A US $100 million feature film titled City of Lost Spirits that will be shot in Petra, Jordan will give us 360° views of the ancient city. The action adventure movie, which will have a style similar to Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark, will be co-developed and produced by Unizarre International, a UK-based film production company with Blaze Agency, a TV production firm in Jordan.
Written by Jordanian writer/director, Sandra Kawar, the film will explore the myths and legends of Petra, which has now been declared one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
The film will be shot on 35 mm. However, Bowles confirmed the team would keep “HD aspects in mind for future TV spin-offs”. The team will also introduce 360° technology to create special effects in the film.
Bringing to the table the new technology is Paul Shersby, the film’s associate producer and CEO of Film 360, a company that specialises in 360° video technology. “The 360° technology has never been used in films before,” Shersby told Digital Studio. “It has had its commercial applications in real estate but this is the first time it is being used for the big screen. “Film 360 specialises in the production of 360°x360° interactive, navigable video and high definition 360°x360° pictures. We began with interactive picture production and have progressed to the development of interactive video. With HD, we can also import and interface live action and animation into the 3D environment. It’s like virtual actuality.”
The team will use HD digital camera systems, specially trained film crews and ‘360′ post production facilities to enable this technology and create the desired effects.
In City of Lost Spirits, Film 360 will take some interactive footage that it will process. This footage will then be passed on to the animation team to put some of their wizardry into it. “We are very excited about the use of this new technology as it will give Petra a whole new dimension never witnessed before,” commented Bowles.
City of Lost Spirits has been backed by the Royal Film Commission of Jordan. It is scheduled to hit screens in two years.
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