North of Superior
{{Infobox film
| name = North of Superior
| image = North of Superior title screen.png
| caption = Title screen
| director = Graeme Ferguson
| producer = Graeme Ferguson
| writer =
| starring =
| music = Zal Yanovsky
| cinematography = Graeme Ferguson
| editing = Toni Trow
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1971|01|01|Canada}}
| runtime = 18 minutes
| country = Canada
| language = English
| budget = {{CAD|270,000|link=yes}}
}}
North of Superior is a 1971 Canadian IMAX film directed by Graeme Ferguson. It is a travelogue of the area of Ontario, north of Lake Superior. It was commissioned for the then-new Ontario Place and was one of the first IMAX films made.
Designed to show off the large-size screen and detail of IMAX images, the film continues to be shown in IMAX festivals, and has been exhibited internationally.{{cite news |work=Sudbury Star |url=http://www.thesudburystar.com/2012/01/19/imax-festival-shines-a-light |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231021/http://www.thesudburystar.com/2012/01/19/imax-festival-shines-a-light |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |title=Imax festival shines a light |last=Stradiotto |first=Laura |accessdate=March 7, 2013}} It used extensive flying scenes that provide an in-flight effect that would become widely imitated in future IMAX films.{{cite book |publisher=Canadian Film Encyclopedia |title=North of Superior }}{{cite book |title=Take One's Essential Guide to Canadian Film |last=Wyse |first=Wyndham |year=2001 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |page=154 }}
Plot
North of Superior is 18 minutes long, the length of time a single IMAX reel could hold at the time. The film begins with aerial shots of Lake Superior and Ouimet Canyon. It then depicts a canoe capsizing, the Canada Steamship Lines ship Simcoe, people tubing on snow, workers removing snow from rail tracks, mining activity at a snowy terrace, and children playing ice hockey. After several people reforest trees, a moose hunting is depicting, then a wedding by the lake. This is followed by a montage of a village community enjoying their lives and going to church. At night, a fire occurs at a forest, and extinguishing begins by dawn. It succeeds after difficulty, and people begin reforesting again.
Production
The film was commissioned for the new Cinesphere, the new and first IMAX theatre that opened at Ontario Place in 1971.{{cite book |title=The Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film |year=2011 |publisher=Routledge |editor-last=Aitken |editor-first=Ian |page=131}}{{cite web |url=http://www.in70mm.com/news/2011/cinesphere/index.htm |title=Cinesphere - The worlds first permanent Imax film theatre |publisher=in70mm.com |accessdate=March 7, 2013}} The film, the first official IMAX film, cost CDN$270,000 to produce. It was produced and directed by the founders of IMAX Corporation, then known as Multiscreen Corporation: Roman Kroitor, Graeme Ferguson, Robert Kerr, and Bill Shaw.{{cite web |publisher=IEEE |title=The Birth of IMAX |url=http://www.ieee.ca/millennium/imax/imax_birth.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050215091953/http://ieee.ca/millennium/imax/imax_birth.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 15, 2005 |accessdate=March 7, 2013}} As it was one of the first IMAX films, production equipment was invented for the production. One of the cameras used was held together by duct tape. Mounting equipment for the helicopters used in the film had to be custom-made.
In its initial run during the Ontario Place season of 1971, over 1.1 million people viewed the film.{{cite news |work=Financial Post |title=Imax projector, big screen break into North American market |date=February 10, 1973 |page=18}} The film repeatedly returned to Cinesphere and was one of the last films shown (on the original IMAX projector) at Cinesphere in December 2011, after which Cinesphere and Ontario Place closed for a future redevelopment.{{cite news |newspaper=Toronto Star |date=January 7, 2011 |title=Cinesphere to go 3D | url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/01/07/cinesphere_to_go_3d.html}} As part of the Infuture art festival held at Ontario Place in September 2016, the film was shown again at the Cinesphere. It is considered the most widely seen Canadian IMAX film.{{cite web |url=http://www.bigmoviezone.com/filmsearch/movies/index.html?uniq=115 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010622202048/http://www.bigmoviezone.com/filmsearch/movies/index.html?uniq=115 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=June 22, 2001 |title=Big Movie Zone -- North of Superior |accessdate=March 7, 2013}}{{cite web |publisher=IMAX |url=http://www.imax.com/movies/m/north-of-superior/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626165510/http://www.imax.com/movies/m/north-of-superior/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 26, 2012 |title=North of Superior |accessdate=March 7, 2013}} As part of the Toronto International Film Festival{{when|date=January 2024}}, a pristine 70mm IMAX print of the film was presented yet again at Cinesphere on a newly installed screen. Graeme Ferguson was present for the screening, as was the film's editor, Toni Trow.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tiff.net/tiff/north-of-superior/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817021034/http://www.tiff.net/tiff/north-of-superior/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 17, 2017|title = Tiff - 404}}
The aerial shot, along with the large IMAX screen, induced the "Kinesthetic effect" which meant that viewers would experience the flying sensation due to eye perception over-ruling the inner ear balance.{{cite web |title=The Man Who Invented IMAX: An Interview with Graeme Ferguson csc |url=http://www.csc.ca/news/default.asp?aID=1464 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130410030921/http://www.csc.ca/news/default.asp?aID=1464 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 10, 2013 |accessdate=March 7, 2013 |publisher=Canadian society of cinematographers}} Viewers were warned to close their eyes if they experienced any discomfort.
Music
Singer/songwriter Bill Houston composed the original song Ojibway Country for the film.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120212163426/http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/Bill-Houston CBC Bio] The score is credited to Zal Yanovsky.[https://web.archive.org/web/20151208181308/http://www.giantscreencinema.com/Films/FilmDatabase/FilmDatabaseDetailView/tabid/288/Default.aspx?movieid=206 GiantScreenCinema.com]
Thunder Bay native Paul Shaffer, later a well known performer, appears briefly in one scene playing an organ at an outdoor wedding.{{Cite web|url=https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=316904|title=I talked to Paul Shaffer today!|date=17 May 2005}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0067504|North of Superior}}
- {{Official website|https://www.imax.com/movies/north-superior}}
Category:Canadian short documentary films
Category:English-language Canadian films
Category:Films shot in Ontario
Category:1971 short documentary films
Category:IMAX documentary films