Avatar: Gas Mask replicas?

the "oxygen tank"
looks like a bike canteen and holder
the kind that clip onto the bike frame

or did someone mention that already?
 
nope - if you both have pics to see that'll great - I wonder if the garage sensor thing was on all Exopacks. All official pics don't have them.
 
big problem... fogging.

Even in Star Trek Reboot, you could see the space jump masks were fogging before the jump to the drill platform. And there were scenes where it seemed like the faces were re-layered, and then reflections added... but well done.

Trek.jpg


Also, perhaps some of the worst faux-anti-fogging was in Mission to Mars. They probably just put green hoods on the actor's heads, with alignment points, then shot their faces and composited it to get this sweet look...

Mars.jpg


Any person who has worn a TK, Fett, you name it-type of helmet... fogging is an issue.

I see that as the largest issue with these masks... anyone note the face masks are blue?

Anybody think that a fine-weave mesh - like a fencing mask - would be good? spray paint in gloss to add specularity... fog is a non-issue.
 
There's no mesh fine enough to create the see-through effect. Either you have to use a positive pressure mask, which pumps air into the mask to avoid fogging, which is not the function of the exopack, use a anti-fogging spray or you'll have to live with the fogging.
 
Having played airsoft in a gas mask before, another problem I see with this design is the lack of decent air valves / inlet filters, like most normal respirators or gas mask have.
If there was no air supply pumped into the mask and it sealed around your face, then you would need quite a few hidden or obscured vent holes to allow the wearer to breath easily when wearing it for a decent period of time surely?
Presumably they were / could be hidden around the extension on the lower front though.
 
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Well, I still think it is from a power respirator mask....keep in mind that they would have to make blue copies of the shield because that's the only way you could get the bluescreen/cgi effects to blend. If it was just a clear shield they wouldn't be able to combine effects. So I don't think it is from a mask and they custom made the shield.

Something else....but not quite there yet....

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Automotive...1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1265147611&sr=8-11
 
Well, I believe the reflections were CG, yes. Not sure if they laid it on top of the glass or the glass was fully CG.

I've seen some behind the shots, I think in the making of specials that are online, and you can see when Jake is rolling off the ship on Pandora for the first time, there is no glass in the mask. So, in at least some situations, the glass was all CG... But they obviously made some with real glass/plastic as well...
 
yeah, that's what I was thinking as well. A lot of factory plexiglass ships with a peel off plastic coating to keep it from getting scratched during shipment.
 
It's also much larger covering the cheeks and chin and the sidelines are straight - I really don't think it will be bringing us much forward, it is definitely custom stuff. Either you are lucky bidding on those props, getting hands on some WETA guys or it'll come as a replica prop or making themself. All other methodes are just a compromise to get close to the Exopack.
 
I think the powered style looks the best so far...another option might be looking at scuba masks...long shot...but who knows. They may be scratch built.
ocean-reef-neptune-full-face-mask_thumb3.jpg
 
Hi,

I make virtual props in Second Life and am on my 3rd round of making these masks and the powered filtration pack. I just bought the film on DVD and am now able to see a few more examples of the mask and pack than I was from the publicity tabletop shot (shown earlier in this thread).

I thought I'd share some observations:

• The film masks probably replaced the lens because no commercial mask seems to be without the interior cone that covers the mouth and nose. I think you are right in your theory that WETA just used an existing mask and replaced the lens with ones they fabricated in-house (as seen in that workshop photo). Having that cone is undesirable because the actors' faces are obscured---the reason for making the full face show and WETA having to create a customized mask.

• The masks seem to have an air supply hose (cyan color in the film) and a black hose that I am guessing is wiring for a communication system. You can see a coil where the black hose/tube enters the mask. There is no coiled section to the cyan colored tube. Also there seem to be some black snap-on tube guides and some sort of squarish button control along the tubes. Could this be a communications control?

• What the box on the right temple is could be anybody's guess. It only can be seen on a few actors, including the door gunner in the chopper when Jake makes his first mission (and is subsequently lost).

• I looked to see if I could find anything like the filtration unit. My guess is that WETA modded an actual filtration unit buy adding that bottle, or it is something else entirely, like a roto-molded canteen or even a spray tank off a bug sprayer or yard fertilizer.

• I have made costume breathing masks before and to keep them from fogging you can blow air into them and have it exit near the mouth

• I am frustrated on the film examples because I cannot tell how or where the tubes attach to the filtration unit. Does anybody have any insight to this?

• The filtration unit is suspended by a web strap that is typically work diagonally across the chest. It is unclear exactly how the strap attaches to the filtration unit but one can presume a strap end attaches to each side. Note that you can sometimes see it worn so that the bottle is sideways and sometimes so that the bottle is on top.

• The film bottles seem to be gloss black with a cyan/blue bottom

That's it for now. I am still tying to make sense of this. Of course, my job is made much easier by the fact I am making a virtual model and not a real one.

Cheers,
Nix
 

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