Ch 30: IMAX

{1st Person POV}

I was sitting on the chairs in the receptionist hall, waiting for the Secretary of the IMAX CEO to show up, as that's what she (?)  said over the phone.

Talking about the secretary, that brings me to the CEO himself. Alan Howard.

An entrepreneur who bought the company back in the early 2000s, Howard wanted IMAX to be more 'accessible' (whatever the hell that means), and so, he invested in more technological advances. And soon, new technology like the IMAX DMR which allowed films to be digitally re-mastered and turned into the IMAX format with higher audio and video quality were created. IMAX 3D was also created, which, as the name suggests, is just 3D but in IMAX.

Because of this, IMAX became a movie format that wasn't just limited to documentaries and a few niche films shot with IMAX cameras, but an experience that you must at least have once in your life. 

The way these events happened were very different from my world, but the result was still the same; IMAX was no longer a niche format, but something far bigger with still a lot of potential to grow.

And I wanted IMAX to use its potential.

Why was I doing this? Because I absolutely love this format.

I'm sure people who haven't watched any film in 70mm IMAX won't really understand why I'm meeting with the CEO of IMAX to get a couple of cameras, but let me tell you this: watching Interstellar and Dunkirk in IMAX was insane, even if I couldn't hear half the dialogue. I even went as far as to watch Dunkirk in 70mm IMAX, which there are only 30 screens of in the whole world.

It's 100% true to call it a once-in-a-lifetime experience, because It IS one! And the tickets were super expensive to boot! But they were definitely worth it.

But I'm quite saddened with the fact that not many people shoot on actual IMAX cameras, and rather just film stuff on Digital IMAX (*Cough Marvel Cough*). Christopher Nolan and Jordan Peele were the only 2 large-ish directors that actually used those cameras. And now that I'm in this world, there are exactly 0 directors that use IMAX cameras for mid and big budget films, and studios just use DMR to get extra cash on the expensive IMAX tickets. 

Now, I'm not an elitist who thinks Digital sucks and only film is good, but 70mm IMAX is certainly far better than Digital IMAX. And IMAX with Laser doesn't exist at the moment, which was created in 2014 back in my world, so the only thing that is available is 70mm.

Back in my world, Digital IMAX was introduced in mid-2008, around the release of The Dark Knight, the first big budget film to have been shot using IMAX cameras, which was around 20 minutes. The screens were barely larger than your average theatre, but they were closer to the seats and had a better sound system than your average theatre. 

But getting back to the cameras themselves, I'm using them to get a hand of them and advance the technology enough so that they'd be lighter and make less noise so Dunkirk could at least have 30 minutes of footage shot with IMAX. 

Why only 30 minutes? Because, as I said above, these cameras are too expensive, heavy and make a LOT of noise, something which made it nearly impossible to shoot a film with only IMAX cameras, until Avengers: Infinity War, that is.

Infinity War, and Endgame, too, were entirely shot with the Arri Alexa 2D, a customised version of the 6K Alexa 65. This was an IMAX certified digital camera, so it wasn't the actual IMAX camera, but it was recognised by the IMAX corporation, so it's whatever. 

Since then, nearly every Marvel and a lot of other blockbusters have been shot using Digital IMAX cameras.

Because digital IMAX cameras won't exist for a long time, I'd be shooting all of "my" films using the 70mm cameras, and when I say all of them, I mean all of them.

*tap* *tap*

The noises of someone's boot colliding with the rough and hard floor caught my attention, bringing me back to reality.

I looked up, and it was a woman in her 30s or so, wearing a black business suit, with a white under shirt.

She stopped a bit in front of me, and asked. "Are you Oliver Knight?"

"Sure am." I replied.

"Follow me."

And with that I followed her as we walked through a hallway, and got into an elevator at the side. 

Getting inside, the woman clicked on a button with '4th' designed on it, after which, the elevator started moving.

Standing around in the quietness of the elevator felt really awkward, but I didn't try to start a conversation or anything. It'd just end up with me getting a scornful look. Probably.

Soon after, we arrived at the 4th floor, and the secretary got out first, followed by myself. 

