The reaction to 2D trailer was mixed but after experiencing 3D preview at Avatar Day people were blown away completely. It was fun to see the negativity in comments drops to zero. Looks like it was planned to let people see 2D version prior to 3D so they could feel the difference. Was it a marketing move or not it worked pretty well. The only problem is that there aren’t enough 3D digital cinemas around the world.

By the way, if you’re into that movie I’m recommending you to check out Avatar Movie Zone. It’s an unofficial website related to that epic movie with infos varied from news to conceptual artists credits.

Also the official website got some revamp with story and photos sections:

http://www.avatarmovie.com/

Get ready for Pandora!

The first shock wave came from screening at CinemaExpo, Amsterdam. We’ve got a couple of pictures with spaceship orbiting the planet [Pandora] and amazing, unearthly looking location with two humanoids walking on the tree in the night swamp. In addition to that the web was buzzed with impressions. The second wave came from ComicCon, San Diego where about 6,500 people were able to experience ~25 min preview from Avatar. The net go nuts again.

It’s been announced at ComicCon that August, 21 would be an ‘Avatar Day’ with ~16 min preview in as many 3D cinemas around the globe as possible.  In addition the first official trailer was planned to release on the net right before the Avatar Day. Countdown clock was ticking at Apple Trailers page and last night I was checking how the numbers are goin’.

It was fun and exciting to see the clock ticks to 01 min, then 00 min and… nothing happened! I believe 10 or so minutes later Apple Trailers change the clock to Avatar banner linked to the  trailers. Yay! But no one link were working. Duh! It was really fun to monitor some websites (like MarketSaw) updating almost in real-time with people buzzing about this sh*t. I don’t recall any other movies generating such vibration, besides maybe Phantom Menace.

I’m sorry for that long introduction but you can get an idea how much expectations and attention is going around Avatar. It’s not a big deal to describe how cool the footage is, how the scenery and characters looks like etc. just watch the trailer!

And considering the reaction, it’s quite mixed. Some believe it’s sort of advanced cartoon while others prise the JC’s effort and got really excited.

Beautiful night shot from Pandora with Na’vi spices. Somebody says it’s just another concept art but looks like it’s not. After all the expectations for Avatar are super high and by reading the feedback from screening it goes even higher.

Another thing that attracted my attention was the trailer for The Last Airbender. I have absolutely no idea about that world and Avatar animation series so the movie footage were quite refreshing.

http://www.thelastairbendermovie.com/

Make sure to visit his website www.jamesclyne.com for more cool stuff from film projects.

You can also check another gallery on evolution of space cruiser design. There are more than 150 photos and renders of various space ships from 1950’s up to modern space hot rods:

If you’re an artist and looking for some inspiration go look for visuals it’s pure eye-candy stuff. Camera angles, dynamics, colors… the spaceships designs are matching the 60’s style but still looks fun. The backgrounds and mattepaintings are stunning. Vulcan planet is a great example.

Can’t wait to see Cameron’s Avatar (and Battle Angel Alita) and Spielberg’s Ghost in the Shell 3D.