The Cinematography of ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ — New Tech Meets Old Tricks

thewrap.com:

This interview with “Avatar: The Way of Water” cinematographer Russell Carpenter first appeared in a special section of the Below-the-Line issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.The best solution to a difficult problem can sometimes come from an unexpectedly practical place.

Just ask cinematographer Russell Carpenter, who had worked with James Cameron before. He served as DP on 1994’s “True Lies” and 1997’s “Titanic” (where he came in as a replacement and wound up winning the Oscar for his work), and this time around his work encompassed live-action photography, motion-capture work and advising the visual effects teams on virtual lighting conditions.

And while there really isn’t any other film like “Avatar: The Way of Water,” photographically or otherwise, that doesn’t mean you can’t rely on old tricks of the trade.

Like, for example, mirrors.In the sequence pictured on this page, our main characters, performance-captured by actors and replaced by computer-generated Na’vi, are perilously surrounded by fire. (We hesitate to reveal too much but, this being a James Cameron movie, something definitely explodes.)“That’s a perfectly good example of how live-action can be used to benefit what Weta FX is doing,” Carpenter said.