[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] Director Christopher Nolan’s new film, *The Odyssey*, is the first feature-length film to be shot entirely with IMAX film cameras. While this choice was made to capture overwhelming visuals that fill the giant screen, the production faced a series of unexpected challenges on set. The actors had to stop filming approximately every three minutes, and since it was difficult to look directly at each other’s faces, they sometimes had to use mirrors to convey their emotions.

◇Filming Halted Every 3 Minutes… How Was the 8-Page Emotional Scene Filmed?
The reason lay in the physical limitations of the IMAX film camera. The film magazine of the new IMAX camera used for *The Odyssey* could only capture approximately 2 minutes and 30 seconds to 3 minutes at a time. Once that time elapsed, filming had to stop to load a new roll of film.
While this wasn’t a major issue for short scenes, it was a different story for emotional scenes requiring a long take. Even if an actor was fully immersed in their emotions and continuing their performance, filming had to be halted once the film ran out.
The approach Director Nolan chose was close to “doing nothing.” Instead of having the actors and crew leave their positions or engage in conversation while the film was being changed, he instructed them to remain exactly as they were just before the take. The set fell silent, and the actors waited without breaking character. As soon as the camera crew finished changing the film as quickly as possible, filming resumed immediately.
One of the scenes that put this method to the test was an emotional scene between Odysseus (Matt Damon) and Penelope (Anne Hathaway), filmed early in production on a set in Los Angeles. The scene the two actors had to perform spanned about eight pages of the script.
Even though the scene—which required sustaining a long emotional arc—was shot in multiple takes, the two actors continued their performances while maintaining the emotional state they had established in the previous take. After successfully completing this shoot, director Nolan gained confidence in the approach of shooting the entire feature film on IMAX film.

The length of the film wasn’t the only issue. IMAX film cameras are also notorious for the loud noise they generate while operating. This posed a problem in scenes where dialogue was crucial, as the sound of the camera could be recorded alongside the actors’ voices.
To solve this, the production team built a new “blimp”—a soundproof enclosure designed to reduce noise—to encase the camera. According to Director Nolan, the camera noise was reduced to little more than a “soft purr.”
However, solving one problem led to another. Enclosing the camera in the soundproofing device increased its bulk, and during close-up scenes where the actors faced each other, the camera obstructed their view. This made it difficult for Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway to look their co-star in the eye properly.
The production team ultimately resorted to using mirrors. They set it up so that the two actors, unable to see each other directly, could act while confirming their partner’s gaze through the mirrors. A paradoxical situation arose: to achieve the massive IMAX screen, the actors actually had to look into each other’s eyes through mirrors.

◇Nolan Yelled “Cut” Every 3 Minutes… Tom Holland Was “Flustered”
This filming method, which involved stopping every three minutes or so, was unfamiliar to the actors as well. Tom Holland recalled that when he first joined the set of “The Odyssey,” he thought there was something wrong with his performance because Director Nolan kept halting the shoot.
As filming was repeatedly halted, Holland grew concerned and asked John Bernthal, who was filming alongside him, why this was happening. It wasn’t until he heard an explanation from the stunt coordinator—that there were time limitations on IMAX film—that he understood the situation.
Ultimately, shooting the entire *Odyssey* in IMAX was not simply a matter of switching to a different camera. The production team had to overcome various constraints, ranging from limited film length to camera noise and the problem of bulky equipment blocking the actors’ view. Behind the massive IMAX screen of *Odyssey* lay this analog process of trial and error and the solutions that emerged from it.