Graeme Ferguson, the Canadian filmmaker who co-founded Imax, died on Saturday at the age of 91.
Ferguson had reportedly been battling cancer, passing away at his home in Norway Point, Ontario.
Imax took to Twitter today to confirm the news. “We mourn the passing of Graeme Ferguson, visionary IMAX Co-Founder and iconic filmmaker,” they said. “Thank you and rest in peace, Graeme.”
Ferguson founded the Imax Corporation in 1967, with filmmaker Roman Kroitor, businessman Robert Kerr, and engineer William Shaw. His latter two collaborators had been friends of his since high school.
The initial impetus for Imax was Polar Life, an experimental film that Ferguson directed for Expo ’67 in Montreal. In collaboration with Kroitor, Kerr and Shaw, he would develop a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, projectors and theaters which would bring a new sense of immersion and scope to the cinematic experience.
A writer, director, producer and cinematographer, Ferguson...
Ferguson had reportedly been battling cancer, passing away at his home in Norway Point, Ontario.
Imax took to Twitter today to confirm the news. “We mourn the passing of Graeme Ferguson, visionary IMAX Co-Founder and iconic filmmaker,” they said. “Thank you and rest in peace, Graeme.”
Ferguson founded the Imax Corporation in 1967, with filmmaker Roman Kroitor, businessman Robert Kerr, and engineer William Shaw. His latter two collaborators had been friends of his since high school.
The initial impetus for Imax was Polar Life, an experimental film that Ferguson directed for Expo ’67 in Montreal. In collaboration with Kroitor, Kerr and Shaw, he would develop a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, projectors and theaters which would bring a new sense of immersion and scope to the cinematic experience.
A writer, director, producer and cinematographer, Ferguson...
- 5/11/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
by Glenn Dunks
There is a reason that filmmakers keep going back to space. The very concept of an ever-expansive mass of significant nothingness can inspire the mind in infinite ways. But whereas for many, the immediate idea is to resort to fireballs, aliens and standard hero versus villain storylines, I find myself far more attracted to those who turn towards the stars with a sense of wonder and awe. It is perhaps why I respond so well to documentaries like Roman Kroitor and Colin Low’s Universe (the short that inspired Kubrick’s 2001), Al Reinert’s For All Mankind, and now Emer Reynolds’ The Farthest, one of the year's finest.
Celebrating the 40-year anniversary of Nasa’s 1977 mission to send two Voyager satellites into space, this Irish documentary is a work of stunning beauty. A film that grapples with the concept of not just what this giant science experiment is,...
There is a reason that filmmakers keep going back to space. The very concept of an ever-expansive mass of significant nothingness can inspire the mind in infinite ways. But whereas for many, the immediate idea is to resort to fireballs, aliens and standard hero versus villain storylines, I find myself far more attracted to those who turn towards the stars with a sense of wonder and awe. It is perhaps why I respond so well to documentaries like Roman Kroitor and Colin Low’s Universe (the short that inspired Kubrick’s 2001), Al Reinert’s For All Mankind, and now Emer Reynolds’ The Farthest, one of the year's finest.
Celebrating the 40-year anniversary of Nasa’s 1977 mission to send two Voyager satellites into space, this Irish documentary is a work of stunning beauty. A film that grapples with the concept of not just what this giant science experiment is,...
- 8/22/2017
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Canada's National Film Board, commonly referred to as the Nfb (or Onf if you herald from the country's French speaking parts), has long been a groundbreaking producer of shorts and features though it's best known for its shorts (53 of the Nfb's 72 Oscar nominations have been for short films). Having produced over 13,000 films since its formation in 1939, the Nfb is responsible for quite a few ground breaking and awe inspiring projects and one of the most celebrated also happens to be one that inspired a famous feature: Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Douglas Rain, who later went on to voice Hal 9000 in Kubrick's movie, narrated Roman Kroitor and by Colin Low's Universe, a short that combines photography and animation that explain how the universe and the planets [Continued ...]...
Douglas Rain, who later went on to voice Hal 9000 in Kubrick's movie, narrated Roman Kroitor and by Colin Low's Universe, a short that combines photography and animation that explain how the universe and the planets [Continued ...]...
- 10/21/2013
- QuietEarth.us
Too bad the critical symposium in the new, Winter 2012 issue of Cineaste isn't online. Participants evidently include Gianni Amelio, Olivier Assayas, Costa-Gavras, Robert Greenwald, and Sally Potter, "among others," but until we get our hands on the print edition, we'll have to make do with what is online, which, after all, is plenty: Patrick Z McGavin on Dave Kehr's When Movies Mattered: Reviews from a Transformative Decade, Richard James Havis on Kyung Hyun Kim's Virtual Hallyu: Korean Cinema of the Global Era, Andrew Horton on New Zealand Film: An Illustrated History and Henry K Miller on Brutal Intimacy: Analyzing Contemporary French Cinema and The New Extremism in Cinema: From France to Europe. And that's just the book reviews.
