TECH SHOOTING ON FILM
F rom Ulysses (1954) to O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) and even The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), Hollywood can’t seem to resist bringing the story of Homer’s Odyssey to the screen. The latest effort – Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey – may not be the first adaptation of the epic poem, but it can claim to be the first feature-length film photographed entirely on 15-perf 70mm IMAX film cameras. And, as if that achievement weren’t impressive enough, the production also embraced large- scale practical effects. The production used the Draken Harald Hårfagre – a 115ft Norwegian longship (the largest Viking longship replica around today) – as Odysseus’s primary vessel, while also staging open- water seafaring, and constructing a 40ft Trojan Horse prop weighing 8800lb and a full-scale Cyclops animatronic puppet. Tackling those demands required an unprecedented quantity of large format film stock. As the only remaining large-scale colour motion picture film manufacturer in the world, Kodak supplied more than two million feet of 65mm camera film for The Odyssey and approximately eight million feet of 70mm film to support the 70mm 5-perf and 70mm IMAX release prints of the film. Kodak works closely with all large- scale productions long before they begin shooting to forecast the specific products they will need. “A film like The Odyssey , with shooting locations across the globe, requires careful logistical
GO BIG OR GO HOME For The Odyssey, Kodak supplied more than two million feet of 65mm camera film, as well as eight million feet of 70mm film for the IMAX and 5-perf release prints
planning and coordination with the production team throughout to ensure the right film products arrive at various locations on time,” begins Vanessa Bendetti, head of Motion Picture & Entertainment at Kodak. The film was shot across six different countries – Morocco, Greece, Italy, Iceland, Scotland and Malta – over a period of 91 days. One of its most impressive sequences is the siege of Troy. To bring this legendary battle to life, the production enlisted around 2000 extras and constructed a 110,000 sq ft set
in Morocco. The UNESCO World Heritage mud-brick Ksar of Aït Benhaddou served as the backdrop for the 2.5-acre city of Troy, with around 60 structures added, including a pillared Temple of Athena. LED lighting and controlled flames were used to stage the city’s destruction. Shooting on film is a fast-growing trend, with filmmakers such as Nolan – as well as Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson and Wes Anderson – all championing the use of celluloid. “In 2024, as part of Kodak’s effort to increase its manufacturing capacity,
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