By Ray Hartley Gional Representatives
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• ACINC could participate, and not just select re rector responsible for selecting the im volve into the second film in the Earth by Ray Hartley gional representatives. ages and developing the format for pre watch Theater without having to leave sentation, as Robin Lecky, executive their seats. But a tragic accident in NEW DIMENSIONS producer and a Creative House partner, which a young girl was fatally injured Xpo 86, the International Exposi explains: has at least temporarily, stopped this. tion on Transportation and Com Norman Hay, Creative Director for the "The original tender called for an in The visitor moves to the second theatre Emunication which opened in Van pavilion, describes the overall com troduction to Canada for Canadians and on-foot. couver in May, has an estimated 50 munication and transport theme. "The visitors, something that would be posi theaters devoted to some form of idea was that we would no longer look tive, uplifting and people-oriented. AWESOME LANDSCAPE cinematic or audio-visual presentation. at Canada in a linear way, that is, coast Paul's concept was unique. Photo Omnimax, Showscan, lma.x 3D, Holog to-coast. We wanted to convey a new graphers were ' coordinated across the Terravision, the film shown in the raphy, Trimax - the list of new way of seeing Canada, one which would country. in small towns, big towns - Earthwatch Theater, is meant to intro techniques of imaging is long, varied, give Canadians a sense of joy and a north, south, east, west - on Canada's d\.lce the visitor to the physical dimen rich and diverse. sense of pride. All material (in the birthday. The presentation moves sions of Canada, emphasizing the Cana Soaring above the dark waters of Bur pavilion) is intended to develop this across the country geographically from dian experience in mastering the chal rard Inlet, the crisp, white sails of the notion of the 'new dimensions' of east to west, dawn to dusk, starting at lenges posed by our geography and cli Canada Pavilion are separated from the Canada." The idea of a "Canada of New 5:03 a.m. in St. John's, Newfoundland, mate. Produced by Claude Godbout of rest of Expo by Vancouver's downtown Dimensions" combined with the and ending in Victoria, B.C. with the Les Productions Prism a of Montreal, core. Hyped as "the largest pavilion "Canada in Motion, Canada in Touch" end-of-day cannon. This geographical and directed by Donald Brittain, the ever created for a world exposition," it themes of Expo to provide the basic movement however, is secondary to the film employs the Showscan technique is located within Canada Place, the per concerns from which the productions overall sense of celebration, of Cana developed by Douglas Trumbull. manent federal-government complex in the pavilion developed. dians participating in their country's Showscan uses 70mm Panavision film on Vancouver's inner harbour, that con The three introductory presenta birthday." and shoots and projects it at 60 frames tains, among other facilities, a cruise tions, viewed in sequence when enter The "sense of celebration" comes per second. The result is a film pro ship terminal and the new Pan Pacific ing the pavilion, are meant to give the through in the images selected by jected two and one-halftimes faster and Hotel. A variety of theaters, amphithea visitor a sense of Canada from three Smith. Beauty queens, farmers, tattooed four times brighter than usual onto a ters, presentations and displays intro perspectives: the People, the Limd, and men, businessmen, babies, and older curved screen that measures seven by duce the Expo visitor to Canada and the Future. The first of these, This Is people all mix and mingle in the varying 16 meters. "It has the quality of a slide highlight Canadian achievements in My Home, in the 500-seat Canada pastoral and urban landscapes which show in motion," says co-producer transportation and communication. Celebration Theater, is an eight-minute open up on one or more of the 14 Uveillee. Five of the theaters show films three of audiovisual presentation produced by screens ringing the front of the theater. The film opens in the dark with the them forming a sequential introduction Creative House of Vancouver. Beginning in the clouds and sunrise of soundtrack preparing the audience: "To to the pavilion, and the other two pro As the audience lean or sit back St. John's and ending in fireworks made be here at all and to be joined to viding feature-length productions on against padded railings, 42 computer more real by strobe lights mount~d gether ...that is the miracle." As an image the two mmain themes of Expo. programmed projecters synchronize above the audience's heads, the produc of an enormous iceberg fills the screen, Bernard Leveillee, who acted as coor some 1,500 images onto 14 screens tionis stunning. Gibson's original song the soundtrack continues: "It began as