A sudden outbreak of COVID-19 quickly swept the globe unprepared. Although professionals quickly typed the virus at the beginning of the outbreak, so far no specific drugs have been found that can significantly control the virus.1
Throughout the history of human viruses, whether it is the "Spanish flu" that infected about 1 billion people in the world in the early 20th century, or the h1n1 influenza that spread to 214 countries around the world in 2009, it shows that the virus has a very high rate of transmission. Therefore, the development and production of effective drugs against viruses has become a top priority.
The 2001 imax film "Don't Have a Hole in the Sky" is a popular science documentary film about finding microorganisms that can be used for pharmaceuticals through scientific exploration and scientific investigation.
In the film, an expedition of cave rescue expert Nancy and microbiologist Harry goes deep into caves in different environments to find "polephilic microorganisms" that can survive under extreme conditions, hoping to be used to create new drugs that save lives.
The film was shot by the famous imax documentary director Greg Meigirifrey using imax 65 mm film, of which the high degree of restoration of the scene of scientific investigation is a highlight of this popular science documentary, and the application of imax is the technical support to maximize the artistic effect of the film.
Derived from the English "image maximum", which means image maximization, imax is a film projection system capable of projecting larger and higher resolution than traditional film. imax screen is divided into rectangular and spherical two kinds, standard rectangular screen is more common, the size of 22 meters wide, 16 meters high, can even be larger; and the spherical screen is generally in the science and technology museum, planetarium and other popular science venues are equipped, diameter of up to 30 meters. In order to match the super size of the two screens, the height of the interior space of the theater varies from 4 floors to 8 floors, and the special design of the seat slope is to ensure that each audience has the same sense of immersion and presence. Generally speaking, imax films use 70 mm 15 perforation format film, and the light sensitivity area is 10 times that of ordinary 35 mm film, so the image delivered is clearer and brighter than the average film. In addition, the combination of imax projector's unique "wave ring" film entry technology, 15 kilowatts of high-power projection light source, and the 6.1-channel multi-speaker super sound system that must be mentioned and thousands of small holes in the screen, make imax movies known as "the ultimate experience of cinema".
On the imax screen, the film "Don't Have a Cave Sky" shows the desolate arizona dry and grassless, the slightly acidic trickle of water in the canyon constantly washes through the crevices of the earth's crust, forming a 300-foot-high cave in just 1 million years; the mysterious Greenland ice sheet tells the resume of time, the memory of climate change; the distant Yucatan Peninsula, built ancient Mayan temples, in the world's longest underwater cave system, there is a salt jump at the junction of fresh water and seawater, Polephilic microorganisms tend to hide in these little-known places.
In order to obtain samples, Nancy and Harry visited the primitive cave near the Grand Canyon in an extremely hot environment, challenged the limit of human access to the deepest part of the Arctic ice, dived into the cave with the most complex terrain environment, and carried out an extremely dangerous underground cave diving expedition.
The film takes researchers to explore caves produced in different extreme environments to obtain samples of polarophilic microorganisms as clues, vividly showing the complexity, danger and uncertainty of cave exploration to the audience, and popularizing scientific knowledge such as the ways and methods of exploring caves and the principles of cave formation. The more important significance of the film is that through the true presentation of the scientific adventure process, two scientists who adhere to their ideals and climb the peak of scientific research jump on the screen, they are not afraid of the unknown, nor have they given up because of difficulties, which has positive significance for inspiring the audience, especially the young people, to explore the unknown world, devote themselves to scientific research and establish lofty ideals and beliefs.
The imax projection equipment cooperates with the use of a large number of overhead shots and suspended shots in the film, which perfectly presents the beauty and magnificence of nature, bringing the audience a strong sense of presence and visual impact. The raging rapids in the Grand Canyon, the ice sheets in the Arctic Circle, and the dark caves under the Yucatan Peninsula are as thrilling as if you were in them. The use of imax's large frame and high-sensitivity film also brings to life the dark, secluded and romantic details of the cave environment.
As an important medium of science communication, popular science films are a perfect combination of science and art, and the content is mostly based on scientific exploration, aerospace, environmental protection, and humanistic history. The perfect combination of imax technology and popular science movies not only enlarges the picture of the film, but also enlarges the content of science, greatly enhances the viewing of the film, attracts more members of the public to enter the theater, enjoy the fun of science, and help science communication.
imax originated as a planetarium and a science museum. Nowadays, because of its excellent performance ability, it is increasingly used in commercial screenings. As imax CEO Richard Graffon said, imax is not just a market brand, but through a lot of scientific and artistic details, we are not only scientists, but also an artist.
The author is an engineer in the Cinema Management Department of China Science and Technology Museum
Source: Popular Science Times
Author: Wu Dan
Editor: Wu Tong
Review: Wang Fei
The image comes from the Internet
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