Production

James Cameron came up with the idea of avatar 15 years ago, but it was then shelved because the technology required to create the film did not exist. The film remained an idea until 4 years when Cameron developed the '3D fusion camera', which allowed him to shoot crystal clear digital 3D, but also release the film in 2D. The result is an epic cinematic masterpiece that brings you deep into the world of Pandora, appealing to techy-types and film fanatics alike and will revolutionise cinema from now on.

The film's official budget was $237m, although some estimates put the cost even higher, closer to $300m, making Avatar the most expensive film ever made, beating Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), and Spiderman 3 (2007). This gave Cameron the ability to go all out on the special effects and picture quality, for example, it took the 5th most powerful computer on the planet 100 hours to render each frame of the digital sequences. Many people, not just techies, will be intrigued to see the how good the film really looks and go to see it for that reason.

James Cameron is already an established director having made many mega-budget films such as Terminator and Titanic, so he already has a fan base who love his work. This also meant that his previous successes can be used in marketing to get the people who liked his previous films, but may not know that he made them.

The movie was produced alongside the video game, which preceded the film in its release, to act as a more in depth teaser to the story. The game is rated T in America, and is full of explosions, much like the film, appealing to the film's core audience of 12-30 year old males. The film makers and the game producers, and many of the vehicles and creatures designed for the game were eventually used in the film as well, showing both the cross media convergence between the two.

The film was produced as a 12a, with enough violence, explosions and gun-porn to satisfy the core target audience, but also mild enough to appeal to the family market. A large target audience was hugely important for this film, as the budget was so high, and it would be impossible for the film to make a profit if it only reached a small audience.

posted by Hugh