dinating producer for the Canada Pavil while an original score by Vancouver's and score add to the uplifting feeling an awesome landscape, born in ion on two of the productions, explains Brian Gibson fills the semi-circular and the audience moves on to the sec fire ... carved in ice." The audience is that the intent was, as much as possible, theater. The 1,500 images were ond part of the introductory trilogy then taken on an eight-minute journey "to have producers from all of Canada selected from 30,000 shot by 33 photo with a lighter step, some of that Cana through time and space that gives a involved," so that the whole country graphers who travelled across Canada, dian sense of joy and pride that Hay breathtaking sense of the breadth and on asSignment, on Canada Day, July 1, called Canada's new dimension. diversity of the Canadian landscape and Ray Hartley is a Vancouver freelance 1985. Paul Smith, the man behind the Originally, the theater was designed the ways in which the people of Canada writer. original conc<:Pt, was the creative di- so that the audience would slowly re- have learned to live within it. 14/Cinema Canada - July I August 1986 • • SURVIVING WEAKNESS After the introduction to the pavilion, visitors head for the Great Hall where a bast array of displays and exhibits beck Omnibus on, including the 108 video-monitor Vidiwall. Other viewing possibilities are the two feature presentations, The Taming of the Demons and Transi State of the art tions. Taming of the Demons is being shown in the new 273-seat Tele globe Theater. Paul Krivicky of computer graphics Cinematographer Leonidas Zourdoumis Applause Communications in Montreal, has captured images of snowfields, acted as producer/administrator for the oceans, forests, plains, and herds of project, which included both construc thundering bison to produce a sense of tion of the theater and production of he 30-second brightly colored ion digital calculations later, a com understanding the landscape faced by the film. Directed by Emil Radok, the animation of the Expo '86 fair puter-generated 30-second anima' early man, followed eventually by the founder of multi-screen audio-visual systems, this production uses nine rect Tground that you've seen ~nfold tion of the fairground was com pioneers and settlers. New ways of ing on your TV was actually com pleted. This computer-generated traverSing and transforming the country angular screens of varying sizes ar pleted when the Vancouver site was Expo includes 10 high resolution are shown developing until finally the ranged architecturally against one wall still a heap of mud, scaffolding and buildings ( the Canadian paviliOns voice of Marc Garneau informs us that of the theater, with a revolving circular construction debris. and major sponsor pavilions), the "It is a great honor to represent Canada hoop forming a sphere and the tenth Produced by Omnibus Computer Expo monorail, train, gondolas, bal in space." screen in the center of the walL Ten Graphics, and delivered to the adver loons, hot-air balloons, over 75 sepa The film ends by completing a full 35mm film projectors present the imag tising firm of Baker Lovick Ud in rate flags, kiosks, the Expo sign and circle, returning to the original images ery, while a nine-track. sound system October 1985, this television ad rep flag, booths, sidewalks, pools, plat of the land and animals where "always, provides the ambiant sound. The result resents the state of the art in com form, train tracks, sky mountainS and' the enduring mysteries, the wild horses is a 21-minute exploratory journey into puter-generated animation. mOre. Meanwhile, at the Vancouver of Sable Island ... running on through the the processes of communication. The key word to understanding construction site, work droned timeless landscape." Describing the production, Radok this technology is "art" (as in the ahead s19wly. The third of the three introductory comments that "We begin with the first manipulation of colors, motion, tex According to Rimer, the commer presentations is a multi-media produc communication, wWch is inside one's tures, lighting all within a com cial bas sold heavily in Canada and tion set in the New Frontiers Theater body, and go on to show how if man puter), says Omnibus (Toronto) throughout the United States. One of and highlights Canadian technological was the weakest being, he is the one exe-cuttve producer Ron Rimer. The ~e more saleable features of the achievements in sea and space. A com who has survived. artist has replaced the white finished product, he explains, is the bination of film, video and lighting ef "We show how communication has smocked computer technician and use of "matted in" windows within fects is mixed with actual models of developed with the basis of language the computer mouse has replaced the animated image in which live ac sunken ships, aquanauts descending writing, how different civilizations were the graphic artist's pencil .