Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: nice story on Ingrid Lae in The Province today

This is topic nice story on Ingrid Lae in The Province today in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Ron Keillor (Member # 1790) on 06-06-2009, 01:26 AM:

Twenty years ago, both Ingrid Lae and Science World were untested young things embarking on a new project.

Lae was one of the projectionists at the Omnimax Theatre when the doors at the Telus World of Science were opened for the first time.

And since then, Lae has earned her chops in the projection booth underneath the seats of the theatre to become its manager, and Science World has kept the fires of imagination and inspiration burning for kids around the province.

In a sense, they've matured alongside each other, something that became clear to Lae while she

prepared the film Beavers to show as part of the 20th-anniversary celebrations. It was the first film shown at

Science World's Omnimax theatre and was the first film Lae ever assembled by herself.

"It actually was very sentimental. I thought, 'Here I am still doing the same thing and I still like it," she said.

"[I was] thinking of the person I was back then -- a green kid, really keen and excited. It's not that I'm not excited any more but I'm not a green kid any more."

Now 49, Lae was the first woman in B.C. to earn a first-class projection licence. She worked at the IMAX Theatre at Canada Place during Expo 86, freelanced at many independent theatres and then wound up in Science World's projection booth.

Call it fate, chance or luck, but it was where Lae had wanted to work ever since the arts, sciences and technology centre opened on Granville Street. She wasn't a scientist, though, and never even applied.

"I wanted to work there but I didn't have any skills that would be appropriate so I never even applied," she said. "It was just something that I didn't pursue but, in the end, it all fell into place. When people hear you work at Science World, they always say, 'Oh, that must be so fun. That must be so cool.' And it is."

About 100 different films have been shown on the ceiling of the dome, but it was Everest in 1998 that captured the public's attention the most, said Lae.

What was intended to be a documentary on the geography of the area became a story of human tragedy when some fellow hikers died on the mountain. There was triumph, too, when the filmmakers made it to the top with the camera in hand.

"It was this turn of events which they documented. That film was definitely the benchmark film but it also was a benchmark for large format film," she said.

Omnimax film is approximately nine times bigger than 35-millimetre film and an average film unspooled would be four kilometres long. Its enormity makes it the perfect vehicle for films that take people where they've never been or may never go -- inside the jungle, the human body, hurricanes and deep in the ocean.

"It's so immersive, especially with the dome screen. You really are immersed in it. The picture is there in front of you, it's all around you," said Lae. "You have that real feeling of being there. In the jungle, the leaves are hanging and there's a snake winding its way down a branch right beside your head. It's a perfect way of teaching."

lgrindlay@theprovince.com

http://www.theprovince.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Ingrid+sees+picture/1664693/story.html

Posted by Jim Bedford (Member # 4) on 06-06-2009, 09:05 AM:

I've known Ingrid for close to 20 years and I've always been impressed and delighted by her personality and professionalism. It's very nice to see anyone who does their job well while generally kept in a small, dark, noisy room featured and given credit for what they do.

Ingrid (who I know lurks here occasionally) is not physically as large as her reputation. Her booths in Telluride have platforms with her name on them so she can reach to put reels on upper arms at the Palm (pix of the booth with both platform and Ingrid are in the Pictures section). She's projected hundreds of films for our festival and is part of a great team of reel-to-reel operators we use here. Thanks Ingrid!

(added details about pix in Pictures)