Chapter 109 | Magical shots

After the screen test was done and dusted, the contracts were given to Liam and Zoe which meant that they finally got the roles of Jake Sully and Neytiri.

And then, the next part was to shift the focus to the other actors who were already chosen before the trip, and Mason had secured the deals with the respective agencies and the actors.

Within no time, the CGI room with a green screen to shoot a lot of scenes was prepared. The entire responsibility was given off to the VFX team, and in the meantime, Ian had a meeting with Raelynn, who was also in the team as a cinematographer.

The shooting had started a few weeks ago. Things had been going great considering all the support the production got.

"Good morning, Ian," Raelynn said as soon as she walked inside Ian's office.

"Good morning, how have things been going for you?" Ian questioned back.

"Well as far as I'm concerned the filming is going great, and there's nothing much to complain about. If I'm being honest, I can that I'm waiting for the final product patiently,"

"Haha. Yeah, aren't we all though? Anyway, the thing is we can go tomorrow, with the actors, and shoot the necessary scenes. And the locations are already settled, so it would not be that much of a problem," Ian said while taking a sip from his coffee.

"Yeah, sure. I have to meet Niko on my way, I'll get going,"

"Okay,"

Ian went back to the work he had been doing on his laptop, while the coffee kept going down his body.

-

"Action!"

Ian gave off the command to start the shooting for the scene they were taking inside the studio.

The motion capture suits for the actors were already prepared, therefore the VFX and CGI department was in charge of the actors to look like avatars and still retain their emotions.

Nevertheless, the shooting began.

The original movie had taken four years to create from pre-production to the release— yes. Four. years. More than that, To help the actors prepare for their roles, director James Cameron took the cast and crew to Hawaii, where they spent their days trekking through the forests and jungles to get a better sense of what it would be like to live and move around in the jungle on Pandora since there would not be any actual jungle sets to aid and guide the actors and crew.

Zoe Saldana even dressed up as a warrior during these journeys, complete with an alien tail symbolic of the one her character has in the movie. These hikes were only done during the daytime, however, as the cast and crew spent their nights at a Four Seasons hotel.

That was where Ian took inspiration for the trip.

When it came to the original movie, the movie director in Ian's world—James Cameron had done lots of unexpected things with the movie. He had also wanted an unknown actor to play Jake Sully because it would give the character a "real" quality--the guy you want to have a beer with, who ultimately becomes the leader who transforms a whole world.

The scene they were currently shooting included Liam in the great leonopteryx. Beside him was Zoe who was ready to take the same scene.

The studio was already filled with equipment; equipment that made the ground floor like a forest. And currently, Liam was on huge machine-like built-up equipment, which made him appear as if he was on the large flying animal which was native to Pandora.

The machine was not set far away from the ground, but low and yet it had wings structure to hold onto, just like how the animal had its features.

"Cut! No… The struggle should be visible, Liam. Okay, I'll help you with it, but you have to try to keep your ground, okay?"

Ian questioned Liam who had his eyes focused on the front, and was covered with different types of gadgets. The gadgets were made so that their expressions would be visibly clear while doing the CGI and VFX.

"Yeah, okay," Liam said with a nod.

"Roll camera… Action!"

As soon as the commands were out, Liam got into the role.

He laughed as the artificial wind blew on his face—and got into the feeling of riding a flying animal. He looked at the girl beside Liam and his face lifted to a smile. From behind Ian kept moving his belted cloth so that the movements looked natural.

-

Raelynn and Ian were once again on the cruise. But this time, the team was limited. Ian had left Niko and the team from Renner Studios back in LA, but he came with Raelynn.

They were at the location once again to get the final shots of the underwater scenes.

"I seriously am in awe at how good the movie is going so far. I knew this was possible, but by the way, you handled the scenes, it feels like you already have the movie in your head and you are focusing on the goal of it so that you can get clear shots to reach the point of what you have in your mind," Raelynn said.

They both were standing on the front deck of the cruise. The wind was sweeping all of her dark blonde hair back from her face. And her brown eyes squinted from the harsh wind.

The sea was calm, but something about the moment gave Ian to see the beauty that was right in front of him.

Her sharp eyes, thin nose, and prominent lips made the little sight in front of Ian even more beautiful.

Ian cleared his throat when she suddenly turned to look at him. It was because he had stopped responding to her, and she was waiting for an answer. "If we're being completely honest here, I'd like to say that I do have the perfect images running in my mind. And yes, I do aim for them, or to make them even better,"

"Ah, this feels great isn't it?" Raelynn said and kept looking at the shore.

"Mhm.."

Both of them felt it for a moment. The same feeling they had during the entire trip before, every time they saw each other, and even now— the emotional and the arousing tension, which almost brought goosebumps to her entire body, once again started to come within now that they both were alone.

This time it was Raelynn who cleared her throat.

"We'd be right where we were the other day right? It wouldn't be any problem considering this time we have all of our equipment with us," She said.

"Yeah, I just hope we can get those magical shots we planned that day."

"Well don't worry, even if it won't be the same, it'd be better," She said and walked inside to announce to the team that they were close to stopping the cruise.

Ian sighed while a hand raked through his hair for what he felt while being in her presence. Although both of them had the same feeling equally, none of them acted upon it. She talked as if everything was normal, and so did he.

Looking back at the calm sea, his thoughts ran back to the movie process.

[...] The necessary shots were taken within two days, and they were done and dusted with the task they came here for.

"Ah! These shots are pretty nice actually, might help a lot!"

"I know right, I was stunned when I first saw this one, and that… Both are good, oh and this jellyfish…!"

"I'm so tired! I'll sleep a bit!"

They had so many different conversations going on, one after another while they were heading back to the airport, on a bus. Some were asleep but some others were excited about the shots already. Among them, Ian and Raelynn were talking more about the technical side of the story.

-

Two Months Later.

Loud claps erupted through the studio. It had been two and half months spent filming inside the studio with the green screen.

*claps* *claps* *claps* *whistles*

"It's a wrap everyone! Gather here!" Ian said standing on the chair so that everyone could see him.

"Yet again, after the efforts of months, we are finally here! The real movie production starts now! I'm not belittling any effort by any of you, but the editing, CGI, and VFX work play the most important role in this movie. Anyway, thank you so much for everything that you have contributed to the movie, individually and as a team. Looking forward to meeting everyone again!"

Ian said and everyone clapped. Just as he was done talking, the CEO of Goofy— Jeff Sanson walked in.

"Ah fuck! My back feels numb from all the jumping and dying!"

"Now to think back about it all, I feel like this was one of the best movies that I've ever acted in!"

"I can't believe it's over!"

"Thanks, Ian, see you soon!"

"Thank you so much for the opportunity, Mr. Renner!"

The talks among the people and the crew didn't stop for some more time. Many people hugged each other and some even thanked Ian Renner for everything. The end of the shooting was just the beginning of the movie—everyone knew.

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