Jan Jacobsen - His Story

"I can build a 15-perf 65mm camera. No optical printing will be needed."

So......... He went to work in his shop in Copenhagen and, within 4 months, showed Graeme a very compact camera, based on a tandem 7-1/2 perf mechanism. On Dec. 3, 1968, Jan delivered the camera to Galt, Ontario, Canada, home of Multiscreen Corporation (the original name of Imax Corporation).

On Jan. 27, 1969, the first rushes of wild animal footage shot with the camera in Africa were viewed using a prototype Rolling Loop Projector. The images were truly lifelike. That first camera went on to shoot the full frame images in "Tiger Child" , and was then used to shoot "North of Superior" and other early IMAX films.

Jan's great achievement for Imax was to build a camera that was smaller than 4 times the picture format in size; the camera body was a cube only 27 cm across, and weighed only 25 kg. (The 35mm equivalent would be a camera body that would fit in an 8 cm cube!)

It is also interesting that, while Jan's original camera met its end in a skydiving accident, (12) more cameras based on his design continue in use, 30 years later. These include a lighter-weight version which has been to the top of Mount Everest and others which have flown on (16) American space shuttle flights.

Jan Jacobsen truly made a significant contribution to the success of Imax Corporation.