NEW DEHLI: As Sanctum’s release draws closer, James Cameron the producer of the underwater survival story talks about the production process, the objective behind the film and unravels his future plans in an exclusive interview.
He is taking forward his penchant for the fighting spirit in his forthcoming 3D thriller Sanctum but Hollywood producer James Cameron says filmmaking is not about the equipment but about images and imagination.
“The cameras used on Sanctum include the same cameras developed for and used on Avatar. The team knew that if they were to fully immerse the audience in the underwater world, it had to be in 3D,” said the three-time Oscar award winner.
“Along the way, the men developed a new photographic system that could operate in these extreme environments and deliver a cinematic experience. But as mind-blowing as all this new technology is, filmmaking is not about the equipment. It is about ideas, images and imagination. It’s about storytelling,” said Cameron.
The award winning director says that the audience will experience a different ride in Sanctum as compared to his magnum opus Avatar.
“Avatar had so many broad vistas that the difference between watching the movie in 2D and in 3D is not that great because the more expansive the image, the less you feel in close contact with objects and characters.”
“However, the difference between experiencing Sanctum in 2D and in 3D is actually much greater because the 3D version will constantly be informing you, in the experience of watching the film, with the sense of claustrophobia,” said Cameron.
“We’ve done test screenings and we’ve seen that there’s a palpable, white-knuckle sense of anxiety in watching the film, which is exactly what we wanted to create. Usually when you watch a film, your consciousness floats above but 3D sucks you in and makes it a visceral experience,” added 3D technology’s greatest advocate.
Both Avatar and Sanctum have been shot on the Cameron Pace Fusion 3D Camera System, a stereoscopic HD camera system that delivers incredible results that delivers flawless IMAX projection in 3D.
Directed by Alister Grierson and based on the real life story of writer-producer Andrew Wright, Sanctum is set to release worldwide on February 4. The film was shot on location at the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
The 3D epic underwater adventure follows a team of underwater cave divers on a treacherous expedition to the largest, unexplored and least accessible cave system on Earth. When a tropical storm forces them deep into the caverns, they are compelled to do nothing but fight raging water, deadly terrain and creeping panic as they search for an unknown escape route to the sea.
“With Sanctum, we want audiences to be left with a certain experience where they feel involved with the perils faced by the characters. It’s not action like in an Indiana Jones film or even a thriller where you have fight scenes and gun play,” said Cameron.
“It (Sanctum) is really about the psychology of survival and of people who are stretched right to the edge of what they can stand and beyond. I love that kind of story, personally. It doesn’t need all the bells and whistles to be powerful,” he added.
The producer reflects on future projects and reveals that he is “tied up for the next five years” as he has “signed on for two more Avatar films”.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2011.
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