James Cameron Tells Theaters Exactly How to Run Avatar: Fire and Ash, Including a Chart for Sound and Framing
Director doubles down on the sound, insisting a hands-on mix ensures the film plays perfectly.
James Cameron is not leaving your Avatar: Fire and Ash screening to chance. He sent theaters a nuts-and-bolts note about how to play the movie correctly. It is very him, and honestly, I respect the thoroughness.
What Cameron told theaters to do
The letter is addressed to the folks in the booth and boils down to: please follow the instructions we sent you. Cameron says the Digital Cinema Package comes with a Projection Specification file and a framing chart, and he wants staff to actually use them. He also makes it clear he mixed the movie to play a certain way and expects it to be presented at that level.
- A Projection Specification file and framing chart are included with the DCP, covering light levels, audio setup, and correct framing.
- Technicians should review those materials and make sure picture and sound are calibrated before showtime.
- Cameron says he mixed the film for full dynamic range, from quiet dialogue to big action beats.
- Play it at the reference level of 7.0 on the fader. Translation: do not turn it down.
- He calls projection teams the final, crucial link in how audiences experience Avatar: Fire and Ash, and thanks them for taking it seriously.
Story setup: who is fighting who this time
Fire and Ash picks up after 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water. Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) run into a fresh problem: the Magkwan, led by the very intense Varang (Oona Chaplin). She is not coming alone; Varang has teamed up with Jake's old nemesis, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). So, yes, the hits keep coming for the Sully family.
The tech debate Cameron is happy to have
Some of the franchise's favorite toys, like high frame rate, still rub certain viewers the wrong way. Cameron's response was about as subtle as a banshee flyby and, frankly, kind of perfect:
"I think $2.3 billion says you might be wrong on that. Well, that is the argument from authority. But the argument from artistic is: I happen to like it, and it is my movie."
That is the money argument and the auteur argument, back-to-back.
When you can see it
Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19. If Cameron gets his way, your theater will have the lamps bright, the framing locked, and the sound at 7.0. If not, well, now you know what to side-eye.