You may be wondering what Oscar-winning filmmaker Darren Aronofsky is up to. And you’d be right to wonder. Following his latest Oscar-winning film, The Whale, it seems like the already experimental Aronofsky has shifted into even more experimental territory with his upcoming project Postcard From Earth, a new immersive experience that will go far beyond what even IMAX can offer. The project is set to premiere at The Sphere, a new venue in Las Vegas that is set to open in September of this year. Postcard From Earth will premiere exclusively at The Sphere in October of this year. And ahead of the project’s release, Aronofsky gave The Hollywood Reporter an exclusive new peak at his groundbreaking project.
Postcard From Earth will be a sci-fi experience, blending both narrative and documentary. And though exact details regarding the project are sparse, Aronofsky did describe the project as a “…journey deep into our future as our descendants reflect on our shared home.” He continued, noting that the experience is designed “…to be as effective as possible to communicate the message we wanted to deliver in an emotional way, so it’s less about genre than about the audience experience.”
Indeed, the project seems perfect for the groundbreaking venue in which it is set to premiere. The Sphere, which is not yet open, is a sphere-shaped venue that offers a uniquely immersive experience for a multitude of projects. The venue has emphasized its use of “multi-sensory” storytelling on its website. The venue boasts a wraparound LED display and a custom spatial audio system. The venue also features 4D capabilities thanks to haptic seats and many other ‘environmental’ effects. And it looks like Aronofsky is taking full advantage of the venue’s unparalleled capabilities.
A Brand New Camera System for an Immersive Vegas Experience
In particular, Postcard From Earth will use Big Sky, a brand-new camera system developed at Sphere Studios, a part of Sphere Entertainment, which creates content for the venue. The new camera, which has not been used on any other project before Aronofsky‘s venture, boasts some very impressive technological capabilities. According to the Hollywood Reporter article, the single-lens “…has a 316-megapixel, 3-inch x 3-inch HDR image sensor that Sphere Studios says can capture 18K x 18K images up to 120 frames per second.”
Aronofsky was keen to point out the camera’s capabilities, noting that it “…is incredibly high resolution with a huge field of view.” He continued, saying that its capabilities are “…a positive for obvious reasons.” However, he also noted that the new technology “…provides countless challenges too.” He added that, “[l]ike anything there are some things that Sphere works particularly well with and others that present new problems to solve. As different artists play with it, I’m sure they’ll find innovative ways to use it and affect audiences in different ways.” He also gave a peak at some of the potential subjects of his new project saying that he and his team “…just recently figured out how to shoot with macro lenses and we filmed a praying mantis resting on a branch. Imagine what that may feel like when we present it 20 stories high.”
Along with Aronofsky, who is serving as director of photography, Aronofsky‘s long-time collaborator Matty Libatique will be serving as a cinematographer on the project. And Andrew Shulkind is serving as Sphere director of photography using the revolutionary Big Sky camera. Postcard From Earth is scheduled to premiere at The Sphere on October 6, just a week after the venue opens in Las Vegas. You can buy tickets for the experience here.
via Collider