Christopher Nolan wanted to shoot The Odyssey entirely in IMAX. One problem: the cameras are notoriously loud.
Loud enough that actors could not hear themselves in intimate scenes, let alone deliver usable dialogue. Nolan asked IMAX to fix it. IMAX built a specialized soundproof housing, called a blimp, around the camera. But the blimp created another problem: it placed an enormous piece of equipment between the actors' faces, destroying their ability to make eye contact.
The solution was a custom double mirror periscope system mounted beside the lens. Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway could look directly at each other, even with the camera sitting where it had to be. IMAX eventually codified all of this into a new camera: the IMAX Keighley.
The Odyssey is now the first film ever shot entirely in IMAX. The camera it required did not exist until Nolan asked for it.
No comments yet