Arts Have a story idea? E-mail us at arts@otherpress.ca & Tallyho to Olio Olio Festival celebrates four years of indie bliss By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor festival guide these past few months, you'll know that Vancouver has something going on pretty much every week of the summer. But once August wraps up, what then? Entering its fourth year now, the Olio Festival is an annual festival that plays host to a number of events. From concerts and film screenings to comedy shows and even art and fashion exhibits, the goal of the Olio Festival is to show off some of the best independent talents Vancouver has to offer. Artists such as Teen Daze, Brasstronaut, and Dirty Spells will be playing, amongst literally dozens of others. As for comedy, local duo Peter ‘n Chris, who performed sketches at last year’s International Fringe Festival, will be performing, as will improv group The Sunday Service, and my personal favourite team of Graham Clark and Dave Shumka will be I: you've been following my IMAXimizing Why IMAX is worth it By Joel McCarthy, Contributor here’s no doubt that director * [estos Nolan’s Batman series should be seen on the big screen, but the question is: how big of a screen you should view it on? In the Lower Mainland you have the option to watch this cinematic masterpiece on 35mm film, digital projectors, the new recording a live podcast of their hit Vancouver-based series, Stop Podcasting Yourself. Film screenings consist of documentaries Alone Up There, about the rather punishing lives of stand-up comics, and Better Than Something, which was shown at this year’s DOXA Festival, about musician Jay Reatard (1980-2010). One additional film will also be shown, simply titled FDR: American Badass!—all | know thus far is that Mr. Roosevelt (Barry Bostwick) fights werewolf Hitler, and Kevin Sorbo plays Abe Lincoln... why yes, | am flailing my arms in delight while typing. And, again, so very much more! Now something to keep in mind is that festivals such as Olio, and just about every other event in Vancouver, often only come together due to the many volunteers who lend a hand behind and even on the scene. Whether it’s dropping off flyers, taking and/ or selling tickets, getting local businesses involved, or even just answering people’s questions, volunteering is the best thing anyone can do for a cause they care about. Although Olio is still quite a ways away (September 19-23), those currently involved—such as yours truly—are letting it be known that there’s still plenty of room for volunteers. I’ve been given this open information from one of the Olio representative's to share with you fine folks: “To get involved, please email your name, telephone number, and a few sentences about why you want to volunteer [to volunteer@ oliofestival.com]. No experience is necessary, but if you have some please let us know. “Positions available [currently include] Assistant to Sponsorship Director, Web Entry, Production, Guest Services, Production Assistants, Campus Representative, HOQ Staff, Designated Drivers, Street Team, Film Event Staff, and Content Manager! Some volunteer positions, like guide distribution and day- of-runners require that you have a ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ the film on a regular projector, you are watching a version of the film that is cropped in half. I was lucky enough to watch the film on IMAX and Ultra AVX comparatively, and I can honestly say that non-IMAX versions of the film suffer big time. Every shot where we got to see full-bodied Bane fight Batman in IMAX turned into a shot of just their upper bodies, and every shot “So if IMAX is so great, then why doesn’t every film shoot on IMAX? First of all, it is ridiculously expensive to shoot: every roll costs about as much as a used car...” Ultra AVX, or IMAX. All of these formats will give you an enjoyable Dark Knight Rises experience. However, if you consider yourself a true fan of the series, you must watch it the way Nolan intended it to be viewed: in IMAX. Why is IMAX so great you ask? Well, for starters, IMAX stands for “Image Maximum”—which is quite literally what it sounds like. Each frame on regular film stock is 35mm large, whereas IMAX frame uses a taller 70mm film stock that completely fills your whole field of vision. All of the action scenes and establishing shots in The Dark Knight Rises were composed for a screen that is five stories tall or larger. That means that if you watch 8 of the Wayne manor was cropped horribly, yet I feel nobody in the audience had a clue of how much content they were actually missing. So if IMAX is so great, then why doesn’t every film shoot on IMAX? First of all, it is ridiculously expensive to shoot: every roll costs about as much as a used car, each roll only provides three minutes of film, each roll takes 20 minutes to replace, and, on top of all that, the camera is so loud that all dialogue needs to be dubbed in post production—the list of setbacks goes on. That being said, Nolan states that IMAX is “the best quality image that has ever been invented,” and after I got to see the Dark Knight Rises on the really big screen, I have to agree. Because of many of all those setbacks, the entire film could not be shot on IMAX, so generally all action scenes and establishing shots fill the IMAX screen and the rest of the film is presented in a 35mm wide format. That being said, the Dark Knight Rises holds the record for most IMAX footage ever used for a studio narrative feature with a total of 72 minutes of IMAX footage, which is almost half of the movie. In comparison, the last time I saw a film in the IMAX format, it was Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, yn” car. Now, while it feels great to help your fellow man, it’s always nice to earn something on side. Of course, the chill folks over are Olio got you covered there, too! “Volunteer compensation [consists of] one shift rewarded with guest lists to two shows/ events, two shifts rewarded with a single day wristband (day to be selected by volunteer), [and] three or more shifts rewarded with a full weekend wristband.” Trust me when I say that full weekend wristband is well worth it—that, and, with the rest of them being sold out already, how else are you going to get one? So whether you just want to attend or are now interested in helping out, be sure to check out one of the many, many shows or exhibits at this year’s Olio Festival—if you think you can handle all the awesome. which only contained 10 minutes of IMAX footage in the entire two an a half hour film. I left that theatre bitter and vowed never to spend the extra money again and drive to Langley for a film, but after watching the Dark Knight Rises in IMAX, I now stand corrected, and I encourage all cinephiles, Batman lovers, and film nerds to buck up and drive either to Langley or Richmond to watch The Dark Knight Rises on IMAX, the way it was intended to be viewed!