Olympian effort depicted in immersive film experience
Sports filmmaker Daryl Goodrich has directed a large format, 180-degree surround sound film as a centrepiece for The Olympic Museum, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The Museum has just reopened after a $60m renovation, and the Dunlop Goodrich co-founder was commissioned by Centre Screen Productions to direct the film as a finale to the Olympic Museum Experience.
The film, ‘Inside the Race’, portrays the experiences and emotions of being part of the competition at the Olympics, the highs, lows, and the incredible strength and fortitude needed to overcome the odds and strive for your best.
“Within the narrative we have focused on five different emotions, reflecting the stages that an Olympian goes through while taking part in the competition – focus, concentration, pain, desire and determination,” explained Goodrich. “To win an Olympic medal (or not) you will experience all of these things, and the difference between an Olympian and ordinary people, is that Olympians have what is required to go harder and further – their whole lives will have built up to this one moment.”
“Once we had decided that the story of the film would be to follow the journey an Olympian takes to strive to win, we had to find the best way to portray those emotions in an authentic way,” he added. “Luckily we had access to the greatest archive of filmed footage of the Olympics – countless amazing sporting moments. Our hardest job was the narrowing down over 53 hours of footage, and the search for exactly the right shots for each different part of the narrative.”
Another consideration was the large screen format, as well as the mix of different formats contained within the archive, including black and white, 16mm, Super 8mm, the film had to look original, and above all exciting.
To bring the archive footage to life even more, Goodrich projected it against various surfaces, chosen to represent the part of the story they were being used for. As an example, the ‘pain’, footage was reflected against razor blades, and the shots used for ‘determination’ were shot against footage of paint bubbling under heat.
Goodrich explained: “The approach meant that it didn’t matter what format the archive footage was in, it would be given a new lease of life and shown in a completely unique light. We also stretched different materials to the point of tearing, with the images projected upon them, to represent the tearing of the Olympian’s muscles, the limits to which they can push their bodies.”
“I always strive to make a film that will make my own hair stand on end, and to get my heart pumping,” Goodrich continued. “I watch as a viewer rather than a sportsman, and so the question during filming and editing is always whether it will make people feel the way we want them to feel, that is to grasp the passion, fear, strength and goes into being an Olympic athlete.”
High- speed filming on a Phantom camera was done at Greenford studios, West London, while the projection shoot and all other filming was done on the Red Epic. Three Canon 5D cameras were used for stills.
Postproduction compositing was by the in-house graphics department at Centre Screen in Manchester, while the offline edit was done at Centre Screen’s London office.
Goodrich added: “The filming techniques we used and the 180-immersive environment have helped to heighten the experience for the visitor to ensure they feel the emotion, intensity and awe-inspiring sensation of being an athlete at the pinnacle of their game, pushing themselves to the edge and beyond.”
Daryl Goodrich, who directed the Olympic films ‘Inspiration‘ and ‘Sport at Heart’ for London 2012, launched Dunlop Goodrich earlier this year with Bruce Dunlop, ex BDA/Sky Creative Director. The creative agency specialises in sports and news.
Credits Executive Director & Producer: Dave Postlethwaite (Centre Screen) Director: Daryl Goodrich Director of Photography: Jon Pegler (Centre Screen) Motion Graphics : Ben Adam Harris and Daniel Lusby (Centre Screen) Editor: Paul Trewartha Sound Design: Bent Ear Exhibition Design: Mather & Co
