‘Avatar’ Producer Jon Landau Calls on Apple, China to Embrace 3D1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAvatar producer Jon Landau is calling for grading of converted “fake” 3D and truth in advertising to weed out cheats — get ready for 2.4D and 2.8D. And Steve Jobs might want start banging out the next generation of iPad 3D.
Attending the inaugural edition of ScreenSingapore to speak at a 3D seminar, Landau told The Hollywood Reporter that even for the converted Titanic slated in 2012, the best he and director James Cameron can do is 2.8D.
“Like colorization, it’s never true color; a conversion will never be true 3D. You don’t have all of that information. So you’re cheating. How good can you fake it? The more time you have, the better it can be. [For Titanic in 3D,] we’re creating an illusion of 3D to begin with, so if we can create something by spending a year converting it, and ending up with this 2.8D, the difference might be imperceptible to the movie going audience. If we rush to do it, while we try to finish up all the rest of post-production, then we might end up with 2.4D, and that’s not going to look good,” he said.
After Titanic, the next in line for a 3D makeover would be Terminator 2, says Landau. But withTitanic and Avatar 2 & 3, where Jake and Neytiri explore new parts and see new creatures of Pandora, liquid metal squishing in 3D is still years away. On the technological side, apart from the higher frame rates, the producer and his partner Cameron are looking into ways to bring 3D gaming into the home, and increasing the efficiency of their virtual production for the upcoming Avatar films by creating more lighting tools and working with companies such as Autodesk and Weta Digital.
