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"Brainstorm" in 65mm
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in70mm.com
The 70mm Newsletter
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Written
by: Douglas Trumbull in a reply to
Peter Anderson, ASC |
Date:
14.09.2008 |
70mm
frame with optically enlarged 35mm segment
A recent
[August 2008] e-mail discussion among large format experts resulted in a
comment from Mr. Douglas Trumbull to Peter
Anderson, ASC, about the true genesis of the film "Brainstorm".
I have posted it here since it has general interest characteristics for
everyone interested in 65mm photography and especially "Brainstorm".
Thomas Hauerslev, editor
"Brainstorm" was originally developed to be the first film released
in SHOWSCAN. Charlie Bludhorn who was chairman of Gulf and Western, who
owned Paramount, wanted a film that would be partially normal, with
sequences in SHOWSCAN. That was the plan. There would have been 70mm
60fps prints, with the 35mm stuff skip printed to 60 from 24. Also,
there would have been 65mm material drop framed to 24fps for a normal
35mm release. There would have been no aspect ratio changes - only the frame rate.
Nobody would go for it, as you know.
So
we settled on full aperture 2.2:1 65mm shooting of the (what would have
been SHOWSCAN) vital POV scenes, and shot the rest in 35mm with a 1.66:1
aspect ratio. All the 35mm material was fitted optically into 65mm
negatives optically so we could do a complete 65mm negative assembly.
For 35mm release, the 65mm negative was optically reduced to 35mm,
retaining the two aspect ratios, which now became 2:35:1 and 1.66:1.
Later, for video release, we filled the 3:4 video aspect ratio with the
35mm material, and squeezed the 65mm stuff into the same frame. To my
knowledge there has not yet been a DVD or BluRay that retains the
original aspect ratios and sound changes.
Also, the film was mixed to change from mono sound on the 35mm material
to full Dolby stereo on the wide shots, with purposeful exaggeration of
surround fx.
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More
in 70mm reading:
25th
Anniversary of "Brainstorm"'s 1983 Release
“Brainstorm”: The North American 70mm
Engagements
Showscan: A High Impact
Experience in 70mm
Showscan enters liquidation
process
2001 bit and pieces
Showscan: The Best 70mm I have ever
seen
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Douglas Trumbull
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Dennis
Muren, Steven Spielberg and Douglas Trumbull at the recent Visual Effects
Society Awards in Los Angeles. Picture curtsey Bill Kallay.
Selected filmography as Director (films in 65mm):
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Leonardo's Dream (1989) Showscan
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Let's Go (1985) Showscan
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Brainstorm (1983)
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Big Ball (1983) Showscan
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New Magic (1983) Showscan
Selected filmography as Special Effects Supervisor (films in 65mm):
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"Blade Runner"
(1982)
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
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"Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" (1977)
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Stanley Kubrick's "2OO1: A Space Odyssey"
(1968)
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Go to High impact immersive
widescreen filmmaking with Douglas Trumbull
•
Go to
Douglas Trumbull
- A Conversation
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Updated
28-07-24 |
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