How Christopher Nolan Invented New Technology to Shoot 'The Odyssey' in IMAX

Christopher Nolan and The Odyssey’s cinematographer, Hoyte van Hoytema, revealed to Empire that they invented new equipment so that they could shoot all of the forthcoming epic with IMAX cameras.

Nolan Created New Technology for The Odyssey

While Nolan has shot large sections of his previous films with IMAX cameras, The Odyssey marks the first time that he’s filmed an entire movie with them. Before Nolan and van Hoytema created their new equipment, the loud noises produced by IMAX cameras prohibited their use for more intimate, dialogue-based scenes and close-ups.

As van Hoytema explained, he was able to convince Nolan of the new equipment with some small-scale test footage. “I presented Chris with a very big close-up of a child on the IMAX screen, reciting David Bowie’s Sound and Vision from a piece of paper,” the cinematographer said. “It was very touching: that level of intimacy in both image and sound, fused together, projected in the theatre.”

Nolan Called the Result 'Electrifying'

Nolan called the footage “electrifying,” adding, “We never would have been able to get those shots before.” He and van Hoytema then pioneered a new camera casing called a “blimp,” which muffles the sounds emitted from IMAX cameras. “The blimp system is a game-changer,” he said. “You can be shooting a foot from [an actor’s] face while they’re whispering and get usable sound. What that opens up are intimate moments of performance on the world’s most beautiful format.”

Nolan Has Long Used the IMAX Format

With The Dark Knight (2008), Nolan became the first filmmaker to utilize IMAX cameras to shoot action scenes for a major Hollywood blockbuster. That film contained about 28 minutes of IMAX footage, but Nolan’s follow-up, The Dark Knight Rises, contained 72 minutes of IMAX footage. Seventy-six minutes of Tenet (2020) were filmed with IMAX cameras, while 79 minutes of Dunkirk was shot with the format. For Nolan’s 106-minute war film, the remaining 27 minutes were lensed with 70mm film stock, which can also be blown up for IMAX screens with little difference in quality.