James Cameron Shuts Down AVATAR 3D and High Frame Rate Critics With One Blunt Response
James Cameron has weighed back in on the ongoing debate around 3D and high frame rate filmmaking in the Avatar franchise, and his response is direct, confident, and backed by numbers. The filmmaker made it clear he stands by the creative choices behind the franchise, whether everyone agrees with them or not.
Speaking with Discussing Film, James Cameron didn’t dance around the criticism aimed at the visual presentation of Avatar: The Way of Water and the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash.
When asked about detractors who argue that 3D and 48 frames per second distract from the experience, Cameron shot back with a financial reality check.
"I think $2.3 billion says you might be wrong on that. Well, that's the argument from authority. But the argument from artistic is: I happen to like it, and it's my movie."
Both The Way of Water and Fire and Ash were shot at 48 frames per second, doubling the standard 24 fps that audiences have been conditioned to for decades. The result is a noticeably smoother image, especially during action heavy and underwater sequences, which has sparked plenty of online debate. Cameron, however, argues the choice is rooted in how the human brain actually processes 3D imagery.
"I like what it does to smooth out the 3D experience. If you want to get technical on this, we have a lot of different neurons that do a lot of different things, but we have dedicated neurons for parallax.
“So when people say they get eye strain watching 3D, it's not eye strain. It's brain strain, because we integrate into a stereoscopic perception of the world in our visual cortex.
He continued:
"Those parallax-sensitive neurons can't fire if the vertical edges of things are jumping. The brain can't process that.
“So if we're having a stroboscopic effect that's degrading the 3D experience, then we'll use high frame rate. It interpolates to a level that we actually can process 3D and then that brain strain goes away."
In other words, Cameron isn’t chasing tech for the sake of it. He’s engineering the experience to work with how the brain interprets depth and motion, even if that means pushing audiences out of their comfort zone.
Avatar: Fire and Ash picks up a year after the events of The Way of Water, returning viewers to Pandora as Jake and Neytiri continue their lives with the Metkayina while mourning the loss of their son Neteyam.
Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña are back as Jake and Neytiri, and the conflict escalates with the introduction of the Mangkwan, a dangerous new Na’vi tribe aligned with Quaritch, once again played by Stephen Lang.
Whether fans love or hate the high frame rate look, Cameron clearly isn’t backing off. Avatar: Fire and Ash hits theaters on December 19.