American Cinematographer - August 1994 - 61

made by Cinema
Products, which ultimately
65 camera,

earned

a

scientific and technical

Academy Award.
After directing Leonardo's
Dream with Giuseppe Rotunno
ASC, AIC, Trumbull changed his
mind about Showscan being the
future format of theatrical films.
"It was the first time I had a
chance to make a period theatri¬
cal film with full makeup, ward¬

robe, sets, props, beautiful light¬

ing, camera moves, etcetera," he
recalls. "After that film

was

a very dis¬
conclusion that the
Showscan process is too vivid
and life-like for a traditional fic¬
tion film. It becomes invasive. I
decided that for conventional

completed, I drew
tinct

Universal rents

everything in
front of the
camera.

Stages
STAGES

Length

Width

Height

Sq. Ft.

1

100'

92'

29'0"

9.200

3

154'

80'

27'2"

12,320

4

154'

69'

27'10"

10,626

5

139'

64'

23'4"

6

139'

63'

19'10"

12

199'

146'

49'2"

8,896
8,757

99'

68'

28-2"

6,732

144'

80'

28'8"

11,520

17

144'

70'

28'10"

10,080

18

144'

74'

29'1"

10,656

19

144'

74'

27'10"

20

144'

74'

27'1"

10,656

22

157'

74'

27'0"

11,618

23

157'

76'

28' 1"

11,932

24

157'

112'

33'4"

17,584

25

157'

112'

33'4"

17,584

27

199'

99'

39'10"

19,701

28

142'

98'

4311"

13,916

29

141'

97'

30'0"

13,677

30

141'

88

30'0"

12,408

31

141'

97'

30'0"

13,677

32

141'

89'

30'0"

12,549

33

99'

69'

25'0"

6,831

34

99'

69'

25'0"

6,831

35

99'

69'

25'0"

6,831

36

99'

69'

2411"

6,831

37

140'

100'

30'0"

14,000

41

140'

102'

30'1"

14,280

"We decided to link all of

42

140'

102'

30'0"

14,280

the stories in a common theme
because the total experience is

43

140'

102'

30'3"

14,280

44

140'

102'

30'0"

14,280

747

139'

59'

2i-2"

8.201

25'Dia.

15'6"

491

frames per

second. It keeps the
image under the proscenium
arch. That's important, because
most of the audience wants to

be

non-participating voyeurs."
In October of

1992, after

finishing Back to the Future - The
Ride, the Trumbull Company
was
approached by Circus Cir¬
cus Enterprises, which ran the
Showscan motion simulator in
the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas
and had new plans for an enter¬
tainment complex and a 30-story,
pyramid-shaped hotel. This new
complex would have not one but
three big attractions: immersive
films representing the past,
present and future and incorpo¬
rating into the story the hotel's
pyramid shape.

greater than the individual

parts," explains Trumbull. "It is
an adventure story, broken into
three episodes, and each is
handled in a completely different
style, but using the same cast. It's
unusual idea, but I felt that
of the deficiencies of specialvenue theaters is that you don't
have sufficient time to develop
characters or drama or empathy
the kind of feeling you would

12W-Fire

TANK

*

*

*

*

9,934

Radius Hard
Stage 34

Lighting/Grip
Props/Furniture * Post Production
Transportation * Stock Scenery
Research Costume Sign Shop

29,054

16

movies, it's best to stay with 24

Production Services
Set Construction

Backlot Locations
New York Streets

*

Western Streets

European Streets * Mexican Streets
Courthouse Square * Falls Lake
Residential Streets Spartacus Square
Aircraft Mockups...and more!
*

Cyc

55' x 50' x 25'

an

one

-

get in a feature film. By having
the

same

episodes,

characters in all three
we

added

a

layer of

Check

our

competitive rotes:

(800)892-1979

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
100 Universal

City Plaza, Universa I City, CA 91608
© Universal Studios
American Cinematographer - August 1994

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