Making Magic: The Cinematic Innovations of James Cameron

James Cameron

Many people simply know James Cameron as the Canadian director who made films such as The Terminator, Titanic, and Avatar, but he is much more than a mere filmmaker. James Cameron is renowned in the film industry for pioneering new technologies. He has done for film what Walt Disney has done for animation, by taking risks and setting new precedents. Let's take a look at some of the innovative things Cameron has done that helped his movies gross over 6 billion dollars.

Fusion 3-D Camera System

Fusion 3-D Camera System

The Fusion 3-D Camera System was co-created by James Cameron to record film in stereoscopic 3-D. It works by combining two HD cameras that film a scene simultaneously allowing editors to digitally overlap the image giving the illusion of three dimensions when finished. Cameron's system has been used in such films as Avatar, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tron: Legacy, and Life of Pi.

Simulcam

Simulcam was invented for the filming of Avatar. It takes what the actors are doing and instantly transforms their actions into the world of Avatar. Movements can be seen as if the CGI characters were performing them. This instant digital representation took a lot of the guesswork out of making Avatar for Cameron. He didn't have to wait until post-production to see if something didn't look quite right. He could make changes on the fly with absolute certainty, which is invaluable for a filmmaker. 

Underwater Dolly

James Cameron's Underwater Dolly

James Cameron's Underwater Dolly hasn't actually been used in filmmaking yet, but it will be. It's a propeller/suit system that attaches to a camera and allows the camera operator to move seamlessly through water creating smooth and fluid shots. With this new device, it is expected that future underwater scenes will be as smooth as land-based ones, which will open up a world of possibilities for filmmakers.

In summation, James Cameron is not just a wonderful director, but also an amazing theatrical innovator. His inventions and innovations will be used for years to come to make movies as realistic as possible. He's already helped spark the 3-D revolution. What comes next, Cameron only knows.

Innovation in Web Development

Web development has changed drastically over the years. At one time, even though a developer may have had a great vision, he or she was only able to create a rudimentary "finger painting" representation of his or her idea. Now, with all of the technologies available, a developer can create the full fresco. No longer encumbered by lack of tools, web developers all over the world are turning 1's and 0's into a new type of interactive art. Let's take a look at the some of the tools that caused this internet revolution.

Apple.com July, 1997 via WaybackMachine

1989: The Invention of HyperText Markup Language (HTML)

A huge part of web innovation is the advancements made in HTML. HTML is a markup language that tells web browsers where elements of a webpage belong. It was invented in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee as way for physicists in Switzerland to share text documents over a network. Its current version, HTML5, is a markup powerhouse with tons new of classes and structuring systems and a much simpler syntax. HTML is used on every single website in the world, and one of the most important tools that helped provide us with the modern web.

Apple.com December 2012

1996: The Introduction of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

After HTML, came CSS. CSS is a style sheet language that allows developers to design beautiful webpages. CSS is to HTML as a cover is to a book, it's the look and feel of the information you see. It is used to add color, change text, and (as of CSS3) move and animate objects on screen. (Example) CSS is the paint to the artist's canvas. Without it, the web would be bland and generic, or rely entirely on images, which would cause exorbitant load times.

Adobe Dreamweaver CS6, an all-in-one web development tool.

1994: JavaScript Begins Making the Web Dynamic

JavaScript is a scripting language used to make things happen on your webpage. Chances are, when you click a button, fill out a form, or see a popup box, JavaScript was behind it. It allowed web developers to use if-then statements to make onscreen objects react to user input. It it also used to design complicated animations that CSS isn't yet equipped to handle. It works seamlessly with HTML and CSS to provide a wonderful and interactive experience. JavaScript is an integral part of today's web.

Database structure of phpMyAdmin, the backbone of a website.

1995: PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) Appears 

PHP is a server-side scripting language that organizes all of a website's data (images, articles, passwords, users, etc...) on the web server and can then "call" needed information to the webpage. It is the brain of the website. It also allows developers to use the same information in multiple places of a website without saving multiple copies of said information. It is dynamic, light on the server, and powerful.

Mosaic, the world's first web browser.

1993: Browsers are Born

Now that we've gone over the great tools used to create websites, we should take a look at what's used to view websites. Web browsers, such as: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and IE take all of the information hosted on a web server and neatly display it on your computer. Not all web browsers are created equal, however. Each browser is slightly different (the most unique being Internet Explorer) and requires web developers to create multiple versions of code to make their websites cross-compatible. Certain standards are emerging, such as Apple's WebKit layout engine that has currently been adopted by Safari and Chrome. Hopefully, these standards will make it easier for developers to get their ideas across without having to worry about how different browsers will display it.

2012: The Modern Web

As you can see, a lot of time and effort went into making the Internet what it is today. Today's web developers wouldn't be able to do what they are doing if it weren't for the work of yesterday's innovators. The web will get better, but for now, what we already have is pretty amazing. HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP (side note, these languages are usually learned in the order presented by web developers) can do just about anything, all they need it the right developer to make them work.