In the 1980s, This Special Camera Helped Turn Astronauts Into Cinematographers to Shoot the First Imax Movie Ever Filmed in Space
The groundbreaking work, “The Dream Is Alive,” celebrates its 40th anniversary this year
It takes a lot to be an astronaut. Today, American astronauts typically need a master’s degree in a STEM field, two years of related professional experience (or at least 1,000 hours as pilot-in-command on a jet) and completion of NASA’s long-duration flight physical examination. All that comes before official training can start. In training, astronauts undergo microgravity tests, learn military water survival techniques, and prove they can swim about 250 feet in a full flight suit and tennis shoes.
Some astronauts, though, get one more level of training: cinematography. Documentaries shot during space shuttle missions bring space flight “down to earth,” says Jennifer Levasseur, a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. One of the most immersive of these shot-in-space documentaries is The Dream Is Alive, the first Imax film shot in space, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this June.
“Going to a theater, with that large of a screen, really makes you feel like you’re part of it, and I think that’s what was so meaningful to the audiences,” says Levasseur.
Directed by Graeme Ferguson, a co-inventor of the Imax format, and narrated by Walter Cronkite, The Dream Is Alive documents NASA’s space shuttle program, with 14 NASA astronauts shooting the film across three shuttle missions in 1984. The film hit theaters the following year, in 1985. Commemorating the film’s 40th anniversary, the National Air and Space Museum held a panel discussion on The Dream Is Alive this month, featuring former astronaut Marsha Ivins and cinematographer James Neihouse, and moderated by Levasseur.
“I always tell people, I’m the only director of photography in the world that has to train his first unit how to shoot a movie, and then can’t be on location with them,” said Neihouse during the panel. Working from Mission Control in Houston, Neihouse and his team had to keep track of what the astronauts were doing, what they needed to shoot and when cameras were running. Almost everything the astronauts shot would go on to be used in a film, either The Dream Is Alive or a later documentary.
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Shooting in Imax is its own challenge: Imax cameras are larger than traditional cameras and use bigger-than-standard film to capture a bigger image. A 70-millimeter Imax camera used to film The Dream Is Alive, as well as capture other space shuttle footage, is in the museum’s collection. Levasseur says it’s the biggest camera in the collection. Modifications to the camera, like Velcro and bumpers, allowed astronauts to maneuver the heavy equipment in a relatively cramped space shuttle.
“We were trained to be the camera operators, the lighting people, the sound people, the directors, the actors, the grips, the best boys,” Ivins said during the discussion. “Anything you see in a movie, we have to do.”
According to Levasseur, Ivins is referred to by other astronauts as the “quintessential astronaut photographer.” While she was not directly involved in filming The Dream Is Alive, she was one of the astronauts on staff. Astronauts were not just the film’s crew, but its subjects as well. Ivins recalled some “unusable” footage that she was the center of, taking place during her water survival training.
“They tossed me off the back of the boat, and I’m trying not to drown, and while I’m trying not to drown, and remembering all the things they told me to not drown, here comes this boat right along the side with the film crew,” said Ivins during the panel. “While I was not drowning, I did have the presence of mind to express myself with a hand gesture.”
Along with the crew of astronauts, the film was developed by industry titans, like director Ferguson and sound designer Ben Burtt, who is now primarily known for his work creating sound for the Star Wars movies.
“I knew he was the real deal when one day, we’d been out in the field sweating our butts off … and some trappers had wild pigs they were catching,” said Neihouse. “And Ben grabs his recorder and runs up and records these pigs squealing.”
Toni Myers, a Canadian filmmaker who became known for Imax documentaries set in space, also worked on the film and helped coach the astronauts as filmmakers.
Ivins noted that “every one of the crews that she trained really, really loved” Myers.
“She said, ‘You are the director up there. Be creative and do the best you can,’” said Ivins. And she also recalled another fun bit of Myers’ advice: If something unexpected happens, like seeing an alien, make sure to get the footage.
Despite all the challenges of shooting a movie like The Dream Is Alive, the payoff is making the views from space more accessible. Levasseur notes that, before the film’s release, space flight was mostly depicted through still images and grainy videos. Imax documentaries brought audiences closer to space than ever before.
“I’ve had astronauts say, ‘It’s almost as good as being there.’ A couple of them said it’s better because the music’s better and you don’t have to worry about dying,” said Neihouse.
The deep immersion of the movie comes from the camera, a “purpose-built piece of equipment that did a really amazing thing,” says Levasseur. High-end, clunky and difficult to operate, the Imax camera allowed astronauts to bring the art form of cinematography to space and back home.
“The way the camera is focused, the way the lighting is done, the way we’ve been trained to film it and frame it and expose it, it’s nearly perfect,” said Ivins. “That is as close as you can come to actually being there.”