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ISTC 1996
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This article first appeared in
..in 70mm
The 70mm Newsletter |
Written by:
Rene Sørensen, Chief projectionist IMAX Dome, Copenhagen |
Issue 47 - December 1996 |
ISTC 1996, The International Space Theatre
Consortium recently held its 18th meeting in Barcelona, Spain. The 70mm
Association Newsletter reporter Rene Sørensen was on the spot to report
about new films in the Imax format.
The 18th International Space Theatre Consortiums conference was hosted by
IMAX Port Well. The 440 seat IMAX Port Well Theatre is the first theatre in
the world which is able to show both IMAX Dome, IMAX, IMAX 3D and IMAX HD. A
sophisticated means of screen changeover, the Rodo system, allows the Imax
Dome screen to be placed in front of the flat Imax screen safely and
precisely. The theatre is very beautiful, situated on the harbor pier along
with a big shopping center, eight 35mm cinemas and a large underwater
museum. The area is visited by 12 million people per year.
I arrived in Barcelona with my colleagues on September 13, 1996 and on this
first night "The Edge" was on the program. I described this
film in issue #45.
Up bright and early on Saturday the 14th, the first film
was shown at 8 am - "The Great American West" - a great
film, perfectly suited for teaching American history. Afterwards we attended
the first session, Films in Progress, where short sequences of films in
production are shown. The most interesting sequence shown was from "Four
Million Houseguests" - the unseen microscopic world of a charming
country home coming to life in IMAX 3D. Release date: Summer 1997. From "Alaska"
we saw fantastic scenes of northern light and wild life in Alaska. Release
date April 1997. "Wales" - I look forward to this very
amazing and exciting film. The film explores whales socialization, breeding
and migration with a special focus on cetacean communication. Release date:
Fall 1996. And last a few scenes from "Olympic Glory" which
is being filmed during the winter Olympic Games in Japan 1998. Release date:
1999. Quite a big mouthful - and in my opinion a promising future with a lot
of great and serious projects in progress. Time for lunch, which was enjoyed
under the open sky - the weather was fantastic during the whole conference,
so we took every opportunity to stay outside between sessions to catch the
Spanish Indian Summer.
"L5 - First City in Space", presented by IMAX Corporation
in 3D, was the next film on the programme. A spellbinding film. I forgot all
about time and place and all about commenting on technical errors. We
traveled to the year 2096, to the only port city in space, earth's first
international colony. Through the eyes of a little girl growing up in this
unique environment, audience experiences first-hand this incredible orbiting
community and the challanges it must meet to survive in space. Fantastic
graphics, and one step closer to feature films.
"Special Effects" presented by IMAX Corporation in 2D, was
the next film. It takes you behind the scenes and shows you how much work
that lies behind producing special effects for feature films. Effects from "Independence
day", "Jumanji" and last but not least Lucasfilm
Ltds special edition of "Star Wars" were shown. I am always
impressed when I see how much time and money is spent on special effects,
and most of it goes up in smoke in a few minutes. An exciting film - it is
just a shame that only 1/3 of the film is filmed in IMAX; during the rest of
the film only 1/4 of the screen is being used. It was getting late, but we
still had time to enjoy a classical music concert in Palau de La Musica
Catalana. The concert hall was built in 1908 and beautifully decorated with
sculptures and ceramics. The concert was pure pleasure.
Sunday the 15th. The first meeting at 8.00 am concerning Maintenance of IMAX
Theatres. There was no interesting news in this area. Most theatres spend a
lot of time and money on system maintenance, but often forget the exhibition
area and the screen, which is too bad, as the audience always notices things
like that. Next session, Films in Progress #2. The first 3 films were
presented by Ben Strassen from New Wave International from Bruxelles. First
film "Thrill Ride". This film tracks the evolution of the
motion simulator from its beginnings in the aerospace industry to its
currents uses in the entertainment industry as the ultimate hi-tech roller
coaster. Release date: July 1997. "Secrets of the Sand" is
a true story of an eclectic team of amateurs and highly qualified scientists
from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory who have begun to unlock the mysteries
of the empty crater in the heart of Arabia. Release date: Spring 1998. "Opus"
was the last of the 3 films and it seemed quite interesting. A fusion of
sight and sound featuring state-of-the-art computer imagery and traditional
stop motion animation as never before seen in 15/70mm. Release date: 1997
and 1998. The session continued with two other new films from other sources.
