Mix one part movie magic with one part massive IMAX format -- and there you have Special Effects, a new film which opens July 4 at IMAX theatres around the country. This most recent IMAX creation was the first film in this giant format to be produced under a Directors Guild agreement. It was directed by DGA veteran Ben Burtt and produced by NOVA/WGBH Boston.
Alan Gordon, DGA eastern executive director, and Terry Casaletta, associate eastern executive director, negotiated a contract with WGBH last year which covers all the IMAX movies that organization produces. Special Effects was the first film done under this new contract.
"I have very fond feelings towards the DGA. It is a very forward-thinking union," said Barbara Cecchini, director of talent relations for WGBH.
The film chronicles different effects scenes from four movies -- the special edition of the Star Wars Trilogy, Jumanji, Independence Day and Kazaam -- while explaining scientifically how effects can deceive film-goers. "It's got entertainment and scientific elements about perception. We can have fun with it while we're in the midst of make-believe," Burtt explained. The very first shot in the film is a re-creation of the King Kong scene from the original 1933 movie. According to Burtt, he wanted the movie to open with a special effects icon that everyone would recognize. In this respect, Special Effects pays homage to this and about 98 other movie classics.
Executive producer Suzanne Simpson of NOVA/WGBH agreed with Burtt. "I've been a filmmaker for 20 years and it's been very important for me to acknowledge something that's been going on for 100 years. These are the same kinds of tricks that were being done a century ago, prior to technology," she explained.
The goal of Special Effects was to demonstrate the science behind optical illusions that dazzle audiences on screen. "We are hoping that the audience will understand that it's how the eye and the brain work that allow you to be fooled," Simpson continued. "We really wanted to look at how the directors work with color, form, light, motion and depth. Those are the five different elements that your brain uses to interpret the world -- and those are the same elements that filmmakers use to create their illusions."
Hence, Simpson suggested IMAX as the perfect format for the topic of special effects because it too challenges the audience's perception, especially when the films are shown on the curved IMAX Dome screens.
As most of the 130 IMAX screens worldwide are located in science museums, Burtt conceded that the length of an IMAX movie is a major factor to be taken into consideration when making film in that format. "Generally, the show turns around once an hour. People won't commit to longer films. So, you're working to have a film about 30-40 minutes long," he explained.
In addition, Burtt joked that if an IMAX film is done properly, the audience will be worn out after 40 minutes. "That's certainly the case in some films where you are running, diving, skimming and jumping through the whole film," he said. "You need to build in rest spots or have the type of story that allows for hills and valleys. It can be very visceral. You take advantage of that, but you also need to pace yourself."
That may explain why the scientific explanations of Special Effects combined with the archival film footage, work so well for this IMAX film, which explores such challenges as how to blow up The White House, how the universe of Star Wars works, how to make a "painless" elephant stampede and how to have Shaquille O'Neal fly off into the stars. "Independence Day (the White House explosion) and Kazaam, with Shaquille O'Neal, will be released at about the same time as our film, so people will be excited to see some of the behind-the-scenes explanations of how the effects were done," Burtt said.
Although according to Burtt, documenting other films' effects was not the original intention of Special Effects. "We were going to create our own film entirely," he explained. "And then we were going to make a separate film about the effects in that film. And then the two would be cut together."
However, shooting an original film for the documentary turned out to be too costly. At about $6 million, the budget for Special Effects exceeded that of many IMAX films. "For this format, that's a good, healthy budget," Burtt said. But the equipment and resources are still limited for this high-end visual format.
"IMAX equipment is very limited; they only have a few cameras...you can't just go to any rental house and get accessories...you have to adopt a different attitude...this all sounds negative, but it isn't," Burtt explained. "In the end, every filmmaker has to work under limitations."
In addition, with the essence of the film being documentary, Burtt had to overcome the typically bulky IMAX equipment. "Most documentaries are shot with a hand-held camera that's mobile -- you can change lenses quickly and run around with the camera, " he explained. "In IMAX, you've got a big camera that's the size of a refrigerator and it runs out of film every three minutes." However, Special Effects was in luck because a new camera had recently been developed that was lighter and easier to use.
Special Effects certainly demonstrates how filmmakers deal with problems and solutions as Burtt's DGA peers graciously allowed the IMAX crew on their own sets to capture the fun and creativity that surrounds movie-making.
"As a director, I know it's difficult enough to make a film, let alone having somebody there in front of you. It can be disruptive," Burtt admitted. Generally, the various crews were just as interested in IMAX as Burtt's crew was interested in their movie's effects. This made for a pleasant working relationship.
"Everyone [on the set] showed a great deal of interest because they are filmmakers," Burtt explained. "Most people were interested in how you could do special effects in IMAX." This is a secret this particular director knows something about. Actually, the special effects sequence during the Star Wars segment of the film was created by Industrial Light & Magic, part of George Lucas' family, especially for the IMAX movie.
"I got involved [working on the sound of the original] Star Wars a year before they started photography," Burtt said. "It was to appeal to the science fiction crowd and was all made in complete innocence of the fact that the general audience would go crazy for it. After the first Star Wars, I was hired full time to work on the other Star Wars movies as well as the Indiana Jones series. My office is still at Skywalker Ranch. I am now working on the restoration of Star Wars. We are putting some scenes in that weren't in it before."
In the end, IMAX is a pleasure for a director to work with. "You get a 35mm print that's got the whole image, but the resolution and sharpness are not there. You cut the whole show and then you get your first answer print and that's when you get the shocker," Burtt said. "Suddenly, you see things on IMAX and you'll see every leaf, every grain of sand, every detail. That's the pay-off."
IMAX really puts the audience into the environment. "The audience gets the sensation of really being there. It's wonderful because of the imagery you can get, and it has a six-track digital soundtrack," Burtt said. Sound is especially important to this director because he comes from sound design at Lucasfilm. "I was drawn to IMAX because I knew they paid special attention to sound."
Burtt won Oscars for his sound design on Star Wars, ET: The Extraterrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
The power of IMAX offered the film's makers challenges as well as pleasures during the production process. Special Effects is the third IMAX film on which Burtt has worked. His other credits in this format include principal director of Blue Planet and co-director of Destiny In Space. Burtt did the sound for several other IMAX films, as well, including The Dream Is Alive. He also directed episodes and a made-for-television movie of Young Indiana Jones.
Carolyn Hill is a freelance writer and director of integrated marketing at OneSuch Films/WildLife Management in New York.