For the longest time now, IMAX has been relegated to two categories: documentaries at science centers, or as pretty cool film technology that directors use for select sequences in their blockbuster movies. The large format of the film camera, coupled with the noise it makes, didn’t make it ideal for dialogue scenes, so filmmakers had to be particular in how it was used. Now IMAX is doing digital, and a huge upcoming movie is going IMAX all the way.
The company has announced that that Joe and Anthony Russo‘s "Avengers: Infinity War" will be shot entirely using a next-generation 2D digital camera – co-developed by IMAX and ARRI — that will essentially be a digital version of the Alexa 65. Yes, this is Christmas for camera nerds. But it’s a pretty big leap forward both for directors, audiences, and films themselves, and this is the first Hollywood movie to go completely IMAX from top to bottom. It now means that the Russos can go into ‘Infinity War’ planning every shot for the massive screens of an IMAX theater, and that’s pretty exciting stuff. And certainly a much better sell than yet another surcharge for 3D.
The directors will first get their feet wet with the new cameras on the upcoming "Captain America: Civil War" by shooting action sequences, and they are pretty stoked about this new technology they get to play with. "The intent with the ‘Infinity War’ films is to bring ten years of accumulative storytelling to an incredible climax. We felt that the best way to exploit the scale and scope required to close out the final chapter of these three phases, was to be the first films shot entirely on the IMAX/ARRI Digital camera," the directors said.
Thoughts? Does capping off Phase Three with a massive visual feat make you excited? Let us know below. "Avengers: Infinity War" will be split with part one arriving on May 4, 2018 and part two on May 3, 2019. Now let’s see if Christopher Nolan can be swayed to go digital with this camera…
