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The many elaborate photographic scenes I had planned for Behold Hawaii necessitated our inventing or adapting many filmmaking devices for use in the IMAX large screen format. In this article, I have attempted to describe some of the more important innovations that contributed to the success of this complicated production.
Above all else, we focused on the development of devices that would further enhance the unique visual qualities of IMAX in terms of camera view, perspective, and movement.
First IMAX Zoom Lens, 2000mm Lens
In relation to camera view, we had the opportunity to use the first IMAX zoom lens as well as a iooomm lens. We had been interested in developing a zoom lens ever since our first IMAX production, To Fly, in 1976. The numerous static, but beautiful, Hawaiian locations made the use of a zoom lens that much more vital to Behold Hawaii.
My associate, Dennis Moore, with whom I co-produced Flyers, the IMAX sequel to To Fly, had spent years in the development of a zoom lens to fit the IMAX camera. Because of the high resolution of the IMAX image, the lens had to pass numerous tests measuring focus quality, frame coverage, and centering. Once a commercial lens was found that finally met the IMAX specifications, development of mounts, motoring equipment and other peripheral accessories successfully followed. When zooming from 75mm to 150mm, the lens is as sharp if not sharper than standard IMAX lenses, and it had several important applications in the film.
One special scene that I had envisioned for the movie was made possible by the iooomm lens. I wanted Keola to demonstrate his modern surfing techniques while using the old wooden surfboards of the 17th Century Hawaiians. With the iooomm lens, I was able to frame out the large crowd of contemporary surfers paddling around on their...