Sharpness throughout the depth of field is always a good idea when filming in 3-D, and in order to stop down the aperture to f8 or f11, a lot of light is required. "We had six of everything," says Campbell of the lighting package six 20Ks, six 10Ks, six Maxis, six Minis and six 20K Skypans.
The Imax 3-D camera has a fixed interocular, or distance between the two lenses, of 2.85"; 65mm or 2.5" is the average distance between the eyes of an adult. The first Imax 3-D films were shot with the two lenses "parallel" so that all of the imagery in projection came "off the screen." With the huge Imax screen and its wide field of view, the spectator tends not to notice the left and right edges of the screen. The new convergence controls on the Imax 3-D camera allow the director of photography to place some of the action "behind the screen" and select what is to come forward into the audience space.
The Imax 3-D camera uses two 15-perf movements of 65mm films in a single body with two 45-degree mirrors reflecting the left and right images onto the separate film strips. These two sets of horizontally traveling films are oriented with the emulsions facing each other. The two negatives can be contact-printed directly onto 70mm film and flopped over for projection in 3-D without the need for any optical printing. Weighing more than 200 pounds, the Imax 3-D camera uses microcomputers that control half of its 14 motors. Both lenses and shutters are electronically synchronized by microprocessor controls. Several lens choices are available for the Imax 3-D camera, including 30mm "fish-eye" and 40mm (non-converging) lenses, as well as 50mm, 60mm, 80mm and 105mm lengths.
The first scene in Journey of Man, set in a cave with the Taiko drummers, was filmed on a soundstage in Las Vegas, and it is the only scene that was filmed on a set. The production had to accommodate the schedules of the performers, who were then working five days a week at Mystere in Las Vegas. The set was constructed out of sculpted Styrofoam, and the 30’ x 40’ cave was made in different sections. The sections were placed on a raised stage, and each of the eight drummers sat on a turntable that rotated during the sequence.
The birth sequence features an explosion of light that plunges the viewer into a dazzling underwater ballet with synchronized swimmers. No underwater tank large enough to accommodate filming existed anywhere in the world, so this sequence had to be shot outdoors. Only a few locations in the world were suitable for filming in December, and the producers chose the Bahamas. Because the water was only 65 degrees, special suits were created to keep the swimmers warm. Weights were added to the suits to counteract the buoyancy of saltwater. The costumes included reflective materials that lent even more illumination to the scene.
The underwater crew consisted of Melton, underwater cameraman Bob Cranston, three or four electricians and grips, seven underwater swimmers and two or three support divers. Assisting the swimmers, the support divers held large air tanks that each had four umbilical regulators attached. This sequence was shot over a period of six days, three for actual shooting.
The Imax 3-D camera was fitted into an underwater housing and equipped with two 2,500’ film loads. It was suspended by a crane and lowered from a boat into the water. Weights were attached to the camera, allowing the operator to maintain balance while floating in the water. Changing daylight conditions made underwater exposures quite variable. "We used four 8K submersible lights running off a generator on a barge," says Campbell. "We needed fill light to put exposure into the suits of the swimmers, who were 15 to 25 feet below the surface of the water. With the fill lights, we were able to light underwater at f5.6 to f8."
The forest sequence in which the child, accompanied by the Flounes, encounters the Bungees features some of the most dramatic off-the-screen effects in Journey of Man. The segment was filmed in the giant redwoods of Big Basin State Park in Boulder Creek, California, and the Bungee jumpers’ points of view as they flew down and up was achieved with the use of a camera platform and a construction crane.
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