"African Elephants", presented by Discovery Channel
Pictures. An old bull elephant speaks with wisdom and humor of his life and
the lives around him, stretched out across the face of Africa. Release date:
Fall 1998. "Mission to Mir", presented by IMAX Corporation.
Behind the scenes at the Russian and US space programs, and how they work
together on Mir. I look very much forward to this film. When you cannot go
out in space yourself, the next best is to experience it in IMAX. Release
date: January 1997.
Also I am looking very much forward to 4 great productions from Greg
MacGillivray. The titles and MacGillivray's perfectionism speak for
themselves, they look so exciting that you just have to see the films: "The
Magic of Flight". This film soars through the history of flight,
from the Wright Brothers to the dramatic high speed acrobatics of the world renowned
Blue Angels. Release date: February 1997. "Amazon". Witness
the immense power, beauty and diversity of the Amazon region, from its
source in the high Andes through the rain forest canopy and into the Amazon
basin. Release date: April 1997. "Caves". This film
explores the geomorphology, biology and conservation of caves. Release date
1998. "Everest". High among the geologic wonders of the
Himalaya, the human body undergoes vital physiological changes as an
international team of climbers struggles to the top of the world. Release
date February 1998.
"Cosmic Voyage" was next on the program. The film was
finished in the beginning of September. So far the best astronomy film I
have seen, it explains our place in the cosmos, large, great and quite easy
to understand. I am sure that the film is going to be a success all over the
world. "Island Adventure" is about the fantastic nature on
an island, near Madagasgar, which shows rain forest, volcanos, waterfalls
etc. After this I could not manage to see more films. The day left me with
many good impressions. Between all the films I got a chance to meet a lot of
interesting people, all talking about large format. I was looking forward to
my bed.
Monday the 16th was not scheduled with a lot of sessions. Technical Update
was about how to use computer effects, however, you need a large computer to
uptain the good quality. You have to remember that 15/70mm pictures are 10
times larger than a normal 4/35mm picture. A big dinner party, held in a
castle outside Barcelona, was scheduled for the evening. There I got a
chance to talk to Greg MacGillivray. Very exciting to hear about what is
going on in the business from one of, in my opinion, the best film makers. I
asked him about how he manages to pan the IMAX camera without creating a
strobe effect, and why he has not taught other film makers how to do it. He
answered..
Mr Greg MacGillivray: "...20 years ago I started to explain to the
business how I solved this problem, and I take very opportunity to tell
about it. But most film makers will not listen, and in many films we can see
the result - unfortunately. However, what I do is to keep one field in
focus, as it is impossible to keep the whole picture in focus. If you do not
do this, you create the annoying strobe effect".
Greg is very skilled to make films to be shown in both Imax and Imax Dome. I
think we talked for about 10 minutes. I could have spent the entire evening
talking with the master himself, but a lot of others stood in line. We had a
great time and did not arrive back at the hotel until 4.00 am.
After about 2 hours of sleep on Tuesday the 17th, I attended a 20 minute
showing of the coming film "Indy Car". Very exciting, and I
look forward to see more from this film. On to Work in Progress, which is
about all the projects that hopefully will end with a film. 34 projects in
all. A great deal of good films could turn out, however, most of the
productions lack funds to go on and everybody knows how difficult it is to
raise money. It is obvious that large format films are expanding rapidly,
and our audiences can look forward to an exciting future with more and
better films. Only one film left and the 18th ISTC conference had come to an
end. "Momentum" in Imax HD, 48 frames per second. I have
never seen a greater picture, which demands a lot of your projector. When
the projector runs 48 frames per second, the speed and the gaps are twice
the normal 24 frames per second, so the projector has only 1/4 of the normal
time to make the loops. The projector has to be adjusted very precisely.
Most participants had left by now, but I was not quite finished myself. The
past 4 days I had worked hard to get a chance to be allowed inside the
projection room of the theatre. I succeeded and the chief projectionist
picked me up. We had a small problem, however, he did not speak English and
I do not speak Spanish. This was not going to stop me, we could still share
our passion for the technique. Imax has developed a fantastic piece of
equipment. Everything is computerized and with a lot of possibilities, which
I will save for a later occasion.
The conference had ended and I was full of impressions and experiences. I
enjoyed in full the 5 days, but I must admit that I looked forward to come
home to my "own" projector. It was a great sight. So great that my
Imax projector got an extra blob of oil for being so loyal. It has not got a
motor controlled by frequency, it cannot show 3D, but the audience gets a
fantastic experience, which is the most important.
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Further in 70mm reading:
Euromax 2000
Euromax 1996
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