Avatar's Mocap Tech Caused The Cast (Literal) Headaches

Cameron explained in the interview why such a complex rig was needed, knowing that the endless nuances of the human face would not be captured any other way. Subtle eye movements, he said, were the key.

"It's the eyes, and it was also the whole face. We have almost as many muscles in our face as in everything else in our body. So the systems we used before were good at capturing performance we basically did the same thing. But we completely changed the way the face was captured. The way Zoe's mind reacts with her facial muscles is going to be very different from Sam and the other actors. So it wasn't just a question of the perfect CG model for these characters.

Meanwhile, Saldaña felt that such attention to detail was a wonderful way to release the spirituality of the characters; The Na'vi are connected to their planet - in some cases literally (they have psychic tendrils that bond with living creatures). According to her, the technology was secondary to the trust created between the actors and a director who were free to be themselves.

"Everything comes into play, from their physical anatomy to the smallest detail, obviously with Jim guiding us. But then there is the spiritual side of the characters. The Na'vi have no word for 'lie '. They don't live a lie; they don't know what a lie is. Everything they do is so authentic and pure, even the way they turn to address one another. another, has a confidence in him. We would always talk about it.

But that confidence was achieved through throbbing temples. It turns out that early renditions of the face rigs didn't quite match up.