We walked for a bit longer, before stopping in front of a room. The secretary knocked on the door three times, after which came a voice from inside which I made out to be something along the lines of "come inside".

The woman opened the door and both of us walked inside. 

"I brought him here, sir." Said the woman, looking at Mr. Howard.

Mr. Howard was around his mid 30s, with brown hair, emerald green eyes, trimmed beard and a very pale looking face, almost sickeningly pale, infact. 

He had a sharp jaw, but it wasn't as sharp as mine. He was tall, too, standing at around 6'1 (185 cm), or just 1 inch shorter than me. 

"Good job. You may leave now. Oh, bring some tea, too." Mr. Howard said.

The woman followed his order (?) And left the room. Now, it was just us too.

We stood around like a bunch of ducks, but unlike ducks, we didn't say anything, just observing each other. Or, at least that's what I think he was doing. 

Mr. Howard let out a sigh, and then went to his chair to sit on it.

"Well, what do I owe the pleasure of meeting a director?" Mr. Howard asked in a sarcastic manner.

"I'm gonna go straight to the point." I said.

"That's a good thing." Mr. Howard nodded. "Afterall, Hollywood directors never come here for anything other than wanting to get their films released in IMAX and IMAX 3D through DMR. And I'm certain you're not here for that. Am I correct?" 

I nodded my head, and said. "You are indeed correct, Mr. Howard. I've come here for your cameras, and I mean the 70mm IMAX cameras." 

Mr. Howard looked visibly taken aback, but quickly composed himself. "What'd you say?" He leaned forward and asked in a whispery tone.

"I said I want your 70mm IMAX cameras." I repeated, this time at a slowler pace and with a louder voice.

Mr. Howard leaned back in his chair, and chuckled. 

"That's quite the unique request, Mr. Knight," Mr. Howard said. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Frowning, I asked. "Why not?"

"I'm sure you know that we only have 9 IMAX cameras at the moment."

I nodded, "I do."

"If you do, then I'm sure why I can't let you do that."

"Because you think I'll break it while filming?" I asked.

Mr. Howard nodded, "Indeed. These cameras are expensive to create, y'know? We can't just hand them to anyone, even if that anyone is a film director like you."

"If that's the case, why'd you let documentaries about the Mt. Everest and going in space be filmed using these exact cameras?" I retorted. 

 "Because that's far bigger of a deal than a film. It's prestigious, a technical milestone."

"Well, my film isn't about action to begin with, because its a period drama. So there's no need to worry about the cameras getting broken during an action sequence. And cost is not an issue either." I explained.

"It doesn't matter if its a drama or an action film, what matters is that the camera can still be broken." Mr. Howard said. "Why are you even asking for the cameras in the first place?"

"Because I want to shoot a film?" 

"But why?"

"Because… I love IMAX. I think it's sad that people don't use the cameras and just use DMR to get a few more bucks. They think of it as a gimmick, and nothing more." I explained, and looked at Mr. Howard directly in the eye. 

"And I want to change that, so that people would look at IMAX differently. So that they'd realise that it's much more than just a gimmick or a way to get more money."

Mr. Howard just stared at me for a while, before a knock came on the door.

"Come in." With that, the door opened, and the woman from before was standing there with a tray with two cups of tea in her hand. 

She walked to the table and placed the tea cups.

"Julia." Mr. Howard muttered, and the secretary, whose name I now know is Julia, looked at him.

"Make a contract to rent two of our cameras to this young man." Julia glanced at me, and then nodded, after which she left the room.

Flabbergasted, I asked Mr Howard. "That's it? That's all it took for you to give me the cameras?"

Mr. Howard took the tea cup in his hand and took a sip. "You showed me the love you have for IMAX. That's all that matters to me."

Sighing, I said. "You're quite easy to please."

"That may be so, but you got the cameras. You got what you came for. You can leave now." 

And so, I walked out of the room, scratching my head at how easy that was.

~~~

A/N: I know this is some really cheesy and corny stuff, but I'm probably never gonna do this again.

By the way, after next week, I'll start with editing the whole series, so I won't be updating for a while. I REALLY need to fix this novel, it's a mess.

Anyways, see ya later!