Chapter 638: Technical Pioneer

According to the original plan, Duke had been preparing to vacation in Australia with Scarlett. However, the day before their departure, word came from Marvel Pictures that Captain America was heading to Louisiana for reshoots. Since a significant portion of those scenes involved Natasha Romanoff, Scarlett had no choice but to report to the set first.

Duke, on the other hand, went to Wellington alone. He hadn't come to New Zealand strictly for a vacation; he also needed to visit James Cameron's set.

In the first half of the year, James Cameron's new film, code-named Project 880, had officially entered pre-production. Knowing his style, they were a long way off from casting actors, let alone shooting, but the crucial preliminary prep work had already begun.

Right off the plane, Duke headed straight for Weta Studio. There, inside one of the professional soundstages, he found James Cameron.

Although the two couldn't really be called close friends, Duke was one of the film's bosses, holding a one-third investment stake. He also carried a producer credit on the project, granting him the authority to look into certain matters.

However, Duke knew exactly how to deal with James Cameron: unless it involved financial issues, he wouldn't interfere with the man's work.

James Cameron received him and provided a brief overview of the project.

Cameron knew full well that to secure enough authority over the film, he needed to instill immense confidence in the investors and producers.

Walking through the bustling soundstage, James Cameron pointed out some of the set and equipment layouts.

"I'll be shooting the film in 3D," Cameron said, outlining his plans. "Certain scenes will use an IMAX Camera. I've already discussed it with Twentieth Century Fox; upon release, it will be screened in three formats: standard 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D."

Duke nodded. "The number of 3D screens is rapidly increasing, and higher ticket prices are a guarantee for the box office."

Talking about anything else was pointless. Both he and James Cameron knew this investment was entirely about making money.

Approaching a brand-new piece of filming equipment, Duke stopped and circled it. This camera was completely different from both traditional 3D cameras and the IMAX Cameras he had used in the past.

"James, is this the new equipment you developed?" Duke asked.

"That's right," James Cameron said with a hint of pride. "The film will primarily be shot with this."

Duke had only asked in passing; he didn't press for details. Compared to every other director in the world, James Cameron was the true pioneer of film technology.

As an investor, Duke had also done his homework.

As early as 2000, James Cameron and his partner Vince Pace had begun developing a new filming system with the backing of Sony Electronics. The system used two Sony HDC-F950 HD cameras to shoot, designed to capture an environment with a true stereoscopic feel. This later became the 3-D Virtual Image Capture Camera System.

The technology saw its first application in 2003 in the duo's collaborative IMAX documentary, Ghosts of the Abyss.

Following that, James Cameron even had his peers help test the technology. The renowned cult film director Robert Rodriguez experimented with it on Spy Kids and Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Afterward, the vast majority of 3D stereoscopic films adopted this exact method for shooting.

Over the past few years, Cameron had continuously refined the technology, allowing it to deliver stronger, more dynamic 3D effects without making the audience dizzy. Through multiple experiments and applications, it matured by the day, ultimately leading to its use in Avatar.

It was safe to say that without the experiments and improvements of the past few years, Avatar would never have been born.

This was exactly why Duke had never considered taking on Avatar himself. The idea that someone could just pull the script out of thin air and start shooting was an unbelievable tall tale.

That wasn't all. As James Cameron continued the tour, Duke saw several more pieces of new equipment—all brand-new technologies developed and refined by the "King of the World" for his new film.

The vast majority of the visuals in Avatar had to rely on CGI. Therefore, the live-action performances and the final CG graphics had to mesh seamlessly during shooting.

To meet this requirement, Cameron specifically developed a Virtual Camera to allow for more accurate previews while filming live-action performances. It observed the actors' movements and their interactions with the virtual world in real time, letting the director adjust and guide every scene on the spot.

While the actors performed, he could use a nearby LCD screen to preview them "transforming" into nearly three-meter-tall blue Na'vi walking across Planet Pandora.

According to Cameron, the footage rendered by this new technology was much more intuitive. It allowed the producers to instantly see what the virtual background in the live-action shots would look like and accurately judge whether it matched the desired final frame.

"It's like a powerful game engine," Cameron told Duke. "If I want to fly in the air or change the perspective, I can do it instantly. I can even turn the entire scene into a 50:1 model set and weave right through it."

Furthermore, unlike the Motion Capture films Duke had shot in the past, such as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Iron Man, James Cameron had completely revolutionized the technology.