Besides the interviews with Mona Achache and Charlotte Rampling and festival reports (Locarno, Toronto and Montreal), the 15 reviews include David Sterritt on Kubrick's The Killing (1956), Joseph Luzzi on Raffaello Matarazzo,...
Besides the interviews with Mona Achache and Charlotte Rampling and festival reports (Locarno, Toronto and Montreal), the 15 reviews include David Sterritt on Kubrick's The Killing (1956), Joseph Luzzi on Raffaello Matarazzo,...
- 12/13/2011
- MUBI
Watch the world premiere of the latest Bob Dylan music video, "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'," exclusively at IFC.com.
As if capturing a momentous period in Bob Dylan's career and crafting one of the best and earliest examples of a major cinematic movement -- cinema vérité -- with "Dont Look Back" weren't monumental achievements enough, D.A. Pennebaker began his seminal film with what would be recognized decades later as perhaps the first music video. Ironically, this opening sequence, set to Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues," is one of several instances in the film where Pennebaker strays from the tenets of vérité: in an overtly staged performance (which in fact was shot in alternate takes in two other locales) with Dylan playing to the camera, the singer/songwriter lets a series of placards do his lip-synching for him. In a wide-legged stance, boards with various lyrics and riffs on lyrics (written...
As if capturing a momentous period in Bob Dylan's career and crafting one of the best and earliest examples of a major cinematic movement -- cinema vérité -- with "Dont Look Back" weren't monumental achievements enough, D.A. Pennebaker began his seminal film with what would be recognized decades later as perhaps the first music video. Ironically, this opening sequence, set to Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues," is one of several instances in the film where Pennebaker strays from the tenets of vérité: in an overtly staged performance (which in fact was shot in alternate takes in two other locales) with Dylan playing to the camera, the singer/songwriter lets a series of placards do his lip-synching for him. In a wide-legged stance, boards with various lyrics and riffs on lyrics (written...
- 5/12/2009
- by Michelle Orange
- ifc.com
TORONTO -- Giant-screen exhibitor Imax Corp. said Tuesday that one of its founders, William Shaw, died over the weekend. He was 73. Shaw died Saturday in a Toronto hospital after suffering complications from a heart attack. An engineer by training, Shaw developed the Imax projection system in 1968 with partners Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr. A statement from Imax co-CEOs Rich Gelfond and Brad Wechsler paid tribute to Shaw for his intellect, good humor and friendship.
An excited murmur fills the air. Fingers of light poke through the smoky night sky. Backstage, band members grab instruments and shake hands with anticipatory pleasure.
On stage, flames erupt from trap doors. Seen from overhead, a huge European stadium flashes with colored lights and smoke like an alien spaceship landing in a dense, urban jungle. A loud speaker booms.
It's The Rolling Stones ''At the Max.''
This first feature film produced in the large-screen IMAX format is a spectacular concert film-time capsule of last year's Rolling Stones Steel Wheels-Urban Jungle Tour.
''At the Max'' will be a superhit at all IMAX theaters worldwide. This may not be the ultimate rock concert film. But it surely points the way to whatever will be.
IMAX, which projects its images on a five-story-tall screen, has long been the domain of nature studies and space exploration films. Until recently what prohibited filming a concert was the three-minute film magazine on the incredibly cumbersome IMAX cameras.
But a new, 2,700-foot magazine coupled with the development of faster film allowed an IMAX crew, lead by Julien Temple, to film Stones concerts over five nights in the summer of 1990.
IMAX takes the viewer everywhere. You're on stage strutting with Mick Jagger; in the joyous, sing-along crowds; in seats which, if they existed, would be suspended in mid-air.
''At the Max'' displays none of the large-screen gimmickry that took viewers on swift rides down rivers or flights over tree tops. The approach is straightforward with slow pans and an emphasis on wide, wide shots that dazzle the eye.
The Steel Wheels set is said to have been inspired by Ridley Scott's ''Blade Runner.'' But it looks more like the deck of a fabulous, derelict ship taken over by rock 'n' roll pirates.
As walls of music wash over its deck, Jagger climbs all over the towers, catwalks and gangplanks. Two huge helium dolls of Honky Tonk women inflate and tower over the stage for one number. Later, the band is menaced by two huge dragons.
It's difficult to divvy up the credit, as IMAX demands total collaboration. Temple served as creative consultant and location director along with Roman Kroitor, David Douglas and Noel Archambault.
The magnificent camera work is by David Douglas and Andrew Kitzanuk, with Haskell Wexler listed as camera consultant.
