The Production of Avatar

These are the stages in production that highlight what processes the film makers went through to appeal to their audience

1994

• Cameron wrote an 80 page scriptment for Avatar

1996

August

• Cameron announced that after completing Titanic he would film Avatar, making use of computer-generated actors
• The project would cost $100 million and involve at least 6 actors in leading roles "who appear to be real but do not exist in the physical world"
• Digital Domain (a visual effects company) joined the project, which was supposed to begin production in the summer of 1997 for a 1999 release

2005

June

• Cameron was announced to be working in a project titled "Project 880"

Cameron on the Initial Production Stages:

2006

February

• Cameron announced that Project 880 was now scheduled for 2007 and could be delayed until 2008
• Cameron reveals that Project 880 was a "retooled version of Avatar" which he had tried to make years earlier, citing the technological advances in the creation of the computer-generated characters (e.g. Gollum, King Kong and Davy Jones)
• Cameron's early scriptment for Avatar had circulated on the internet for years, but when the project was reannounced all copies were removed

April

• Cameron continued to work on the script with the help of linguist Dr Paul Frommer to develop the Na'vi language and culture

July

• Cameron announced a 2008 summer release for Avatar and planned to begin principle photography with an established cast by February 2007

August

• Weta Digital (visual effects studio) signed on to help produce Avatar and Stan Winston joined Avatar to help with the film's designs

Behind the scenes footage of the filming of Avatar:

September

• Cameron was announced to be using his own Reality Camera System to film in 3D. This system would use two HD cameras in a single camera body to create depth perception

December

• Cameron described Avatar as "a futuristic tale set on a planet 200 years hence...an old-fashioned jungle adventure with an environmental conscience [that] aspires to a mythic level of storytelling"

2009

• Cameron stated that if Avatar was successful he hoped to make two sequels to the film, and that the story arc he developed is large enough to cover two more films following Jake and Neytiri.