AVATAR Special
What is Avatar?
Avatar is a 2009 American
science
fiction epic
film written and directed by James
Cameron and starring Sam
Worthington, Zoe
Saldana, Sigourney
Weaver, Michelle
Rodriguez and Stephen
Lang. The film is set in the year 2154
on Pandora, a moon
in the Alpha
Centauri star system. Humans are engaged in mining Pandora's reserves of a
precious mineral,
while the Na'vi—a
race of indigenous
humanoids—resist the colonists' expansion, which threatens the continued
existence of the Na'vi and the Pandoran ecosystem.
The film's title refers to the genetically
engineered bodies used by the film's characters to interact with the Na'vi.
Avatar had been in development since 1994 by Cameron,
who wrote an 80-page scriptment
for the film. Filming was supposed to take place after the completion of Titanic,
and the film would have been released in 1999, but according to Cameron,
"technology needed to catch up" with his vision of the film. In early
2006, Cameron developed the script,
as well as the the
language and culture
of the Na'vi. He mentioned that sequels are possible if Avatar is
successful and in response to the film's success Cameron confirmed that there
will be another. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(2009_film)
What are DVDs?
DVD, also known as Digital
Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc, is an optical
disc storage
media format, and was invented in 1995.
Its main uses are video
and data storage.
DVDs are of the same dimensions as compact discs (CDs),
but store more than six times as much data.
Variations of the term DVD often describe the way data
is stored on the discs: DVD-ROM (read only memory) has data that can only be
read and not written; DVD-R
and DVD+R
(recordable) can record data only once, and then function as a DVD-ROM; DVD-RW
(re-writable), DVD+RW,
and DVD-RAM
(random access memory) can all record and erase data multiple times. The
wavelength used by standard DVD lasers is 650 nm;[4]
thus, the light has a red
color.
DVD-Video
and DVD-Audio
discs refer to properly formatted and structured video and audio content,
respectively. Other types of DVDs, including those with video content, may be
referred to as DVD Data discs. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvd
What is Blu-Ray?
Blu-ray Disc (also known as BD
or Blu-Ray) is an optical
disc storage
medium designed to supersede the standard DVD
format.
Its main uses are for storing high-definition
video, PlayStation
3 video games, and other data,
with up to 25 GB per single layered, and 50 GB per dual layered disc prototypes.
Although these numbers represent the standard storage for Blu-Ray drives, the
specification is open-ended, with the upper theoretical storage limit left
unclear. 200 GB discs are available, and 100 GB discs are readable without extra
equipment or modified firmware. The disc has the same physical dimensions as
standard DVDs and CDs.
The name Blu-ray Disc derives from the blue-violet
laser used to read the disc. While a standard DVD
uses a 650 nanometer
red laser, Blu-ray uses a shorter wavelength,
a 400 nm blue-violet laser, and allows for almost ten times more data
storage than a DVD.
During the format
war over high-definition optical discs, Blu-ray competed with the HD
DVD format. Toshiba,
the main company supporting HD DVD, ceded in February 2008, and the format
war ended;[3]
in July 2009, Toshiba announced plans to put out its own Blu-ray Disc device by
the end of 2009.
Blu-ray Disc was developed by the Blu-ray
Disc Association, a group representing makers of consumer electronics,
computer hardware, and motion pictures. As of June 2009, more than 1,500 Blu-ray
disc titles are available in Australia,
with 2,500 in Japan,
1,500 in the United
Kingdom, and 2,500 in the United
States and Canada.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc
What are Special Effects?
The illusions used in the film,
television,
theater,
or entertainment
industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special
effects (often abbreviated as SFX, SPFX, or simply FX).
Special effects are traditionally divided into the categories
of optical effects and mechanical effects. With the emergence of
digital film-making tools a greater distinction between special effects and visual
effects has been recognized, with "visual effects" referring to
digital post-production and "special effects" referring to on-set
mechanical effects and in-camera optical effects.
Optical effects (also called photographic effects), are
techniques in which images or film frames are created photographically, either
"in-camera" using multiple
exposure, mattes,
or the Schüfftan
process, or in post-production processes using an optical
printer. An optical effect might be used to place actors or sets against a
different background.
Mechanical effects (also called practical or physical
effects), are usually accomplished during the live-action shooting. This
includes the use of mechanized props,
scenery,
scale
models, pyrotechnics
and Atmospheric Effects: creating physical wind, rain, fog, snow, clouds etc.
Making a car appear to drive by itself, or blowing up a building are examples of
mechanical effects. Mechanical effects are often incorporated into set design
and makeup. For example, a set may be built with break-away doors or walls, or prosthetic
makeup can be used to make an actor look like a monster.
Since the 1990s, computer
generated imagery (CGI) has come to the forefront of special effects
technologies. CGI gives film-makers greater control, and allows many effects to
be accomplished more safely and convincingly – and even, as technology marches
on, at lower costs. As a result, many optical and mechanical effects techniques
have been superseded by CGI. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_effects
What is a 3-D Movie?
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion
picture that provides the illusion
of depth
perception. Derived from stereoscopic
photography, a special motion picture camera is used to record the images as
seen from two perspectives (or computer-generated
imagery generates the two perspectives), and special projection hardware
and/or eyewear are used to provide the illusion of depth when viewing the film.
3-D films are not limited to feature
film theatrical releases; television broadcasts and direct-to-video
films have also incorporated similar methods, primarily for marketing purposes.
3-D films have existed in some form since 1890, but were
largely relegated to a niche in the motion picture industry because of the
costly hardware and processes required to produce and display a 3-D film, and
the lack of a standardized format for all segments of the entertainment
business. Nonetheless, 3-D films were prominently featured in the 1950s and
1980s in American cinema, and are currently experiencing a worldwide resurgence
coinciding with the development of computer-generated
imagery and the introduction of high-definition
video standards. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3d_movie
What are Avatars?
In Hinduism,
Avatar or Avatāra
(Devanagari
अवतार,
Sanskrit
for "descent" [viz., from heaven to earth]) refers to a deliberate
descent of a deity from heaven to earth, and is mostly translated into English
as "incarnation",
but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation".
The term is most often associated with Vishnu,
though it has also come to be associated with other deities. Varying lists of
avatars of Vishnu appear in Hindu scriptures, including the ten (Daśāvatāra)
of the Garuda
Purana and the twenty-two avatars in the Bhagavata
Purana, though the latter adds that the incarnations of Vishnu are
innumerable. The avatars of Vishnu are a primary component of Vaishnavism.
An early reference to avatar, and to avatar doctrine, is in the Bhagavad
Gita.[4]
Shiva
and Ganesha
are also described as descending in the form of avatars. The various
manifestations of Devi,
the Divine Mother principal in Hinduism, are also described as avatars or
incarnations by some scholars and followers of Shaktism.
The avatars of Vishnu carry a greater theological prominence than those of other
deities, which some scholars perceive to be imitative of the Vishnu avatar
lists. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar
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