Avatar (2009)

Avatar is an award winning, science fiction and fantasy film directed by James Cameron. It is officially the highest grossing film of all time, turning over more than $2 billion, and was nominated for 9 Academy Awards, winning three, including Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects. It's Premiered in London on the 10th December 2009, and went on to break many box-office records. Starring in Avatar is Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver.

Avatar Film Promotion Poster - www.imdb.com

The film is set in the near future of the year 2154, when humans have used up all of the Earth's resources, and are testing out planets in the galaxies that have adequate living conditions. A company named Resources Development Administration (RDA) mine a habitable moon, Pandora, which is densely covered in forest and is the home of the Na'vi. The Na'vi are humanoid characters, much taller than the average human, with cat-like features and blue skin. They worship their goddess mother Eywa, who lives in all living things, it's heart found at the tree of Eywa. The atmosphere on Pandora is severely poisonous to humans, so to explore the moon, RDA  create Na'vi human hybrids, using an Avatar system. The humans enclose themselves inside a pod, and wake up in the body of their own genetically matched Na'vi, who are created in the labs of RDA. Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, is a disabled ex-marine, who is called in to become an avatar after his scientist brother passed away. He finds comfort in becoming his Na'vi, and slowly realises that the life he lives in his Avatar body is, although much more dangerous, better. He becomes part of the Na'vi community, falling in love with the leader's daughter, Neytiri. Jake is sent in initially to convince the Na'vi to move away from the Tree of Souls, as RDA want to mine the area. Jake cannot do this to Neytiri, and RDA find out that Jake has attacked a few of the company's bulldozers, in an effort to stop the mine from happening. It becomes a war over the area, and after the tree is attacked from all angles with missiles, Jake and Neytiri call upon all of Mother Nature's forces, to help move on RDA and their soldiers.

Cameron began writing up Avatar in 1994, for it to be released in 1998 after his blockbuster 'Titanic' in 1997, but came to realise that the technology was not suitable at the time, and had to be worked on to deliver his envisions of the film. The special effects used in the film are of such a high standard which led the film to become a blockbuster. James Cameron went into tremendous detail when creating the film, such as working alongside a linguist, Dr. Paul Frommer, who worked on creating the 1000 word language for the Na'vi. The language take certain elements of Amharic Ethiopian and New Zealand Maori.

Sully and Eywa - overmental.com

Performance Capture technology was used to create the characters of the Na'vi, who were based on real actors. This has been used in other animated films, such as 'The Polar Express' and 'A Christmas Carol'. For this to work, the actors fashioned tight fitting body-suits and helmets, donned with stripes and spot markers, so the camera could pick up the movement. On their faces, they would have painted green spots, which picked up the more subtle movements of the actors facial expressions. This was greatly received, leaving people in awe of the animation, and how life-like the characters are. Any of the acting that included the Na'vi, were filmed in a place dubbed 'the volume', which was an area that was surrounded by 120 digital cameras, which would then process through the computers and giving the cast their characters on screen. Computer generated images are used thoroughly throughout the film industry, but Cameron had managed to push the bar so high with the quality of the animation in Avatar, leading it to win Best Special Effects and Cinematograpy at the Academy Awards. The advance in technology is so vast, for something that would have been deemed impossible a decade ago.

Sully connecting with Eywa - movieweb.com

There are many themes that run constantly throughout Avatar, such as political themes, religious themes and  Social and Cultural themes. The film can be seen in many ways, both positive and negative. On the outside, the film is a love story, but when you delve deeper and study it, there are many more underlying references. For example, the film can be seen as Anti-American. Avatar follows American people, driving out the indigenous for their selfish needs, which could be Cameron referencing to how America bombarded Iraq for their oil, driving out their own people, just like RDA bombard the Na'vi for mineral. Although Cameron has argued that this is definitely not the case, the film has so many elements that it could reflect many historic events. In terms of religion, the film does pose the question as to how faith should be governed, a hierarch system or mutual? Cameron has said that he "tried to make a film that would touch people's spirituality across the broad spectrum." (Porie, Koel (March 20, 2010). "SRK means India for Cameron". The Times of India. Retrieved March 20, 2010.) There is no doubt that the film targets the belief in religion, and therefore the respect people have for other people's beliefs. The Na'vi are very heavily connected spiritually to their natural environment and have respect for the lifeforms around them. They pray before killing an animal, and bless it after it is dead, and thank Eywa for giving it to them. Spirituality is to me the main theme, as the film is a spiritual journey for Jake. By the end of the film, he realises what he values most, which is completely different to what he valued most at the beginning of the film.

