After half a decade of waiting, the long-awaited sequel to Joker – Joker: Folie À Deux – It's finally ready to hit theaters and fans couldn't be more excited. Todd Phillips' original masterpiece, which spawned a rare genre nomination for Best Picture, has only grown in popularity since its initial theatrical run, and if the trailers are any indication, the second round looks just as daring. It also looks very beautiful.
Credit for that striking appearance, of course, goes to the talented team who worked on the film. Cinematographer Lawrence Sher and everyone in his department have done a fantastic job executing Phillips' vision, which often uses color, perspective, and scale to help amplify the story. To help achieve this, they worked closely with IMAX, as the film was part of the premium format giant's Filmed For IMAX program.
To learn more about what that collaboration was like for Joker: Folie Á Deux, we partnered with AMC Theaters and sent a camera crew to IMAX headquarters in Los Angeles and Toronto to get the backstory of filming with the crew. One of the conversations we had was with Greg Ciaccio, vice president of post-production, original content and image capture at IMAX. During our chat, he talked about how early his team now gets involved in projects. Gone are the days of waiting until the movie was over to work together. Now, it's a collaborative process before principal photography even begins, and all of that is done to ensure that the film actually appears on the biggest and best screen possible. Here is a part of his quote…
In IMAX, we were actually involved in the show filmed for IMAX from the beginning of pre-production. We go over camera options, lenses, crop style, how objects look on an 80, 90 foot screen.
However, it is not about dictating decisions to the filmmakers. There is no one way to properly record an IMAX movie. Instead, it involves using high-resolution cameras and advances in film technology to highlight the elements the filmmaker is trying to highlight. In fact, IMAX has started to see filmmakers really experiment and start finding new ways to extract emotions from characters using high-resolution cameras, and the end result is an enhanced psychological factor that audiences actually feel, especially in a film. as Joker: Folie de dos. Here's more of our conversation…
(The film) has incredible quality, there are some incredible close-ups. I think filmmakers are finding new ways to bring out the emotionality of characters. When you see Joker: Folie À Deux and the characters in full screen like that, the psychological factor is really exaggerated and heightened, and you really feel that tension. We will see that effect in IMAX and nowhere else.
You can see glimpses of what he's talking about in the movie's trailers, but it'll be even more obvious once you see it on the big screen. The goal of Joker: Folie Á Deux isn't always to be the loudest or the most direct. Sometimes it is to connect and emphasize with the characters, and that means highlighting the emotionality of which it speaks.
You can consult Joker: Folie de dos in IMAX at AMC Theaters on October 4.