Celestial Dances II - Chasing tornadoes figured at the top of Arun’s bucket list. Ever since the movie Twister, which he saw on many-sized screens, Arun was working his way to visiting tornado alley in the USA.
Arun’s still a long way from chasing tornadoes. If there was money to be saved [storm chasing packages for seven nights cost US$2,600], Chitra would even drive Arun to the plains of Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma.
In the spring of 2011 the IMAX Theatre at Ontario Science Centre offered a solution, a near-to-real experience of tornadoes called Tornado Alley.
On Saturday afternoon Chitra dropped Arun at the science center. Ticket in hand, Arun stood in front of the gate dwarfing the children. One odd parent explained to her daughter that the door would open exactly at noon.
Two children beat Arun to the gangway of the auditorium. The IMAX dome had rows of seats from the ceiling to the ground. The screen looked like a giant white flying saucer waiting for the lights to dim to suck up Arun. He ran to the middle of the gallery and sat down. The seat below started from knee height.
The lights went off. The white dome became transparent; millions of tiny holes made up the screen. Arun’s IMAX experience began with sound variations from giant speakers around and above him.
Tornado Alley began with an aerial view of mangled man-made materials and uprooted natural things. The awesome force of nature played around Arun. The distortion on the sides of the screen was no reflection of the violent mood swings of nature. Before Arun's gaze covered the entire screen, the scene changed from bright sunshine to darkness. Arun felt that the director lingered over every scene to let him take the entire 180° angle. He took off his jacket so that the collar would not hinder neck movements.
The documentary revolved around storm chaser Sean Casey and his homemade tank. After many misses he made it to the path of a tornado. Arun was convinced that nature chose this particular spot for her celestial dance. The plains were flat for miles. The wind picked up. Threatening clouds formed. An invisible hand began churning the clouds spinning and twisting them drawing a spout. The funnel got longer and as it reached the ground, disappeared.
All action suddenly stopped. The dry grass on the cornfields stood up. The funnel appeared twisting, turning and touching the ground. The funnel moved throwing debris. Two more funnels appeared one by one, touching, disappearing, twisting, turning, and moving in different directions. The lightning and thunder played in the background. A Mozart symphony played in Arun's head completing the celestial dance.
...third part, to be continued (Dancing in the streets)
Arun’s still a long way from chasing tornadoes. If there was money to be saved [storm chasing packages for seven nights cost US$2,600], Chitra would even drive Arun to the plains of Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma.
In the spring of 2011 the IMAX Theatre at Ontario Science Centre offered a solution, a near-to-real experience of tornadoes called Tornado Alley.
On Saturday afternoon Chitra dropped Arun at the science center. Ticket in hand, Arun stood in front of the gate dwarfing the children. One odd parent explained to her daughter that the door would open exactly at noon.
Two children beat Arun to the gangway of the auditorium. The IMAX dome had rows of seats from the ceiling to the ground. The screen looked like a giant white flying saucer waiting for the lights to dim to suck up Arun. He ran to the middle of the gallery and sat down. The seat below started from knee height.
The lights went off. The white dome became transparent; millions of tiny holes made up the screen. Arun’s IMAX experience began with sound variations from giant speakers around and above him.
Tornado Alley began with an aerial view of mangled man-made materials and uprooted natural things. The awesome force of nature played around Arun. The distortion on the sides of the screen was no reflection of the violent mood swings of nature. Before Arun's gaze covered the entire screen, the scene changed from bright sunshine to darkness. Arun felt that the director lingered over every scene to let him take the entire 180° angle. He took off his jacket so that the collar would not hinder neck movements.
The documentary revolved around storm chaser Sean Casey and his homemade tank. After many misses he made it to the path of a tornado. Arun was convinced that nature chose this particular spot for her celestial dance. The plains were flat for miles. The wind picked up. Threatening clouds formed. An invisible hand began churning the clouds spinning and twisting them drawing a spout. The funnel got longer and as it reached the ground, disappeared.
All action suddenly stopped. The dry grass on the cornfields stood up. The funnel appeared twisting, turning and touching the ground. The funnel moved throwing debris. Two more funnels appeared one by one, touching, disappearing, twisting, turning, and moving in different directions. The lightning and thunder played in the background. A Mozart symphony played in Arun's head completing the celestial dance.
...third part, to be continued (Dancing in the streets)
0 Comments:
Post a Comment