From the July/December 1998 issue of the Operating Cameraman

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While the primary challenge in making the film Everest was to get the IMAX™ camera to the summit, just as important was the challenge to surround that achievement with complimentary photography that would provide the viewer with an experience that is truly the next best thing to being there.

IMAX™ films have the ability to immerse the audience in an encompassing audio/visual environment that filmmaker Greg MacGillivray wanted to take full advantage of. In telling the story of climbing Mt. Everest the MacGillivray Freeman Films crew went to Nepal, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, New Hampshire and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

A VISUAL INTRODUCTION

The opening of the film was to show the climbing team training for Everest. This would allow the audience to meet the main characters and at the same time be taken in by stunning IMAX™ imagery.

MacGillivray selected locations that would provide a contrast to the predominantly white and gray environments on Mt. Everest. As as result, expedition leader Ed Viesturs was filmed mountain biking on the red rocks of Moab, Utah and team member Araceli Segarra was filmed while climbing the dramatic pinnacles at Land's End in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. For both of these shoots the Spacecam system with the IMAX™ MSM 9801 camera was utilized for aerial photography.

The dry and dusty conditions in Moab created a challenge to the camera crew. Extra effort and attention was needed to keep the camera, lenses and magazines free of dust. Because the helicopter often landed and took off in remote locations it was impossible to wet down the landing zone. Every time that the helicopter landed or took off it created a huge dust cloud that caused the camera crew to cringe.

The 15-perf 65mm IMAX™ negative is 10 times larger than 4-perf 35mm and when projected, even the slightest scratch caused by dust renders the shot unusable.

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

It had been the intention to shoot aerial photography in May or June of 1996 upon our return from the Mt. Everest expedition. However, the monsoon that had helped the summit team by pushing the Jet Stream away from Everest also pushed haze and smoke from India into Nepal, making aerials unfeasible.

As a result, David Breashears and Brad Ohlund returned to Nepal in December of 1996. They brought a nose mount designed by Scott Herring of Airfilm for the AStar helicopter.

MacGillivray had contracted with the Nepalese army to use the same helicopter and pilot that had accomplished a daring high altitude rescue on Mt. Everest six months earlier. The army officials were a bit disturbed at the camera mount installation since both chin windows and both seats had to come out to accommodate a base plate and two tubes that support the camera cradle.

After $4,000 worth of engineering reports to placate the Nepalese military, the crew departed Katmandu for the Sherpa village of Lukla at 9,000'. For the next 5 days they filmed helicopter aerials as high as the Western Cwm (pronounced "coom," it's the Welsh word for "valley") of Mt. Everest at 22,000'.

This shoot proved to be somewhat treacherous due to the high altitude. Because of the thin air, helicopters have trouble getting enough lift. If the pilot has to set down above 14,000' for any reason, there very well could be trouble taking off again.

If this were to happen, the crew would be in serious jeopardy of altitude sickness or even death. To add to the stakes, it would be very likely that a safe, flat landing zone would be in the bottom of a deep gorge or valley.

In such a scenario, radio communication might prove to be impossible, even using a military helicopter, which normally had the ability to speak with Katmandu. This reality made the process of changing film a bit time consuming since the helicopter had to return to Lukla after shooting the three minutes of film that a 1,000' roll provided.

On numerous occasions, the crew had to quickly offload all the camera equipment so that the helicopter could fly off and rescue a sick or injured trekker. This was one of the risks of using the only helicopter in the Khumbu region of Nepal.

GETTING TRAPPED INSIDE AN AVALANCHE

At Everest Base Camp the film crew witnessed avalanches on an almost daily basis. Because it was impossible to predict when or where one would start, catching an avalanche on film proved impossible.

In order to shoot this dramatic event in IMAX™, MacGillivray Freeman Films turned to avalanche control experts in the U.S. Greg MacGillivray wanted a shot done with the camera in the path of an avalanche. A heavy-duty steel crash box was constructed for the IMAX™ Mark II camera and crew member Jack Tankard wired up an on/off switch with a 500' cord.

The crew traveled to Mt. Hood, Oregon and worked with Todd "Hammer" Semmes and the Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Patrol for this shot. The large crash box was set up 1,000' beneath a snow-covered ridge while charges were placed along the cornice.

When the charges went off the whole rim dropped and headed straight for the camera, picking up snow as it went. The crew watched with somewhat concerned excitement from a vantage point 400 feet above the camera position.

The immensely powerful avalanche plowed into the camera and the on/off switch was ripped out of Jack Tankard's hands as the camera was carried down the hill by the force of the avalanche.

An emergency locating device had been placed inside the crash box in anticipation of having to dig the camera out from under ten to twenty feet of snow. Amazingly, the camera had remained on top of the flow and was only slightly buried.

The crash box was uncovered and the camera checked to make sure that there had not been a film break or a jam (to minimize possible film breakage Kodak Estar backed film stock was used).

After determining that it actually had run film, the crew went to several other locations to get some "insurance" shots and triggered several more avalanches. These shots have been very successfully used in the film to add yet another "IMAX™ moment" of audience excitement.

Because of the large scale of IMAX™ it has the ability to involve the audience with the action taking place on screen. Everest takes advantage of the experiential aspect of the format through the effective use of IMAX™ photography both on and off Mt. Everest.

Everest not only takes the audience to the summit of the highest mountain on earth, but the film is built around a story of gripping real-life drama and adventure in a way that is new to IMAX™ films. This film raises the bar in IMAX™ filmmaking and creates a new audience standard.

Indeed, since its release in March of 1998, Everest has broken records for IMAX™ film attendance. In many venues it is selling out the large 500 seat IMAX™ theaters on a regular basis. The ongoing success of Everest can be attributed to the in-depth character development and real-life story that is a breakthrough for IMAX™ films.

MacGillivray feels that this is a major step for a format that has sometimes been shunned by the mainstream film community. The large attendance of Everest will bring many new people into IMAX™ theaters and with this success come particular challenges for future large format movies.

"IMAX™ films have always been known for their captivating visuals and incredible sound," observers MacGillivray. "Our big challenge now is to maintain a high standard of character development and engaging story while keeping within the normal 40 minute length. We must do this because anything that we produce will be held to the high standards that we set ourselves with Everest."