|
It is one thing to contemplate the
immense power of nature, another to experience these forces first- hand. "Forces of
Nature" will showcase the awesome spectacle of earthquakes, volcanoes, and severe storms as we
follow scientists on
their groundbreaking quests to understand how these natural disasters are triggered. Audiences will
learn what is being
done to predict and prepare for these events -- and minimize their deadly effects -- as they come face-to-face
with
Earth's most destructive forces.
Produced by Graphic Films and National
Geographic, funded in part by the National Science Foundation and combined
with a strong package of educational materials and ancillary programs, this film promises to entertain
and educate
audiences worldswide. "Forces of Nature" an anticipated release date of June 2004,
and will be distributed by
Destination Cinema, Inc.
7:00 PM, Thursday, November 20 Thursday IMAX Movie 45$ Viewing Room A, 3rd floor of Gutman
Library at the Harvard
Graduate School of Education. |
In "Forces
of Nature", our cameras travel the world with three heroic scientists as they venture
to the very brink of erupting volcanoes, into the paths of deadly pyroclastic flows, along
massive fault lines, and aboard vehicles barreling toward severe and tornadic storms - all in the
pursuit of scientific knowledge.
On the Caribbean island of Montserrat
we find Dr. Marie Edmonds, a volcanologist searching
for clues that might foretell volcanic eruptions. Here, volcanic domes in the Soufriere Hills have
been erupting for nearly a decade, completely burying the capital city of Plymouth and leveling
several square miles of this tiny island. As ash and lava bursts skyward and violent pyroclastic
flows race toward the camera like searing avalanches, audiences will witness on the spectacular
giant screen the major 1995 eruption that took the lives of 19 people. Today, the majority of
Montserrat's inhabitants have fled the island - but the intrepid men and women at the
Montserrat Volcano Observatory have stayed behind, studying the volcano as it continues to
erupt.
Dr. Edmonds is
using groundbreaking new technology – the first ever permanently installed
spectroscope – to analyze gas emissions from the Soufriere Hills Volcano, one of the most
active volcanoes on the planet. She hopes that patterns in the gas composition might help her
understand activity deep within the volcano. Her studies have indicated that the vent may be
blocked by a growing dome of lava -- and an eruption might be likely in the near future. An
aerial camera brings us to the top of the smoking volcano, where another researcher is using a
specially adapted camera to monitor the growth of the lava dome. The researchers believe that
if they can discover early warning signs, they may better understand not only this volcano but
others around the world, and could, as a result, save countless lives.
Halfway around
the world, in Istanbul, Turkey, we meet a geophysicist who is studying the
deadliest of all natural disasters: earthquakes. Dr. Ross Stein of the U.S. Geological Survey has
discovered a pattern of seismic violence along the notorious North Anatolian fault: a westward
progression of quakes that may help him accurately forecast future earthquakes. Just a few
years ago, residents of Izmit, Turkey, awoke in horror to experience an earthquake so strong, it
rocked the city to its core. The convulsion registered an incredible 7.4 on the Richter Scale and
lasted 48 seconds - an eternity to those who experienced it. With the aid of a shake-table
simulation, audiences will experience the violent earthquake in full large-format pictures and
sound: the floor buckles, the walls begin caving in, dust is exploding everywhere. Multi-storied
buildings of concrete and brick convulse, rupture, and collapse to earth in clouds of dust.
In hopes of providing
earlier warnings for those living along this fault and others across the
world, Stein has spent the past decade studying the pattern of quakes and honing his
hypothesis: that through the build-up of stress along fault lines, earthquakes themselves may
cause other quakes to occur in nearby areas of the fault. Today, Dr. Stein and his colleagues
are hard at work, using GPS and side-scan SONAR technologies to identify the likely location
for the next great quake – which they ominously forecast will strike just south of Istanbul and
its
population of twelve million.
Finally, on the
American Great Plains, we join a meteorologist in pursuit of an elusive yet
deadly force of nature. Dr. Josh Wurman and his team have been chasing tornadoes for the
past 15 years, attempting to peer inside them using advanced radar technology, in hopes of
learning exactly what causes certain storms to spawn hundreds of these killers each year.
Wurman's team has developed a groundbreaking system utilizing dual-Doppler radar trucks
that will make it possible to “map” violent thunderstorms and identify the actual genesis
of a
tornado. Understanding exactly how a tornado is formed may enable meteorologists to predict
their occurrence with enough lead-time to save people at risk.
We join Wurman
and his team as they approach a violent storm, and watch breathtaking large-
format scenes as a tornado begins to form. The scientists are in chase mode, driving at high
speed to get into position to monitor the activity. It's a tricky maneuver - both trucks must be at
a precise angle, with the tornado forming between them - and the action is frenzied. As the
storm gains in intensity and the data begins to pour in, the team becomes more and more
excited. After fifteen years of chasing, they have finally succeeded in capturing the first 3-D
data ever gathered of a tornado genesis -- and our 15/70 cameras are there to record their
incredible success in spectacular IMAXã-format. This look at the formation of the twister will
help them identify which future major storms are likely to produce tornadoes.
For several minutes,
we witness the events the team is monitoring: Force 3 tornadoes ripping
across the plains of South Dakota. Fortunately, no lives are lost in this tornadic outburst, but
several homes lie in the path of the tornado and we experience with humble amazement the
extraordinary, destructive power of nature's fury.
The science stories
in "Forces of Nature" will be augmented with innovative and dynamic
computer graphics sequences designed to illustrate the inner workings of these forces. Dramatic
imagery will take audiences not only to the birth of our planet and the genesis of these forces of
nature, but also deep within the interior of today’s earth and up into the heights of our planet’s
atmosphere.
We'll travel back
in time to the formation of the Earth four and a half billion years ago. A novel,
computer-animated view from space will show our Earth stripped of water and vegetation,
revealing the vast geologic forces of the planetary crust in movement. The Earth, a massive,
fiery orange ball, fills the screen, covered with ancient erupting volcanoes and seas of molten
lava. The atmosphere appears, a blanket of sweeping storms and lightning flashes. We learn
that the planet we call Earth, where life flourishes today, is the result of four and half billion
years of activity by the immense forces of nature.
Another sequence
will take audiences on a ride deep inside Soufriere Hills, past soil, rocks,
and underground streams and into the seething molten rock of an immense magma chamber. As
the ceiling of magma above the chamber begins to crack, the CG "camera" rises with a plume
of magma, surging upward for miles through a chimney-like passage - until being halted near the
crater by an immense plug of lava which blocks the vent. Additional graphics will bring us on a
breathtaking flight along the great North Anatolian Fault, where audiences can visualize the
progression of quakes, and into the inner workings of a severe storm, as violent fronts collide
and the air rotates to form a force five tornado.
"Forces of Nature" will examine the earth’s most inspiring and terrifying natural events
with the
trademark combination of scientific excellence, storytelling skill and human emotion that has
defined National Geographic for more than a century. In partnership with Graphic Films, with
its outstanding track record in the large-format industry, we will bring to the giant screen a film
that provides the perfect combination of subject and medium: the largest events on earth
conveyed with visceral images on the world’s biggest film format.
1. M
