August 30, 2009 12:55 by
philipHigh excitement at Melbourne Museum, today, with the opening of the Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival. The free screenings are taking place in the Age Theatre, next-door to the Discovery Centre, and drawing large crowds of cinema-lovers. I wandered out after the Warwick Thornton Retrospective to see a whole line of people eagerly giving feedback about the event, ticking boxes, preparing for Samson & Delilah...
Photo: Philip Thiel Source: Museum Victoria
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Ever wondered how the 3D movies at IMAX work? Surprisingly, I frequently do find myself wondering this, and being that the Discovery Centre is conveniently located right next to the IMAX office, I took my chance on Saturday morning when the IMAX Senior Technical Advisor wandered past the centre to have my questions answered.
I was led into the bowels of the IMAX organisation to the "Projection Room". At the time, Under the Sea 3D was screening and I saw the enormous film reel being threaded through the enormous projector onto the enormous screen.
Photo: Meg Lomax Source: Museum Victoria
I learned that the longest film reel that IMAX currently has in its collection measures approximately 15 kilometres in length, weighs over 100 kilgrams and has to be moved around using a forklift.
Photo: Meg Lomax Source: Museum Victoria
And in response to my burning question, I learned that the 3D effect is created by running two versions of the same film at the same time - one film for the left eye and one film for the right eye.
Photo: Meg Lomax Source: Museum Victoria
So, in the Discovery Centre, not only do we answer your questions, but we also answer our own!
If you're interested in seeing the 3D phenomenon for yourself, check out the IMAX website.
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