Big-screen ‘Volcanoes’ will rock your world
Kilauea eruption added urgency to the project
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be inside an active volcano, the giantscreen adventure “Volcanoes: The Fires of Creation” is the film event for you.
USA TODAY has the exclusive first trailer for the 3D film (opening Oct. 12 on IMAX and giant screens) that features an up-close view of the astounding forces of nature.
“Volcanoes” shows National Geographic photographer Carsten Peter dodging boulders on the edge of an active volcano in Indonesia and descending to a lava lake in the Pacific volcanic island Vanuatu.
“We’re now able to take viewers right in the middle of the action to give them a true experience of what it’s like to be so close,” says director Michael DaltonSmith. “So it feels like you are standing on the edge of these explosive volcanoes as they erupt. It’s certainly exhilarating ... and it’s without the heat and lava bombs flying at you.”
Dalton-Smith harnessed his own lifelong obsession (he directed the 2015 TV series “Volcanic Odysseys”), traveling to volcanoes around the world for the large screen project – from America to Africa, Italy to Indonesia – while exploring underwater creations rising from the sea.
“Volcanoes” incorporates cuttingedge 8K digital high-resolution cameras to enhance the giant screen/IMAX view.
The filmmaker was in the final editing phase of the 21⁄ year project when Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted in May. His crew jumped to the location, capturing lava flows and heartbreaking scenes of residents watching their houses burn down in the lava’s path.
Dalton-Smith was in one deserted neighborhood in a tranquil Hawaiian forest and shot the volcanic fissures emerging with breathtaking quickness.
“Within 24 hours, that whole forest was annihilated. There was a massive fissure where this once-tranquil bamboo forest existed in the middle of someone’s neighborhood,” DaltonSmith says. “It’s extremely powerful and humbling to witness moments like this.”
“Volcanoes” also presents the other side of the devastation, showing the nutrient rich soils and diverse ecosystems that develop after the deadly explosions.
“This allows us to see volcano’s contributions, witnessing the transition of the world in action, changing before us,” Dalton-Smith says. “Which is incredible.”