To enhance the stories told in the book, each chapter contains QR codes that link to exclusive behind-the-scenes videos and other content. Enjoy these short videos that give even more depth and perspective to this amazing filmmaking journey.
#1 — Meet Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman, two visionary filmmakers who turned a passion for storytelling into an art, business and lifestyle.
#2 — Watch some of the highlights of A Cool Wave of Color, Greg MacGillivray’s first commercial film and enjoy the avant-guard imagery of the California surfing scene.
#3 — Free and Easy is an artful look at the carefree life of the Hawaiian and California surfer. Enjoy highlights from Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman’s first film as a team.
#4 — Spending time on the North Shore, Greg enjoyed moments with friend and surfer Billy Hamilton and his family. He watched Billy’s step-son Laird grow from a towhead surf rat into a champion and big-wave surfer, Laird Hamilton.
#5 — Live the life of the 1970s California Surfer with this montage of highlights and characters featured in The Sunshine Sea.
#6 — Relive moments from the last surf movie, Five Summer Stories and hear from legendary surfers, Gerry Lopez, Corkey Carrol and Laird Hamilton about what it was like making this classic film.
#7 — From the Beach Boys to Honk, the music of Five Summer Stories became the soundtrack of all surfers throughout the 1970s.
#8 — Watch the moments that made To Fly! one of the most celebrated IMAX films in history.
#9 — See what happens when Hollywood wants to surf. Greg MacGillivray worked alongside director John Milius and had a blast creating Big Wednesday.
#10 — Get a glimpse of rare, behind the scenes footage from Stanley Kubrik’s The Shining. Greg MacGillivray had a hand in shooting aerial footage that sets the scene of one of the most frightening and highly regarded films of all time.
#11 — Meet the team, or rather family, that makes up MacGillivray Freeman Films crew. By hiring fun, cooperative and inspiring people, the team has become a family over 50 years and beyond.
#12 — Experience the jaw-dropping and stunningly true moment of a wing-walker flying, falling and being rescued over the Grand Canyon in the film Flyers. This stunt was achieved without any CGI, just the expert skills of skydiver Kevin Donnelly and stunt pilot Art Scholl.
#13 — Watch renowned athletes in action from To The Limit, Greg MacGillivray’s first film specifically shot for the IMAX dome theatre format.
#14 — Speed chronicles the role of speed in man’s life from the dawn of time to the farthest reaches of the conceivable future. Outrun a tiger and blast off with the Blue Angels.
#15 — From Honk to huge success, Steve Wood has been the musical backbone of many of MacGillivray Freeman’s musical scores throughout the years. Starting with Five Summer Stories, Steve has captured the spirit of our films with original scores that blend local musical influences with renowned pop talent.
#16 — Discover how Greg innovated filming inside a blood vessel or a heart valve to bring the inside of the human body to the giant screen.
#17 — Dive with renowned underwater cinematographers, Howard and Michele Hall, and understand the challenges they overcame to create the timeless and Academy Award nominated film, The Living Sea.
#18 — Director of Photography, Brad Ohlund, describes the feat to get the perfect shot in the eye of a hurricane for the 1996 film, Stormchasers. From extreme turbulence into a peaceful cocoon of cotton, the daring scientists, pilots and filmmakers captured amazing shots that blew audiences away.
#19 — Climbing Mount Everest and filming for IMAX are two monumental tasks. Combining them made for a moment in cinematic history that took the world by storm. See what it took to bring the scenes of the top of the world to the giant screen in 1998’s Everest.
#20 — Underwater filmmaking can be a day at the beach when the current is at your back. Flow along with Howard and Michele Hall, filmmakers and stars of 2003’s Coral Reef Adventure.
#21 — For MFF’s first 3D giant screen film in 2008, Greg knew he had to start Grand Canyon Adventure with an immersive and unforgettable experience that would immediately draw audiences into the action.
#22 — Experience what it took to rig the behemoth IMAX camera to a raft to film Wade Davis rowing through the famous and formidable rapid, Lava Falls, in Grand Canyon National Park for the 2008 film, Grand Canyon Adventure.
