Through a new short film, IMAX Corporation set out to showcase how the company creates an immersive, in-theatre experience that invites audiences to push beyond the ordinary and always seek the fullest experiences. IMAX, TBWA\Chiat\Day and director Espen Sandberg collaborated with Santa Monica creative studio JAMM, culminating in an immersive journey through six unique worlds. From fantastical sci-fi panoramas to a turn of the century boxing match, all are rendered in breathtaking detail. JAMM’s CG expertise compliments the live action scenes that were strategically filmed with high-resolution IMAX cameras.
JAMM was engaged with the project starting at the creative conception stage and worked closely with IMAX, Espen, cinematographer Pal Ulvik Rokseth and senior art director Stephen Lum to take audiences beyond the frame and immerse them into the experience. The stunning CG work helps transport audiences into complex environments including an otherworldly forest with neon glowing trees, a dystopian city with post-apocalyptic doom as well as an action-packed battle scene, vast galaxies in space and much more.
In the opening shot, the fractal complexity of a swooping flock of birds leads the viewer from a real-world pastoral field through an archway. There, we’re transported into an environment created entirely in CG, an otherworldly forest where the trees glow neon blue and the valley walls move. In the apartment scene, floor-to-ceiling windows reveal a dystopian cityscape. Building the decaying city almost completely from scratch, JAMM added in the foreboding weather to give the shot a feeling of post-apocalyptic doom.
In another sequence, the camera busts through a wall, where JAMM has transformed a filmic live action shot into an action-packed war zone with the addition of low-flying planes, explosions, smoke and gunfire. We then follow an adventurer traversing through a cave by torchlight, to reveal an underground world created entirely in 3D. Flying embers and bubbling lava conjure the spirit of adventure, before we are transported into space alongside a weightless astronaut. The space capsule doors open to reveal the vast pink galaxies beyond, before the familiar IMAX logo emerges into frame.
The film will play exclusively in IMAX theatres, being the only theatre design in which audiences can have the full experience – larger curved screens, stadium seating, multi-channel sound, and IMAX projection systems. However, the 'Making of Infinite Worlds' gives a behind-the-scenes look at how this original shot film was brought to life.
“For a VFX artist, the opportunity to create multiple fantastical worlds is a dream brief,” says CG supervisor Andy Boyd. “Partnering with IMAX on this brand film was particularly rewarding because each sequence is so substantial. The lingering shots gave our team the time to really flesh out each distinct environment, so the viewer can study and appreciate each world for longer.”
VFX supervisor Jake Montgomery is equally proud of the high-end visuals JAMM crafted, saying: “It’s one full minute of dazzling eye candy, and you can only see it in an IMAX theatre.”
FULL CREDITS
AGENCY: TBWA\CHIAT\DAY
Chief Creative Officer: Renato Fernandez
Creative Director: Jason Karley
Senior Art Director: Stephen Lum
Senior Copywriter: Liz Cartwright
Producer: Alicia Portner
Director of Business Affairs: Robin Rossi
Global Brand Lead: Nicole Rowett
Management Supervisor:Teddy Notari
Account Supervisor:Aubrey Larson
Global Group Strategy Director: Jennifer Costello
Associate Strategy Director:Corianda Dimes
Director: Espen Sandberg
DP: Pal Ulvik Rokseth
PRODUCTION COMPANY: (twenty)2 Films
Executive Producer: John Clark
Executive Producer: Kelly Clark
Producer: Ira Brooks
Production Designer: David Wilson
Trollbound Entertainment
Executive Producer: Dave Spilde
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Whithouse Post
Executive Producer: Joanna Manning
Editor: Martin Leroy
Producer: Jordan Stricklin
Composer: Hanan Townshend
ORCHESTRA RECORDING: SIF309 Film Music, Sofia, Bulgaria
VISUAL EFFECTS: Jamm
VFX Supervisor/Lead Compositor: Jake Montgomery
VFX Supervisor/Lead CG: Andy Boyd
Flame Artist: Brian Hajek
Flame Artist: Benoit Mannequin
Lead CG Artist: Brian Burke
Animator Supervisor: Stew Burris
CG Artist: Zachary DiMaria
CG Artist: Fred Hopp
CG Artist: Ben Martin
Producer: Ashley Greyson
Executive Producer: Asher Edwards