birth_place nationality known_for article_title name occupation
belgium belgium nwave pictures ben stassen
 ben stassen film director , film producer
ben stassen

ben stassen is a belgian film director , producer and screenwriter .
he founded nwave pictures in 1994 , producing highly successful cgi ride films including the groundbreaking `` devils mine '' .
starting in 1997 , ben stassen began focusing on large format films usually screened at imax theaters , and made some of the most successful large format films to date , including '' '' and `` alien adventure '' .
contrary to most large format films , which mix education with spectacular visuals , most of stassen 's films are aimed exclusively at the entertainment market .
as imax theaters around the world increasingly became capable of screening stereoscopic -lrb- 3-d -rrb- films in the late nineties , stassen quickly embraced this new technology , and directed a succession of popular 3-d large format films , such as `` encounter in the third dimension '' and `` haunted castle '' .
upon screening `` haunted castle '' , imax corporation sent a fax to all the exhibitors warning them about the content of the film .
imax went as far as labeling `` haunted castle '' as degrading to the brand .
this triggered a strong reaction from both the exhibitors and the press .
the film was marketed as `` the film imax corporation does not want you to see '' .
it went on the become a huge success worldwide .
in 2004 , stassen produced and directed `` wild safari '' , the first 3d wildlife film for the giant screen -lrb- imax -rrb- .
nwave is also the leading producer and distributor of 3d ride films and 4d attraction films with over 30 titles in their library .
over 200,000 people a day see one of nwave 's films in theme parks , science centers , zoo , aquaria and musea around the world .
ben stassen 's first feature length animated film , `` fly me to the moon '' , was released in north america on 15 august 2008 on both regular size and imax screens , exclusively in 3-d .
according to nwave , `` fly me to the moon '' was the first animated film to be designed , created , and released solely in 3-d .
the film was originally announced for the spring or summer of 2007 .
the delay is believed to be the result of the slow roll-out of 3-d projection technology .
on 7 may 2008 , nwave announced that its next feature length animated film would be titled `` around the world in 50 years '' and that it too would be directed by ben stassen .
it was released in 2010 titled '' '' .
stassen was also involved in the production of several movies directed by famed croatian film director krsto papić , most notably `` my uncle 's legacy '' -lrb- Život sa stricem -rrb- , the film was nominated for a golden globe -lrb- best foreign film category -rrb- in 1990 .
stassen is widely quoted as a leading pioneer of 3d cinema , considering 3d as the 2nd revolution in the history of cinema , second only to the transition from silent film to the talkies .
he mostly refers to american 3d film as 2.5 d cinema .
in his opinion most filmmakers do not make any effort to use 3d as a new language of cinema .
they simply shoot their 2d films with two cameras creating a little depth behind the screen with the odd in-your-face effect .
he is also quite outspoken about the inadequacies of the 3d digital theaters .
the essence of 3d cinema is its ability to greatly enhance the sense of immersion in the story being told .
but there is no way to achieve real immersion unless you have floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall screens .
the image must fill you field of vision as much as possible .
the long term viability of 3d cinema will depend on the exhibitors willingness to build theaters designed specifically for 3d immersion .
nwave pictures is currently producing two 3d features .
the sequel to sammy 's adventures -lrb- `` escape from paradise '' -rrb- and african safari 3d , a live action 3d adventure documentary taking the audience from the cost of skeleton coast in namibia to the top of the kilimanjaro .
