Avatar: The Exhibition - Reviews from web

[Tymian]

Review by Culturemob

Whatever your impressions of James Cameron’s Avatar, there’s no doubting the massive impact it’s had on our film industry and pop culture – and now Seattle’s Science Fiction Museum (SFM) gives us the opportunity to explore this strange new world with its latest exhibition, opening June 4, 2011.
It’s been a busy year for the EMP|SFM, and Avatar: The Exhibition is only the latest outstanding exhibit to be added to its halls. Sci-fi fans have already enjoyed a similar, ongoing exhibition on Battlestar Galactica, while the musical side of the museum is still reeling from the introduction of their major Nirvana exhibition a couple of months ago.
If Avatar: The Exhibition feels different to these other exhibits, however, then it’s only to be expected. After all, most exhibits explore phenomena that have already passed, but Avatar is an ongoing project, with James Cameron promising us two sequels that threaten to turn this into a true Star Wars-style franchise. While much of the Science Fiction Museum harks back to the sci-fi boom of the Sixties and Seventies, Avatar: The Exhibition is about as current as they come.
Curator Brooks Peck has been careful not to include too many spoilers in his exhibition, however, instead taking a snapshot of the series as it stands now, exploring both Cameron’s vision of the planet of Pandora and his use of cutting-edge technology. The exhibition looks set to appeal to both movie buffs and sci-fi geeks alike, and it offers a unique opportunity to explore one of the most influential films in recent memory, and the brand new movie technology that helped bring it to the screen.

The first half of the exhibition deals with James Cameron’s imaginative world-building, delving into the planet of Pandora and the intricate virtual ecosystems that he created to lend the movie a pseudo-realistic edge. The exhibition includes around forty artifacts from the movie, but most engaging are the interactive exhibits, allowing you to get some hands-on experience of the world-building process. A multi-touch interactive table at the exhibition’s entrance provides an amusing look at the preliminary sketches and conceptual art for the world of Pandora, while another panel allows you to try your hand at creating your own alien flora from the building blocks provided by Avatar‘s artists.
Some of the props provide an immediate visual impact too, especially the large AMP suit that looms over the room, and the busts of Mo’at, Neytiri and Jake Sully that were used as a visual reference guide for the movie’s CGI artists. The overhead lighting cycles through daytime and nighttime over a twenty-minute period, so watch out for the brief spell of black light that suddenly illuminates the hidden markings on the busts.
It’s the technology at the end of the exhibition that truly wows, however, so save plenty of time for the virtual camera and motion capture interactive displays. The former is a tool developed by Cameron to help directors visualize and direct a CGI scene, and it allows you to take control of your own virtual camera, circling around and zooming in and out of the virtual scene in front of you. The motion capture display, meanwhile, is a dream come true for wannabe Hollywood actors and actresses, as you follow James Cameron’s direction and the software converts your movements into a CGI scene from the film. The best part is that you can then upload your ‘performance’ to YouTube, for all your friends and family to laugh at later.
Fans of Avatar will undoubtedly be making their way to the EMP|SFM over the next few weeks, but even if Cameron’s movie didn’t inspire you directly this is still a visually exciting and surprisingly engaging exhibition. And with the Battlestar Galactica and Nirvana exhibitions still running too, there’s no better time to visit the EMP.
Entry to Avatar: The Exhibition is included in general admission to the SFM, and tickets are available here. There will also be a number of special events during its opening weekend, including panels with the actors and technical team behind Avatar – for more details check the Avatar opening events schedule.

Source Culturemob