[Herald Design Forum] Weta FX CG supervisor Choi Jong-jin on creating photorealistic water in 'Avatar: The Way of Water'

Weta FX CG supervisor Choi Jong-jin describes the photorealistic rendering of water in ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ at the Herald Design Forum held in Seoul on Tuesday. (Lim Se-jun/ The Korea Herald)

Choi Jong-jin, a CG supervisor at Weta FX, the leading visual effects company in the industry, dedicated significant effort to crafting the realistic and stunning water scenes in the 2022 blockbuster "Avatar: The Way of Water."

“The scale of CG work for ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ surpassed anything I’ve encountered in previous films. Two-thirds of all shots in the movie involve water,” Choi explained. “We typically start by shooting reference clips with actors, then create computer simulations that factor in how light interacts with water at various angles and movements.”

A key focus for Choi was the recreation of caustics - the dynamic light patterns seen when sunlight strikes the water's surface and reflects in different directions. “Rendering caustics through CG can take days or even months. To achieve the most realistic water scenes, we invested considerable time creating unique caustic patterns for each lighting scenario,” he noted.

The CG team also worked meticulously to simulate the world under the ocean's surface, incorporating elements like marine snow, which consists of organic material drifting from the upper layers of the ocean to its depths.

Looking ahead, Choi shared insights about ongoing projects.

“We are currently working on ‘Avatar 3,’ where we face new challenges in photorealistic rendering of different elements. As an artist, I’m committed to overcoming these challenges to create beautiful and realistic scenes. I encourage audiences to stay tuned.”

By Hong Yoo(yoohong@heraldcorp.com)