Hard on the heels of her work on Spike Jonze’s ‘Where the Wild Things Are’, Lampeter Media Production graduate Cara Davies is now the video effects co-ordinator for James Cameron’s latest groundbreaking 3D film ‘Avatar’, due for release in December 2009.
As James Cameron, director of multiple oscar award winning ‘Titanic’ explains, “’Avatar’ will make people truly experience something. One more layer of the suspension of disbelief will be removed. All the syn-thespians are photo-realistic. Now that we’ve achieved it, we discovered CG characters in 3D look more real than in 2D. Your brain is cued it’s a real thing not a picture and discounting part of image that makes it look fake. The experience of Avatar will be an experience unlike any other movie.”
This will be the third major cinematic release that Cara has worked on since graduating from Lampeter in July 2007. She was originally employed as a Production Assistant on ‘The Tale of Despereaux’, released in December 2008, where she rubbed shoulders with stars such as Dustin Hoffman, Sigourney Weaver, Tracy Ullman, and Robert Coltrane. She then worked as Production Controller on ‘Where the Wild Things Are’, and has been promoted to Vfx co-ordinator on her latest production.
Cara clearly loves her work with Framestore, even though she has to work long hours, explaining that, “The job is very unpredictable; no two days are the same. As the client is based in LA, calls are made in the early evening, meaning that the hours can vary from 9-6 to 9-midnight. I co-ordinate the 3D modeling, lighting, textures, and many other aspects of the 3D characterization, liaising with specialist effects companies such as Weta and Industrial Light and Magic. It is really exciting work!”
Cara now has her own entry on IMDB, another first for Lampeter – http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2957047
