'Transformers 2' Will Feature Longer IMAX Cut

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By: Brad Brevet
Published: Sunday, June 7th 2009 at 10:26 PM

For some reason I could have sworn I read a quote from Michael Bay saying he decided not to shoot Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen using IMAX cameras because they were too big for his style of shooting. Perhaps he was talking about 3-D in the interview I am thinking of because in a new post on his official message board he confirms four scenes were shot on IMAX cameras as well as saying he has "created a slightly longer cut [of the film] with more robot fighting" for the IMAX screens.

Here is the complete post:

Hey everyone,

In Japan today. After a month and half seven days a week most days going till midnight me and my crew have just about finished Transformers. I have never seen such a level of dedication from every crew member in a movie before.

Even today after the press in Japan and right before the premiere tonight, I have to sneak out to a digital house to approve the last few effect shots.

It has been a long hard road, but really fun one to travel. What you will notice that is strikingly different than Transformers 1, is the level of animation detail. The robot characters (42 in all), you really can feel empathy for them. What is also very different is the sheer scale of the movie. We have been very tight holding back much of the best imagery in commercials and trailers.

The way to see this movie is on IMAX. Never before has there been 4k rendered character animation shot on full IMAX 70 mm film. This is a first and the results are stunning. You will see Optimus Prime in a few shots where he is actually perfectly to scale on the IMAX 50 foot tall screens.

For IMAX, I created a slightly longer cut with more robot fighting. Four scenes were shot on IMAX cameras so the screen will fill the full IMAX screen for these scenes.

Haters beware.

Michael

I'm now a little more anxious to check this film out despite my primary dislike of the original film, but I think we all know this will instantly create fan comparisons to The Dark Knight. I don't know to what extent Bay actually planned on using IMAX cameras or if he was inspired by the idea and decided to give it a shot. To be fair, production on Transformers 2 began well before The Dark Knight hit theaters, but I know Chris Nolan envisioned scenes in The Dark Knight in IMAX, not sure how Bay approached it.

One thing I do know is my June 22 screening of Transformers 2 isn't currently set for an IMAX screen so I may need to fork over some bucks to get the full effect.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is set for a June 24 release, click here for a look at our gallery of 44 images and watch the trailers.