Neytiri and Sully during training - movieweb.com

Female influence is the motif within the film, without it, Jake would not have been able to complete his mission, and win the war. In many movies, women can be seen as both good and evil, but in Avatar there is no ambiguity. All of the female characters are strong, positive people and do not carry out any negative actions. None of their actions are a negative force against Jake, only to motivate him and push him further, therefore leading him to develop through the film. Eywa, is seen as a female presence, and although we do not see her, she is referenced by Neytiri as 'her'. She nurtures the Na'vi, teaching them, providing them, and taking them to a place of rest after they have passed. She is selfless, even trying to treat Grace and Jake whilst they were both dying as humans. The second most important female is Neytiri, who supports Jake through the film, as he would not have been able to complete it without him. She is compassionate, and trusting, and goes out of her way to teach Jake the way of the Na'vi. There is roughly 8 times in the film where Neytiri puts her life on the line to save Jake's, and 7 others where another female character does the same for him. She is seen as a protector, a strong, empowered woman. The males in the film are mostly predominantly negative, although not all of them are. For example, when Jake is attempting to bond with an Ikran, the other male competitors jeer and laugh at Jake, whilst Neytiri encourages him to succeed.

Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at’ite

Neytiri -www.lachiacchiera.it

Neytiri is a part of the Omaticaya clan, a large group of Na'vi, who live in the tree of souls. She is the second-born daughter and princess of the leaders of the Omaticaya, Eytukan and Mo'at. When we are first introduced to her, she is saving Jake from a pack of Viperwolves. Instead of shooting him with the bow, she sacrifices the life of the animals, which in her way of life is very hard to do. When the attack stops, the vioerwolves are left whimpering as they lay dying, and Neytiri goes round one by one, blessing them and putting them out of our misery. We can immediately see that Neytiri is a sensitive character, but also very strong, and knowledgeable. She takes Jake to the tree, where her parents designate her to be his teacher. She is initially very negative about this, believing Jake to be naive and unteachable. We can tell that she is holding back and not showing the real her at this point, during scenes where the two are together and she awkwardly pulls away from him, and stops eye contact. Towards the middle of the film, her teaching is in full flow, and the audience are allowed to see into her life. She tells Jake of her history, how she watched her sister murdered by the humans in an attach on Grace's school. This sensitive side allows the viewer to see why she is so untrusting of  the humans. Towards the end of the film, Neytiri is the dominant female character, and her development shows us that she is capable of being a leader.

"You're like a baby, making noise, don't know what to do."

"I was afraid, Jake, for my people. I am not anymore."

These two quotes are taken from the beginning and the end of the film, showing her drastic change in character as she lets Jake see the real her. The trust that had been broken by the humans is built back up again with the help of Jake, and she realises that Eywa has chosen him as a warrior for their people too.

Tegan Taylor, face mapping.
 http://stylecaster.com/beauty-high/avatar-makeup-artist-tegan-taylor-spills-on-how-get-navi-look/

Tegan Taylor is the makeup artist for Avatar, handpicked by Cameron because of her high-tech makeup techniques and skills. When she received the call that designated her as head makeup artist, she realised that she did not have the type of makeup that Cameron would want. Instead, she built a computer program, 'MoCap FX', where she could create makeup looks that could be utilised with the type of advanced technology they were using. "Using fluorescent and phosphorescent facial paints, I worked in collaboration with the virtual effects team to design customised formulas that were compatible with their virtual needs," Taylor says. "All of the products I used on Avatar were designed exclusively for the process, including our unique application brushes and portable mixing trays, to accommodate James Cameron's intensely focused directing." This exciting new makeup technique was difficult, but with perseverance Taylor completed her mission. This high-tech technique consists of hundreds of symmetrical and evenly spaced dots painted on the face with phosphorescent paint, which help map out the actors facial features. This is the new future of makeup and is likely to be seen more then often over the next few years.

Zoe Saldana in filming, www.ceriwis.com

Zoe Saldana in filming, www.ceriwis.com

Bibliography
(Pramaggiore, M. and Wallis, T. (2011) Film: A Critical Introduction. Maria Pramaggiore, Tom Wallis. United Kingdom: Laurence King Publishing)
(The Art of Avatar Makeup, Cara Nash, 29/03/2010, http://www.filmink.com.au/news/the-art-of-a
vatar-makeup)