WORKING ON THE BIG, BIG SCREEN

In a career spanning 40-plus years, director Greg MacGillivray has worked on 34 giant-screen projects and taken Imax cameras to the top of Everest and hundreds of feet below the surface of the South Pacific. For Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk, he spent about $8 million (roughly 1/25 the cost of The Golden Compass) and followed a proven method to success.

1. Bring Two of Everything

That includes the 350-pound Imax 3-D cameras. MacGillivray didn't ever plan to use both at once, but he wanted an extra just in case. The film team packed the million-dollar machines in watertight plastic boxes, and when it was time for an action shot they simply fastened one to a raft and hoped for the best. Neither camera got hurt, though one lens suffered $12,000 of damage.

2. Hire Multitaskers

MacGillivray's film crew consisted of just ten people. His assistant director, Brad Ohlund, was also the director of photography. "It's better to work with a small, talented crew for a longer time than rush things with a giant team," he says.

3. Know the Flow

Two years before the trip, the director and his wife, Barbara, ran the Colorado on their own, scouting and taping locations. "You have to work out every move ahead of time," he says. "You can't waste a setup."

4. But Don't Plan It All

"It's a documentary—you don't really know where you'll get your best stuff," says MacGillivray. He planned 50 percent of his shooting locations—the rest of the time, he reacted to conditions.

5. Think Fast, Move Slow

Every morning on the river, MacGillivray and lead guide Regan Dale, from Angels Camp, California–based outfitter OARS, went over hazards. Safety is a big concern for the filmmaker, who in 1976 saw his business partner Jim Freeman die in a helicopter crash on location. "If you move slowly and cautiously, you can avoid injuries. On this trip, we didn't have any."