James Cameron's films are often at the cutting edge of visual effects technology. Especially in the “Avatar” movies, the heroic blue Navi character is brought to life through performance capture.
But that doesn't mean Cameron is a fan of generative AI.
In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning related to the upcoming release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, the director acknowledged that performance capture (recording an actor's performance as a template for a digital artist) could be similar to genAI. However, in reality, the opposite is true.
“For years, there was a sense of, 'Oh, they're doing something weird with computers, replacing actors,'” Cameron said. “In fact, once you dig deep and realize what we're doing, it becomes a celebration of the actor and director moment.”
In fact, in a segment on CBS, members of the “Avatar” cast perform underwater scenes in a 250,000-gallon aquarium.
“At the other end of the spectrum, you have generative AI that allows you to create characters, create actors, and create performances from scratch using text prompts,” Cameron added. “No, that's horrible…that's exactly what we're not doing.”