The BMW i8, a hybrid sports car with gull-wing doors and a carbon fibre body, gives us a glimpse into the future of the world’s biggest premium car manufacturer.
The Bavarian Motor Works started out in 1916 as a small producer of aircraft engines. Yes, its origins lie in the air. The asset that BMW is best-known for today is actually the last product to be added to its portfolio. It was only in the 30s that BMW built its first car. Since then, the company’s 100-year history has seen technological innovations, racing victories and also severe crises.
The documentary shows exclusive films and documents from the founding years through to the present day – including the story of the Elvis Presley BMW, which has never been shown before. Historians, contemporary witnesses, race drivers and fans talk about the background and the fascination that have made BMW a global player.
From Earth we cannot look at the Sun with our human eyes. This 3D Sun odyssey gives audiences a chance to see the Sun up close in startling 3D; stand above the arctic circle and witness the most brilliant auroras on Earth; take a ride on a solar blast from Sun’s surface to Earth’s magnetosphere and come to a deeper understanding of what this vast sea of fire means to life here on Earth.
March 11 2011, 2:46 pm. One of the largest earthquakes in Japanese history hits the East of Japan. A gigantic tsunami caused by this earthquake later triggered a complete power outage at the nuclear power station in Fukushima, which led to three simultaneous meltdowns. Eighty-eight hours later, on March 15, 7 am, a large amount of radioactive material was released from reactor No.2, resulting in a Level 7 nuclear accident, the highest class. Five years have passed since the accident, and details of the situation at that time have now emerged through various investigations and exclusive interviews with more than 500 people who were involved. What actually happened at ground zero? Through re-enactments and interviews, viewers will witness for the first time the complete picture of the nuclear accident in Fukushima during those fateful first 88 hours.
The world of paleontology is currently experiencing a golden age: more fossil species have been unearthed in the past decade than in the last two hundred years when this science first emerged. Thanks to new technologies combining genetics, ethology, geology, and even particle physics, paleontologists can now recreate some of the missing branches from the tree of life. Assumptions have been shattered and all the rules are changing.
Now, paleontologists can finally answer three vital questions:
– Where do insects come from?
– Where do birds come from?
– Where do mammals come from?
This series, based on ultra-realistic 3D computer graphics, and supported by the world’s leading international scientists will bring these forgotten creatures to the screen and explore the ideological controversies or frauds that accompany their discovery.
During summer, the Atlantic coast between northeastern United States and southeastern Canada attracts large sea creatures such as whales, sharks that feed on the dense aggregations of plankton. To help reveal the secrets of these creatures’ underwater hunting and behavior, the documentary film crew attached special cameras to 13-meter-long basking sharks and to leatherback sea turtles, which as the world’s largest reptile can grow to weigh over one ton. This episode takes a look at the shadowy lives of these giant creatures as the North American waters change from spring to summer.
Australia’s Christmas Island is an isolated tropical island in the open waters of the Indian Ocean. In this isolated rainforest-covered island, red crabs have multiplied in great numbers. At the beginning of the rainy season, 50 million of these crabs march from the forest to the beach. This procession resembles a red carpet moving through the island. The purpose of this mass exodus is breeding. Arriving after a long arduous journey, the beach is covered as far as one can see by females with eggs. Meanwhile, in the ocean the world’s largest fish, a whale shark, lurks hoping to feed on the newly hatched baby crabs!
This episode shows the amazing drama of survival of these crimson-colored crabs.
Featuring state-of-the-art 3D animation, Adventures in Animation 3D introduces the “stars” of tomorrow, by taking viewers on a journey through the world of computer-generated virtual actors. Colorful virtual hosts Phil and Maria demonstrate the creation of virtual actor Slim: how he is designed, sculpted, painted, and directed to move.
Join some of California’s most unique residents, and experience the wonders of this amazing state’s farthest edges as few ever have. From sky surfing over San Diego, to snowboarding in Tahoe, to excavating the heart of a 30-story tall giant sequoia tree, saving stranded baby sea otters, and surfing giant waves at “Mavericks” in Half Moon Bay, there’s something for everyone.
The large-scale documentary series Aerial China showcases China’s history, culture, geology, and economic and social growth from a bird’s-eye view. Covering 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and 2 special administrative regions, a total of 34 episodes will be shot over five years entirely from the air. Aerial China (Season I) includes Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Shanghai, Jiangxi, and Hainan.
Each episode selects the most representative features of the region to display China’s historical, cultural, societal, and natural landscapes. As the striking visual story unfolds, the audience follows the flight route of the camera to uncover a vision of China that is at once fresh and familiar; a rich, beautiful, living and breathing China.
