
Wolves’, ‘Call Me Joe’, ‘Pocahontas’


25. Analogies to wars in Iraq, Vietnam,
War on Terror – criticising
government?
Criticised by pro-Native American
groups
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26. Your case study should contain information about:
Pre-production and production of the film (including which film company/companies it was
produced by, which actors star in it, how much it cost to make, etc)
Distribution of the film
Exhibition of the film (including how many screens exhibited the film, box office takings, etc)
What the film is actually about, genre, how successful do you think it was outside of its box
office takings, why
You should include the information about your case study on your blog but also be prepared
to present ideas about your film to the class.
You can choose from any of the following films:
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
X Men: First Class
Bridesmaids
Prometheus
Avengers Assemble
Transformers: Dark of The Moon
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