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Film Techniques of James Cameron

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James Cameron was born on August 16, 1954 in Ontario Canada. He later moved to California in 1971 to attend California State University to major in Physics. After leaving college, he decided to do pursue his passion for screenwriting. Eventually, in 1978, he got his first job as a miniature set builder for the movie Battle Beyond the Stars (1980). He later then got his first real directing job for the movie Piranha Part Two: The Spawning(1981). Throughout Cameron's directing career, he has won many awards for his films. For one of his most famous movies, Titanic, he had won an Academy Award for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Film Editing. Another of his famous movies, Avatar, he had won a Golden Globe for best director. He has won awards from all over the world including; Norway, France and the UK. With many awards under his belt it only goes to show that he has amazing film technique and creative ideas that are brought to table in the film industry. Three of Cameron's most famous films are Titanic, Avatar and the Terminator trilogy .In most of the James Cameron films, he tends to stick to the genre of Science Fiction. In two of his major movies, Terminator and Avatar they were Science Fiction. His intended audience often changes. With the movie Terminator, it is an adult intended audience with the dynamic plot line and a lot of killing and action scenes. In Avatar, it is more of a mystical universe with different creatures and that is directed to young adults and teenagers. Titanic is a movie more geared towards adults. Titanic however is not a science fiction movie, it is based on a real event that happened many years ago. Terminator (1984) is a movie about a robot that is sent back into the past to kill a women by the name of Sarah Conner. In the future, Sarah Conner gives birth to her son, John Conner, who then grows up to save the human race after the nuclear holocaust. The Terminator is a robot designed to look and act like a human and will stop at nothing to kill Sarah Conner. The Terminator has a famous line that almost anyone can recognize is, "I'll be back". A man by the name of Kyle Reese volunteers to go back into the past the save Sarah from being killed. Kyle was one of the men that was saved by John, Sarah's son. Kyle and Sarah grow close till a tragic ending happens that is unexpected. Something that gives this film so much suspense and action is the film techniques that Cameron used. There was a lot of laser and lightening special effects that look like a glimpse into the future. The choice of intense music increased the tension in the action scenes, then creating a dramatic reaction from all the viewers. Throughout the movie there are many jump-cuts during the action scene to show the fast-paced activity on the screen. Most of the shots are mid shots, showing the characters only partially. Lighting played a very big part in the suspense aspect of the film. Majority of the film was shot in low light giving the vibe that the next thing that could happen is unexpected. The lead actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, played a vital role that only he could do. Schwarzenegger played the terminator who had a very powerful characteristics, which is why he was a perfect fit. The techniques played a huge role in the reaction of the viewers and Cameron did an outstanding job in creating a sense of action and suspense throughout the film. In the fast-paced and exciting film, many critics had positive reviews. From IMDb, it was given 8.1 out of 10 stars with over 400,000 votes. Overall, I'm not a major fan of science fiction films, however I did like the complexity and suspense it created. It was very well directed and the special effects and sounds effects gave the film a sense of action and suspense that always kept the viewers on the edge of their seats. Alan Jones, from Radio Times wrote, "Wittily written with a nice eye for sharp detail, i

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