Looking forward to more from Pandora in 2025? In the meantime, dive into the Oscar-winning visual effects behind Avatar: The Way of Water with Wētā FX. We recently caught up with Sam Cole, Sequence VFX Supervisor at the New Zealand-based studio to find out how the team brought director James Cameron’s vision to life using Katana, Mari, and Nuke.
Find out how the team — which included a massive 101 Lighting TDs — grappled with 18.5 petabytes of data to light 3,200 shots, and how they tackled the enormous challenge of merging plate-based photographic water with CGI water.
“Working on Avatar: The Way of Water for such a long period of time — it's not just a film. It's like a chapter in our lives,” says Sam.
Find out how the team — which included a massive 101 Lighting TDs — grappled with 18.5 petabytes of data to light 3,200 shots, and how they tackled the enormous challenge of merging plate-based photographic water with CGI water.
“Working on Avatar: The Way of Water for such a long period of time — it's not just a film. It's like a chapter in our lives,” says Sam.
Thinking of updating your pipeline? Find out what’s new in Katana 7.0, Mari 7.0, and Nuke 15.0.