The six-channel soundtrack which surrounds the viewer was produced by Stones music producer Chris Kimsey working with IMAX sound mixer Paul Massey and Bruce Nyznik.
What's missing, though, is a firm directorial hand, someone to design and select shots that bring the viewer into the emotions of each song. The images are so sharp and overwhelming that an audience craves a point of view. Otherwise, eyes and ears go into sensory overload.
The aging boys in the band still play with grace, wit and a genuine pleasure in their own music.
Each member forcefully exerts his own personality in this up-close-and-personal view: tireless Jagger, running his own rock marathon; sagacious Keith Richards, his eyes always twinkling; a bemused Charlie Watts, creating magic with his tiny drum set; painfully shy Bill Wyman, forever evading the spotlights; and fun-loving Ron Wood, determined to find the weirdest angles to play a guitar.
AT THE MAX
BCL Group/IMAX Corp.
Executive producers Michael Cohl, Andre Picard
Creative consultant, location director Julien Temple
Location direction Roman Kroitor, David Douglas, Noel Archambault
Directors of photography David Douglas, Andrew Kitzanuk
Camera consultant Haskell Wexler
Editor Daniel W. Blevins
Music producer Chris Kimsey
IMAX sound mixer Paul Massey
Postproduction sound Bruce Nyznik
Video director Christine Strand
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ron Wood, Bill Wyman
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
On stage, flames erupt from trap doors. Seen from overhead, a huge European stadium flashes with colored lights and smoke like an alien spaceship landing in a dense, urban jungle. A loud speaker booms.
It's The Rolling Stones ''At the Max.''
This first feature film produced in the large-screen IMAX format is a spectacular concert film-time capsule of last year's Rolling Stones Steel Wheels-Urban Jungle Tour.
''At the Max'' will be a superhit at all IMAX theaters worldwide. This may not be the ultimate rock concert film. But it surely points the way to whatever will be.
IMAX, which projects its images on a five-story-tall screen, has long been the domain of nature studies and space exploration films. Until recently what prohibited filming a concert was the three-minute film magazine on the incredibly cumbersome IMAX cameras.
But a new, 2,700-foot magazine coupled with the development of faster film allowed an IMAX crew, lead by Julien Temple, to film Stones concerts over five nights in the summer of 1990.
IMAX takes the viewer everywhere. You're on stage strutting with Mick Jagger; in the joyous, sing-along crowds; in seats which, if they existed, would be suspended in mid-air.
''At the Max'' displays none of the large-screen gimmickry that took viewers on swift rides down rivers or flights over tree tops. The approach is straightforward with slow pans and an emphasis on wide, wide shots that dazzle the eye.
The Steel Wheels set is said to have been inspired by Ridley Scott's ''Blade Runner.'' But it looks more like the deck of a fabulous, derelict ship taken over by rock 'n' roll pirates.
As walls of music wash over its deck, Jagger climbs all over the towers, catwalks and gangplanks. Two huge helium dolls of Honky Tonk women inflate and tower over the stage for one number. Later, the band is menaced by two huge dragons.
It's difficult to divvy up the credit, as IMAX demands total collaboration. Temple served as creative consultant and location director along with Roman Kroitor, David Douglas and Noel Archambault.
The magnificent camera work is by David Douglas and Andrew Kitzanuk, with Haskell Wexler listed as camera consultant.
The six-channel soundtrack which surrounds the viewer was produced by Stones music producer Chris Kimsey working with IMAX sound mixer Paul Massey and Bruce Nyznik.
What's missing, though, is a firm directorial hand, someone to design and select shots that bring the viewer into the emotions of each song. The images are so sharp and overwhelming that an audience craves a point of view. Otherwise, eyes and ears go into sensory overload.
The aging boys in the band still play with grace, wit and a genuine pleasure in their own music.
Each member forcefully exerts his own personality in this up-close-and-personal view: tireless Jagger, running his own rock marathon; sagacious Keith Richards, his eyes always twinkling; a bemused Charlie Watts, creating magic with his tiny drum set; painfully shy Bill Wyman, forever evading the spotlights; and fun-loving Ron Wood, determined to find the weirdest angles to play a guitar.
AT THE MAX
BCL Group/IMAX Corp.
Executive producers Michael Cohl, Andre Picard
Creative consultant, location director Julien Temple
Location direction Roman Kroitor, David Douglas, Noel Archambault
Directors of photography David Douglas, Andrew Kitzanuk
Camera consultant Haskell Wexler
Editor Daniel W. Blevins
Music producer Chris Kimsey
IMAX sound mixer Paul Massey
Postproduction sound Bruce Nyznik
Video director Christine Strand
Color/Stereo
Cast:
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ron Wood, Bill Wyman
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 10/23/1991
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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