IMAX Hubble film under way

Photo courtesy: NASA

In a series of five servicing missions to the Hubble Space telescope, an IMAX camera has been brought into space to capture the spacewalks for an upcoming 3D film. Hubble 3D (working title) will document the life story of the telescope as well as feature some of Hubble’s signature images of space.

Currently, IMAX cameras will capture the upcoming Atlantis launch in January from inside the spacecraft, as well as from the ground. Florida Today reports:

Earlier this month, workers at the space center mounted a camera weighing more than 700 pounds in one of the Hubble payload’s four huge cargo carriers, where it will remain in a fixed position.

To shoot the launch, other large-format cameras will also be placed on top of the Rotating Service Structure surrounding Atlantis and around launch pad 39A.

The shuttle camera holds “the world’s longest roll of motion picture film,” measuring 5,400 feet, [Director of Photography James] Neihouse said. That’s enough to shoot just eight minutes in space.

A list of desired shots has been established, but astronauts will have the final say in all filming decisions and camera controls, Neihouse said. One of the pivotal shots will be Hubble’s release from Atlantis.

The film is slated for a 2010 release by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Article >>

|