A new immersive cinema takes off

The monarch is a marathon insect. Not just migratory: its annual journey from southern Canada to the forests of Mexico is one of the longest in the world. And the most difficult, too. It was therefore normal to dedicate a panoramic film to it which needs three walls to fully unfold.

That’s what we’re proposing anyway. The legend of the butterfly, an animated film in theaters Friday October 13 and which is projected in a new genre panoramic format called ScreenX. This format adds two additional screens to the projection on the central screen of the cinema room: one on the left wall, the other on the right.

This results in a 270 degree immersion effect which, unlike an IMAX film or a stereoscopic (3D) projection, is not used during the entire projection. In The legend of the butterflyapproximately 30% of the scenes are thus projected side by side on these three screens.

Director Sophie Roy says she is satisfied with the result. “It works well when the action is quieter,” she says. “We feel the emotion, especially towards the end, we feel closer to the characters. »

This proportion of ScreenX images in The legend of the butterfly is a bit higher than other films that moviegoers may have recently seen in this same format. The two examples that come to mind are Hollywood blockbusters. Avatar 2. The Way of Water And Bullet Train.

The legend of the butterfly is a Canadian-German co-production that doesn’t have the commercial pretensions of those two. Its $16 million budget is a fraction of that of the others. But the animated film has an advantage that allows it to take better advantage of the ScreenX format: its landscapes are digital environments that were designed in an immersive, 360-degree manner. Generating the image projected on each side of the room was perhaps less difficult than if the action had been filmed in the real world.

Rediscover cinema

The ScreenX format is not the same as a film projected in 3D. Spectators don’t need to wear special glasses to see him in action. You just need to have normal peripheral vision.

The goal of the technology is the same: to attract moviegoers to theaters. “It’s a format that we will only see in the cinema,” assures Sophie Roy. “There will be no 3D version on a virtual reality headset or anywhere else. The theaters have invested in having two more screens and dedicating a room exclusively to ScreenX. »

Cinemas, in fact, need specialized equipment to project ScreenX content. This includes two more projectors for each of the two side walls of the room used. You also need the right projection system, given that the film format belongs to a Korean company, CJ 4DPLEX, which is careful not to reveal the recipe.

Studios wishing to produce a film in this format must transmit three sequences, one per screen, according to precise characteristics. The result is a film in ScreenX format which can currently be shown in only three theaters here. There are a total of 400 ScreenX theaters around the world. They are mainly found in Asia, and a little in Europe.

The Montreal studio CarpeDiem, which co-produced The legend of the butterfly, sees this as an opportunity to be seized. Already, his animated film has been sold in 39 countries and adapted into several languages.

“Animation exports well because even in other languages ​​you see people laughing and reacting in the same places,” says director Sophie Roy. “For us, the market here still needs to be developed. We now have the expertise for Screen X and we will always be able to have a little more images in future films which will be in ScreenX format. »

Technical and fun

In addition to images that are often larger than life, The legend of the butterfly features the voices of Antoine Desrochers, Catherine Brunet and Sophie Cadieux. Julie Le Breton and Ludivine Reding play supporting roles in a rather conventional story which, if it had to be summed up in three words, would look like this: milkweed, urbanization and precariousness.

While the effects of human activity on the life cycle of monarchs are well known, their reliance on milkweed is emphasized, bolded, and reiterated throughout the story. Let parents take it for granted: young audiences who go to see this film will certainly come away with more questions than answers about this plant native to Quebec and too often considered a weed.

Moreover, it is not only monarchs who appreciate its virtues. These days we are rediscovering the qualities of this herb in the manufacture of furniture, in the making of warm clothing for winter and even in the construction of buildings.

In The legend of the butterfly, Patrick, Geneviève and Martin will use this plant during their trip to Mexico to overcome their limitations and thwart prejudices. To get out of the framework that is imposed on them. Like the film itself, ultimately.

Let’s call it the butterfly effect.

The legend of the butterfly

Animated comedy by Sophie Roy. With Antoine Desrochers, Catherine Brunet, Sophie Cadieux, Julie Le Breton, Ludivine Reding, Rodley Pitt. Canada Germany, 2023, 82 minutes. Indoors.

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