REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: 3-D makes film super-real

Less than two months ago, I stood at the edge of a bluff overlooking the aquamarine pools of Havasu Falls, and watched in amazement as a stream of white water rushed over the burnt sienna rocks, crashing into the pools 100 feet below.

I stand in this exact spot once again, only this time through the lens of Greg MacGillivray’s video camera. The surroundings feel completely real in this IMAX, three-dimensional film documentary. So real, I can almost feel the heavy, cool mist that permeates from the falls, and the warmth of the rock beneath my feet.

Throughout parts of “Grand Canyon Adventure” I am able to experience the Grand Canyon in ways I could not manage when I was actually there, soaring about the pinnacles of geologic formations and grazing the surface of bodies of water at high speeds.

I am bewildered as to how he achieved some of these spectacular angles, ducking through narrow openings between canyon peaks. Perhaps he strapped a camera to a bird.

I find myself tightly shutting my eyes behind the 3-D glasses as bubbles float toward my face, and holding my breath as rapid currents splash over in enormous waves into the raft I am riding down the rampant Colorado River. That’s just how real an experience MacGillivray creates for viewers, via cinematographic brilliance.

The fluid rhythm of the Dave Matthews Band’s “Two Step” and “Lie in Our Graves” was an especially nice addition to the film as well.

I left my own Grand Canyon adventure having failed to hike as far as the Colorado River, and eager to return for further exploration. I am thankful for the vicarious journey through this film, while I sit on the wait-list for the real thing.

The only sobering effect on this exhilarating “adventure film” is the underlying message about our endangered water supply. I only hope that I am able to raft this incredible river before it runs completely dry.

ASHLEY BREEDING covers sports and features. She can be reached at (949) 494-5462 or at [email protected].