This 142-page magazine goes deep on 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'

All the major innovations made on the latest James Cameron film.

Issue #52 of befores & afters magazine covers the visual effects of Avatar: Fire and Ash.

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On Avatar: The Way of Water, Wētā FX had already introduced several innovations in its workflows. Among them were a neural network-based facial technology (APFS: Anatomically Plausible Facial System), a new water toolset (Pahi), an in-house simulation framework (Loki), and real-time depth compositing. The visual effects studio continued to build upon those earlier advancements for Fire and Ash, while adding to them with new developments in fire simulations (Kora), skin deformation (BodyOpt), and other technologies.

In this special issue of befores & afters magazine — 142 pages long! — we talk to key members of the VFX team and break down several of Fire and Ash’s key visual effects sequences, major environments, landmark characters and creatures, and the new VFX technology employed on the film.