Not only did the actors need to wear skintight suits covered in capture markers during shooting, but the soundstage was also rigged with a "Collaborative Camera" system to pull off the feat.

This system consisted of hundreds of digital cameras clustered across the ceiling of the soundstage, forming a capture stage.

By tracking the near-infrared spectrum reflections cast by on-set LED lights, the cameras transmitted the captured data into a centralized system. It then combined and analyzed those spectral reflections against the actors' movements to generate a three-dimensional model of the entire shot.

Afterward, this data was mapped for post-production computer processing, enabling the CG environments to achieve a highly photorealistic effect.

From a purely technical standpoint, every director in the world would have to bow their heads in shame before James Cameron.

In Duke's eyes, this on-set tyrant was a true cinematic genius. Even if the directors who won the Golden Lion, Golden Bear, Palme d'Or, or even the Golden Statuette refused to accept it, and even if critics relentlessly disparaged the "big ship," it could not change one fundamental fact: James Cameron had contributed far, far more to the development of the entire film industry than they ever could!

After a brief tour of the soundstage, Duke didn't linger.

"James, if you need anything, just give me a call directly," he said as he prepared to leave.

"You have that much confidence in me?" James Cameron blurted out.

Duke shrugged. "We had a pleasant and highly successful collaboration on Titanic."

Thinking back to the full support Duke had given him on Titanic all those years ago, James Cameron let out a soft sigh.

"The success of Titanic was indeed deeply satisfying," Cameron said. "Afterward, I shot a few documentaries, and you could say I essentially drifted away from the mainstream circles. I needed a change in how I worked and lived. Filming movies like that is sheer torture."

He gestured with his hands.

"I've been gone for almost ten years, and now I'm back. I know a lot of people are looking forward to it, but even more are skeptical. They're wondering if I can still direct a movie. It couldn't be more normal for them to think that way."

Duke just watched him quietly. This director, who had strayed so far from the mainstream film industry, seemed to be feeling rather emotional.

"The box office for Titanic? It was undeniably phenomenal." James Cameron shook his head, speaking very seriously. "I don't think Avatar can break Titanic's box office record, and my goal in making this film isn't to break anything anyway. Moreover, I don't believe any movie will surpass that record in the next few years. As long as Avatar makes money for investors like you, I'll be more than happy."

It seemed James Cameron himself lacked confidence in that regard.

Of course, if not for the rapid development of 3D and IMAX, Duke wouldn't have thought Avatar was guaranteed to clear the hurdle set by the "big ship" either.

The rise in ticket prices was an impossible factor to ignore.

The news of James Cameron prepping his new film in Wellington had long been leaked by Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox. By the time Duke was leaving, he was instantly surrounded by a throng of media reporters.

"Director Rosenberg..."

A reporter from North America shoved a microphone forward, fighting past the security guards and Duke's own bodyguards.

"Rumor has it that investors, yourself included, have provided Director Cameron with a budget far exceeding that of Titanic. James Cameron has been out of the mainstream film circle for so long—do you all still have confidence in him?"

"I am extremely confident in James's new project," Duke stated simply. "James Cameron's artistic charm is universally recognized. I don't think anyone would doubt his commercial value to the film industry."

After that, under the protection of his bodyguards, he slipped into the car he had arrived in, ignoring the mob of reporters.

"To Mount Victoria," he told the driver.

He still owned a vacation manor at the foot of Mount Victoria, purchased back when they were filming The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Afterward, he would occasionally come out to vacation with Ivanka Trump. Once the two drifted apart, however, Duke rarely visited the place, instead entrusting the estate to a professional estate management company.

A while ago, Tom Cruise had called him. He and Nicole Kidman had bought a massive farm in Australia and invited him to come take a look. They even suggested that if he was interested, he could buy a property nearby so they could be neighbors.

Duke was genuinely a bit interested in the vast, relatively cheap land of Australia. Many of the wild animals there lacked natural predators; if he established a hunting ground, he could fly over every year to hunt and unwind.

The reason Duke was heading to the foot of Mount Victoria today was that someone had asked to meet him.

They hadn't seen each other face-to-face in several years. The fact that the other party had arranged to meet him in New Zealand—the place where it all began—perhaps carried some special significance. Maybe it was an attempt to make him recall their fond memories together and go a little softer on certain matters.