#23 — From polar bear encounters to a walrus kiss-cam, the MFF film crew had some breathtaking animal encounters while filming for the 2012 IMAX film To The Arctic.
#24 — It’s not often that polar bears feel comfortable around humans, but with luck, the MFF film crew won the favor of a mother polar bear and her two cubs and were able to film the family as they hunted, fed and even played in 2012’s To The Arctic.
#25 — Academy-award® winning actress Meryl Streep shares her thoughts on the IMAX® documentary To The Arctic and working with Director Greg MacGillivray. The film, narrated by Streep, takes audiences on a journey into the lives of a mother polar bear and her cubs.
#26 — Go behind the scenes of the 2013 film Journey to the South Pacific to see how the film crew captured images of a turtle mother laying her eggs on the remote Wermon Island.
#27 — The Kalabia is a floating classroom that travels from island to island, educating young villagers about the importance of their environments and how to protect them and is a feature of the 2013 film Journey to the South Pacific. Watch kids play, sing and learn in this fun and entertaining video.
#28 — Check out what it takes to film humpback whales in IMAX in this behind-the-scenes look at MacGillivray Freeman’s expedition to Tonga where humpbacks come to breed and give birth. Experience close-up footage of mother humpbacks and their calves and learn why patience and perseverance are essential when filming such elusive animals for the 2015 film, Humpback Whales.
#29 — Go behind the scenes for a look at how the filmmakers transport audiences into the hidden world of humpback whales, using the largest film format in the world and the narration talents of Ewan McGregor to tell the story for 2015’s Humpback Whales.
#30 — The robotics team at Carl Hayden High School built an award-winning underwater robot, Stinky. To tell the story on the giant screen in 2017’s Dream Big: Engineering Our World, MFF recreated their journey and winning moments.
#31 — How did the women engineers in Dream Big follow their dreams to become the innovators they are today? Hear their stories in this behind-the-scenes video and see their dreams become reality.
#32 — Discover how MFF brought Brand USA’s vision of creating films that inspire audiences around the world to experience the natural beauty within the US to life.
#33 — National Parks Adventure takes audiences on the ultimate off-trail adventure into the nation’s awe-inspiring great outdoors and untamed wilderness. Join world-class mountaineer Conrad Anker, adventure photographer Max Lowe and artist Rachel Pohl as they hike, climb and explore their way across America’s majestic parks – including Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Yosemite, and Arches – in an action-packed celebration that will inspire the adventurer in us all, and highlight how important it is that we protect these treasured landscapes.
#34 — 2016 was the centennial celebration for the founding of the National Parks Service and MFF’s film National Parks Adventure celebrated this monumental achievement by highlighting the importance that decision made.
#35 — Watch how the MacGillivray Freeman film crew braved the elements in National Parks Adventure to film Conrad Anker maneuvering frozen waterfalls in Michigan’s Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore to get a memorable 3D IMAX shot.
#36 — 2018’s America’s Musical Journey celebrates the diverse music and creative risk-taking spirit that characterize America. The film follows Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Aloe Blacc as he traces Louis Armstrong’s footsteps through the colorful locales where America’s music was born—iconic cities like New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Nashville, Miami and more—alongside artists, music makers, storytellers and innovators who are shaping America’s culture today.
#37 — America’s Musical Journey explores the diverse collision of cultures that gave birth to the unique musical styles of American music today. New Orleans was key to this explosion of new sounds with its African influences, creative freedoms, and artistic celebrations. Check out this behind-the-scenes video featuring director Greg MacGillivray and singers Aloe Blacc and Jon Batiste.
#38 — MFF’s goal is always to inspire audiences, particularly kids, to fall in love with nature, to get out and explore it, and eventually protect it. See the places we’ve explored and the characters that guide us.
#39 — From our beginnings, the ocean has always been the driving force for our creativity, and telling its many stories is our passion. From surfing to swimming with humpbacks to shivering next to the glaciers of the arctic, our goal is to inspire a world of ocean stewards.
#40 — Why does Greg and the whole MacGillivray Freeman team do what we do? To inspire audiences of all ages from around the world to learn more about our natural world, phenomenal people and the cultures that weave together our shared human experience.