American Cinematographer - August 1993 - 22

data for later conforming video to 65mm
film. This same video daily in cassette form
would be air-freighted out to location for

viewing and evaluation. This process, with
flight travel time, turned out to be about a
four-day step, beating the conventional film
turnaround by almost two weeks, quite an
advantage when viewing video form with
a generator-powered monitor in a grass hut
in the Serengeti, 400 miles from the near¬
est phone.
Crest has also just brought online
Ultrascan ELG (Electronic Liquid Gate), a
programmable system that analyzes in real¬
time picture content and removes visible
element damage and dirt with no degrada¬
tion. It is being used on 65mm element res¬
toration transfers of South Pacific, Sound of

Music, Oklahoma!, and Star.
For information: Crest National

Videotape & Film Laboratories, 1141 N.
Seward, Hollywood, CA 90038, (213) 4626696.
Midland Productions
Midland Productions of Rich¬

*

IN A CLOSET

*

IN A TAXI

*

BEHIND A DOOR

*

IN BED

*

HAND HELD

mond, CA, has begun film production on
Deep Earth Exploration, a new simulator

*

UNDER A DIVING BOARD

*

IN JAIL

*

AT A ROCK CONCERT

*

ON A STAGECOACH

*

AT A FASHION SHOW

*

UNDER A LUNCH COUNTER

Dream Quest

Images
Hoyt Yeatman, founder of
award-winning visual effects studio Dream
Quest Images, which won Oscars two years
in a row for visual effects for The Abyssal
Total Recall, has now tried his hand at di¬

recting motion-based films. Warner Bros.
Recreation Enterprises selected Yeatman to
direct their first simulator ride film, The
Batman Adventure, a motion-based simu¬
lation film for its Movie World theme park
in Queensland, Australia. The four-minute
film takes viewers through Gotham City and
utilized some of the sets and miniatures
from Batman Returns, as well as many new
miniatures built at Dream Quest. The liveaction portion of the film was shot in 35mm,

using as many as 150 extras on the Warner
Bros. set. The entire film was then digitally
composited at Dream Quest in the HDTV
format for transfer by Sony High Definition
Facility to laserdisc.
Shooting on the set of Batman
Returns gave Yeatman the opportunity to
achieve a feature-quality look for The

film/park ride attraction featuring a wild,
breakneck tour through the crystal caverns
of Yucca Flats. Midland president Don Fox
and vice president Yas Takata are develop¬
ing the film for the MGM Grand Theme Park
in Las Vegas, Nevada, under the supervision
of MGM park designers and construction
managers Ira West and Carl Sawyer of
Duell Corporation in Los Angeles. The

and stunts, and execute camera moves that
would cut together to create the illusion of
one continuous take. Remarkably, the four-

scheduled opening for the ride film is late
1993.
"The traditional film-only-based

bers

Batman Adventure. He and his team had to

choreograph a hundred extras, pyrotechnics

day live-action shoot

was

completed in

three.

The film premiered at Movie
World in December 1992. Other team mem¬

It will make your lighting more
effective wherever you need to

simulator, although extremely effective, has

conceal

always left me wanting more," says West.

were project designer Rolf Roth and
project manager Jim House, both of Warner
Bros. McFadden Systems provided motion
bases and Anitech provided technical sys¬

"I want to

tems.

a

small compact

light

source.

Stik-up, ideal for film, TV, stills.
Up to 200W. Also 12V for
battery operation. Weighs only
8

ozs.

with cord. Stick it any¬

where. Kit available.
Write

or

call for info.

tmH

THE

AMERICAN

GREAT

MARKET
826 N.COLE AVENUE

*

more." With this

as a man¬

ning for Deep Earth. "I've always loved the
realism of dark rides with 3-D sets, and the
effectiveness of filmed simulations is well

Yeatman's next effort was
StarOuest Adventure, a simulator film
which Dream Quest is producing for Land¬
mark Entertainment Group and Samsung

known," says West. "In Deep Earth, the rid¬
will get the sum of its parts."
The mixing of live sets with film

Co., Ltd. Set to premiere at Korea's Taejon
Expo '93, the film will be projected in two

has posed special challenges for the film¬
makers. "All of our other simulator films are
one continuous point-of-view shot," claims

dios.

Midland's Fox. "In

Deep Earth, the sets and
experiences will be alternated and act
as transitions for each other." Takata adds,

film

"We

are

shooting for seamless segues be¬

tween fantasy and reality, leaving people
wondering where and when the two
parted."

HOLLYWOOD CA 90038

TELEPHONE 213/461-0200

see

date, West and Sawyer began their plan¬

ers

Stiioup
TWX 910 494 1233

©1984

20

For information: Midland Produc¬

tions, 435 S. 2nd St., Richmond, CA 94084,
(510)233-4236, FAX (510) 233-4738.

August 1993

large domed simulators. Metrolight Stu¬
"I did my

homework,"

says

Yeatman, recalling that he had prepared for
five weeks. "In the past, I've done films as
a visual effects supervisor where we had
200 people working on just the effects.
Communicating a vision to large numbers
over

of people and showing them how to get
there is what I've been doing since we

started Dream Quest

Images. It's truly

a
American Cinematographer - August 1993

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