What do you think the most successful filmmaker of all time is doing these days? For one, he was here at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) to receive the Attenborough Award for Excellence in Nature Filmmaking. Now this may seem like a hokey way to coax the director of “The Abyss,” “Aliens” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” to make an appearance, but, believe it or not, the James Cameron witnessed that night was not the “King of the World” he seemed at the Oscars. The SBIFF grants the award for excellence in nature films and advances in natural film techniques. Pardon the pun, but it would seem that James Cameron has turned over a new leaf. Since making “Titanic,” which is currently closing in on 2 billion dollars worldwide, Cameron has forged ahead, making four documentaries about the deep sea. “Heart of the Ocean,” “Aliens of the Deep” and, most notably, “Volcanoes of the Deep Sea” garnered James Cameron significant publicity and fame among the natural society world. Cameron, however, was more interested in discussing all the technological advances that he has made over the years than the fame. “Every picture needed something new that wasn’t even invented yet, so I set out to build what I needed and it ended up being something that everyone was thankful for afterward,” remarked Cameron. Of his many inventions was the first 3-D high-definition digital IMAX camera, which he used in making “Ghosts of the Abyss.” More recently, Cameron developed a high-speed fiber optic cable that he used to transmit live picture from the Titanic, which lies almost 3 miles below the surface of the ocean. Cameron’s work has loosely revolved around the ocean, a subject that has interested him for his entire career. As for the answer to the question of what is next for James Cameron, the answer simply is whatever he wants.