Cameron: 'Watching Avatar on iPhone is Dumb'
James Cameron doesn't recommend watching Avatar on an iPhone or laptop.
Recently filmmaker James Cameron said that watching his latest flick, Avatar, on the iPhone is dumb. He shoots down laptops too, saying that the characters are just too small to see on either platform. According to Blu-ray.com, the comments came during a press conference promoting the movie's Blu-ray release on April 22. Cameron and producer Jon Landau also presented scenes from the upcoming disc.
"I don't feel that I'm making movies for iPhones," he said. "If someone wants to watch it on an iPhone, I'm not going to stop them, especially if they're paying for it, but I don't recommend it. I think it's dumb, when you have characters that are so small in the frame that they're not visible."
He goes on to say that he's trying to make "an epic," and that there's a limit that you wouldn't want to go below in terms of size. "I don't know," he added. "I've never watched Avatar on a laptop. I guess it probably works, but I don't recommend it. What I recommend is getting the coffee table out of the way and sticking your couch about four feet from your TV."
The April 22 launch of Avatar on Blu-ray will not contain 3D content-- that version won't hit the market until the end of the year. Instead, the Blu-ray and DVD hitting the streets next month will feature nothing but the movie and accompanying menu, making full use of the discs' storage in order to achieve the highest quality.
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" Instead, the Blu-ray and DVD hitting the streets next month will feature nothing but the movie and accompanying menu, making full use of the discs' storage in order to achieve the highest quality."
Epic.
So basically, screens 21" or above? I'd say any less than 42" is dumb.
Dear Mr. Cameron, no movie is too big or too epic to be seen on a lowly laptop, or even an iphone. The only think that is too big, apparently, is your ego.
Sincerely,
SP
To me the same goes for streaming movies for laptops or desktops for that matter, the compression and resolution of the final streamed content does nothing more than fatten the pockets of the ISP's at the end of every month when you go over you ever more measly download quota.
I think watching any movie on any 4'' screen is dumb
If it's dumb then he's saying his story isn't worth watching, that he's just creating cool graphics.
The story of Avatar really isn't worth watching. It was a pretty movie, and not a bad movie, but the story is definitely not its strong suit.
"What I recommend is getting the coffee table out of the way and sticking your couch about four feet from your TV."
Well said, James. Well said.
I totally agree with him on this one.
I really don't see how anyone would want to watch the movie on anything but a huge 3D display. I can't imagine next months 2D bluray selling too well. Aside from the 3D, the movie wasn't very noteworthy IMO.
That's kinda pointless. After a certain bit rate you get diminishing returns in quality. This is especially true with Blu-Ray because of the huge storage capacity and more efficient codecs like h.264/AVC
I actually dislike watching things on very large televisions.
If you have sufficient resolution and are sitting close enough to the screen, then you won't have any problems.
My 12" laptop screen is subjectively as big as a 30" television across the room would be because it's only a foot and a half away from my face.
Leaving yourself less than about 8' between yourself and your TV completely defeats the purpose of having a reasonably-sized HDTV. You're wasting a huge amount of money buying a 37" or larger 1080p television and blu-ray player if you're going to sit 4' away from it.
Some people actually don't care about the quality of what they are watching, thus iphone movies are fine. Look at everyone with ipod's that think they have high quality sound. I think those people are stupid, a movie is a complete experience, designed to have audio and visual "make" the story. If you cut out 70% of it (crappy sound, hard to see subjects) you're left with basically only the story, not the emotional tie-ins that convey the feeling of the story.
In a related story, James Cameron is going project AVATAR onto the surface of the entire moon in an effort to finally find a screen he deems large enough to portray his new epic
"in fact, watching it on a TV is not good enough, only watch this thing at home, on a imax, in 3d.
What I recommend is getting the coffee table out of the way and sticking an exercise machine in front of the TV you lazy fat a*S, Americans..., present company included.
LOL
that exercise machine you are referring too is just too noisy to workout and watch a movie. Id rather enjoy the Blu-Ray on my 55" LED 1080p Samsung w/ 5.1 Surround Sound
and then workout...
What the last paragraph actually means : The April 22nd launch will be barebones to justify the 70 double-dip versions that'll come out over the next 10 years.
Dear Mr. Cameron, no movie is too big or too epic to be seen on a lowly laptop, or even an iphone. The only think that is too big, apparently, is your ego.Sincerely,SP
I like how you abbreviated your internet nickname.
Leaving yourself less than about 8' between yourself and your TV completely defeats the purpose of having a reasonably-sized HDTV. You're wasting a huge amount of money buying a 37" or larger 1080p television and blu-ray player if you're going to sit 4' away from it.
Oh man, there is SO much WRONG with this statement... let me begin here:
http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/09/ [...] reen-size/
For the graph-impaired: for a 37" 1080p set, you MUST sit less than 5' from the set to see 1080p. If you wanted to sit 8' away as the clueless restatement3dofted suggests, you need a set AT LEAST 52" to START seeing the benefits of 1080p, and 70+ inches to see FULL benefit of 1080p.
Fixed it for ya James.
Anyway, +1 to watching any movie on a small screen being dumb. Reminds me of an article by JeffK when the PSP came out. Basically something along the lines of "Thanks Sony, I always wanted to pay extra to watch a movie on a tiny 4-inch screen!"
I actually dislike watching things on very large televisions. If you have sufficient resolution and are sitting close enough to the screen, then you won't have any problems. My 12" laptop screen is subjectively as big as a 30" television across the room would be because it's only a foot and a half away from my face.
how are those awesome laptop speakers working out for ya? lolz
IF you have a decent set of eyes, you should be fine on a 17" or 19" laptop.
iPhone - yes dumb
laptop - no unless you watch the laptop from 4+ feet away.
Um... I saw the movie in IMAX 3D and I'm just going to throw this out there...
Watching Avatar on an iPhone is like playing Crysis on your iPhone. Even if you get it to run, you're still missing out.
one mans comment vs the billions on earth
RIIIIIIIGHT!
one mans comment vs the billions on earth
RIIIIIIIGHT!
I like it when guys like this properly use the term epic in the industry rather than the banter that is shoveled at us from 4chan all the time. it is always good to see what the directors recommend for viewing of their movies. most of the time it is pretty accurate.
Would I watch this or any other epic movie on my PMP, probably not the first time, but if I am bored waiting at the doctors office and ran out of Family Guy or Archer episodes to watch, then I would. But regardless, I wish people would stop telling us how to enjoy our entertainment...
I'll be enjoying it on my 60" Bravia rear-projection HDTV with my PS3
Wow way to entice a backlash! Ive had this movie on my iphone as well as others for months in dvd quality and I can view them just fine. I also have 2 blu ray players and a 46" Samsung LED HDTV and I was planning on buying this on Blu but maybe not now... To have so much money and say something as idiotic as that lol... @Sliem above its not dumb to watch movies on iphone something you obviously know nothing about before you comment on it.
watching the DVD is also dumb. Better watch the blu-ray version, and with surround sound!