Why ‘Fallen Kingdom’ Is The First ‘Jurassic Park’ Movie Shot In CinemaScope
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdomis going to be big. So big, in fact, that it’s been shot in CinemaScope – a widescreen format that no otherJurassicfilm has been shot in before. During aFallen Kingdomset visit, directorJ.A. Bayonaexplained why this is the firstJurassic Parkmovie filmed in this format.
Get ready to seeJurassic World: Fallen Kingdomon the biggest screen possible.Steven Spielbergshot the firstJurassic Parkin a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. When it came time to makeJurassic World,Colin Trevorrowshot in a 2.00:1 ratio. Now, director J.A. Bayona has gone even bigger, filming hisFallen Kingdomin 2.40:1 CinemaScope.
“I thought we wanted to make it bigger and we wanted to make it more epic,” Bayona said during aJurassic World: Fallen Kingdomset visit. “And I can tell you it looks amazing.”
CinemaScope has been around since the 1950s. PerWikipedia, “CinemaScope’s anamorphic format has continued to this day. In film-industry jargon, the shortened form, ‘Scope, is still widely used by both filmmakers and projectionists, although today it generally refers to any 2.35:1, 2.39:1, or 2.40:1 presentation or, sometimes, the use of anamorphic lensing or projection in particular.”
Spielberg used 1.85:1 forJurassic ParkandThe Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Joe Johnston followed suit withJurassic Park 3. Colin Trevorrow wanted to go even bigger forJurassic World, but settled on 2.00:1. Now, Bayona has decided to go even bigger. When it came time to film, Bayona wanted to fill the frame as much as possible. He also wanted to avoid a cinematic look suited for tiny airplane screens.
“I think one of the things I’m telling the camera operator all the time is that we need to do a movie that cannot be seen on a plane,” said the filmmaker. “So we are using all the format, from the extreme right to the extreme left. We are filling the frame in a beautiful way.” Bayona even went as far as to compare the look ofFallen Kingdomto something shot by cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, who filmedClose Encounters of the Third Kind,The Deer HunterandMcCabe and Mrs. Miller. “You saw the frames [of a Zsigmond shot film] and they look like paintings,” said Bayona, adding: “And Steven [Spielberg], all theIndiana Jonesmovies and the frames, they look like paintings. And I wanted to have that in this in aJurassicmovie. So we created this big canvas.“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdomhits theaters onJune 22, 2018.
