Raiders Of The Lost Ark in IMAX

What is the point? Went to see it last Tuesday at the Greenwich Odeon and was appalled by the picture quality. How is a film from 1981 shot on 35mm going to look any better in IMAX? The screen was too big, forcing me to sit at the very back of the cinema to get any kind of crisp image. My eyes were straining for the first 20 minutes. There was also some kind of digital buzzing going on where areas of the two projections were not aligning properly. Compared to the wonderful screening of JAWS earlier this year, the experience was very disappointing. I didn't even notice any improvement in the 'digitally restoration' and if anything noticed more faults in the film quality (some grainy shots in south America). I eventually began to enjoy the film in the last half but I have to say it didn't seem that different to watching it on DVD. From a directors point of view I did notice in this viewing how many scenes were covered in just one shot tracking backwards and forwards and left to right with just a few additional cutaways. He also uses shadows extensively throughout the film often saving him from shooting a reverse. I suspect these were all techniques used to speed up the production so he could come in within budget and finish principal photography several days earlier that scheduled.

Outline for Henry Bramble is cracked!

We are pushing forward with the feature film version of this wonderful heart warming story while my imagination is still flowing fast. As a result the development of the project is moving much faster than anyone could have imagined and getting to the truth/heart of the narrative has been extremely rewarding, especially from a personal point of view. 

We are all very excited by its potential to touch audiences around the world with its universal themes and archetypal fairytale structure. With the huge demand for quality family entertainment and new developments in filmmaking technology we have an amazing opportunity to produce a wonderful timeless classic.

However, I have recently been struggling to find time to write over the past few weeks due to various other commitments and as a result I am somewhat behind with my deadline for a first rough draft. However I have managed to come up with a whole story for the film that will easily fill 90 minutes if not more and I have to say I am very pleased with it. 

Obviously I can't say too much, but I can confirm that in the land of Minoitaniga there are two main intelligent species, the Chumninks and the Morlogs. We also have three incredible creatures, the Voydarkatron (featured in the short), a Kabullarak, which is an eight legged crab-like creature that the Morlog's ride and then there are the Terrakite's, a featherless, vulture-like flying beast.  

When I'm writing I often come up with ideas that I realise I have taken from other films, however I do not see this as plagiarism, on the contrary I feel a sense of comfort knowing I have subconsciously recognised an archetypal story pattern. The film has merely a reference for me to become aware of it. 

For example one of the last scenes in the land of Minoitaniga is very similar to the end of Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom.  When Indy returns to the village with the stolen Sankara Stone, the land is rich in plant life. The villagers are dressed in bright colours and run to their returning children with open arms and tears of joy - A highly emotional moment helped in contrast to the childless, crop-less, dusty village we saw in the beginning. 

I use the same symbolic references in my film but because it is a fantasy world rather than 1930's India, a school boy instead of an archeologist and a stone instead of imagination, it retains originality and freshness despite using the same archetypal tool.