Africa: The Serengeti introduces the audience to a spectacle that few humans have ever witnessed, the Great Migration, taking viewers on a journey with over 1.5 million animals as they travel more than 500 miles across the Serengeti plains in Tanzania and Kenya. This film is a tribute to the wildebeest as they set out on their yearlong odyssey; it is also a documentary featuring a fascinating array of animals including zebras, giraffes, elephants, monkeys, baboons, and even hyenas, jackals, and vultures, with an abundance of animal trivia.
Africa seen and described through the eyes of a wildlife photographer who has always been fascinated by the unique atmosphere of this extraordinary continent. A tale of the sensation of breathing the air of Africa, admiring its fiery skies and observing the daily activities of its animals, frequently caught in unusual poses. A story that shuns the spectacle of animals suffering and dying in favour of striking colours and the light, smells, and landscapes unique to this continent. A story that describes the cause of his longing for Africa, the sweetest sadness.
Fly into Nevada’s “Valley of Speed” for a breathtaking exploration of the fastest race in the world combined with spectacular air show entertainment: the legendary Reno National Championship Air Races. Join today’s elite pilots as they fight for position, wingtip-to-wingtip, and skim 50 feet (15 m) above the ground around an oval course at twice the speed of a Nascar race. Discover this ultra-competitive world through the eyes of rookie pilot Steve Hinton as he attempts to fly his P-51 Mustang fighter plane to victory in the most highly-anticipated and unpredictable race class. Learn about the history and science behind the sport, whose concept dates back to the dawn of aviation, and see top-notch aerobatic performers, including the Canadian Forces Snowbirds. With spectacular aerial photography filmed entirely in 3D and unprecedented access granted to the course, Air Racers 3D, narrated by Paul Walker of “The Fast and the Furious” series, puts you in the cockpit to experience the intensity and high-speed thrills of a sports event like no other for the very first time in IMAX 3D theatres.
The mission to protect and defend the world’s oceans has become far more complex and challenging in recent years, and naval aviation has become increasingly vital to success. One of the greatest engineering feats in naval maritime history, the modern Nimitz-class carrier is a masterpiece of technology, and the flagship of the fleet. With RIMPAC, the world’s largest and most comprehensive international maritime training exercise providing a stunning visual context for the story, find yourself aboard the USS Ronald Reagan alongside the 5,000 highly skilled sea and air personnel conducting flight operations in the midst of the simulated war exercises taking place there. Rarely has there been a topic so visually suited and compelling for IMAX® and other giant screen theaters.
Alaska: Spirit of the Wild is the ultimate story of survival, where life triumphs season after season against fierce conditions and challenges.
“It is a place little contaminated by the present, where we can rediscover a vitality and beauty vanishing from our lives. Whether or not we will ever reach Alaska, we all want to know such a place still exists.” This is narrator Charlton Heston’s poignant summation of the film Alaska: Spirit of the Wild.
Transporting viewers on a voyage into the last great frontier where nature enchants the eye with magnificent spectacles, this film takes audiences fishing with brown bears, soaring with bald eagles, dodging calving glaciers, and racing on the hooves of caribou — all from the comfort of their theater seats. Director George Casey masterfully relates the genesis of Alaska and then explores its rich history, surprising wildlife, magnificent landscapes, harsh climate, and abiding spirit.
Witness some of nature’s most incredible spectacles as millions of creatures embark on Amazing Journeys of survival. Film director George Casey introduces audiences to six of nature’s truly unique phenomena. From the distant reaches of a hidden Mexican village to the sunny, warm surf off the Baja coast, fly on the delicate wings of a butterfly and dive into the depths of the oceans with a colossal whale to experience awe-inspiring life and death migrations. Along with the immense distances they travel, these species face many obstacles—obstacles that may change their migratory patterns forever. Go along on a most unbelievable road trip as nature struggles to the very ends of the earth.
The South Island of New Zealand, known as a penguin paradise, is home to the largest number of penguin species. In fact, the island is believed to be where the very first penguins appeared. Little penguins, which at night slightly lean forward when walking back and forth between their nest and the sea, share features associated with early penguins, and forest-dwelling Fiordland crested penguins are believed to have gradually learned to breed in caves to avoid predators. This episode takes a look at the penguins’ lives and reveals the secrets of how the island turned from being their birthplace to becoming their paradise.
Surviving for almost 1000 years Angkor Wat, “the City of Temples,” is steeped in mystery and myth, which was lost to the world for centuries, and rediscovered in 1860 by French explorers. From the stone temples at Angkor, covered with 1850 baroque sculptures of the dancing, flying singing angels called Apsaras to the cobra like images bearing 11 heads of Naga, this recreation of Mount Meru or heaven for Buddhist and Hindu’s is a true Wonder of the World. Our team will take their 4K UHD cameras to chronicle and explore this vast exquisite ruins. Join us as we venture through the jungles of Cambodia to bring face to face with the cryptic mysteries of the temples of Angkor Wat.