P3D Noel Archambault tragic death

["ron labbe" <ron@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This shocking article was in the Boston Herald yesterday.
Noel was a pioneer in 3D filmmaking, as well as being a outgoing, friendly
guy who never tired of talking and sharing 3D. I'd had the privilege of
meeting him several times and was always impressed with his enthusiasm,
knowledge and humility. We will surely miss this great ambassador of
stereoscopy. God Bless you, Noel!

Thursday July 2 8:31 AM EDT
Imax cameraman dies in crash
By Eric J. Olson

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Tragedy has struck filming of "Galapagos: The
Enchanted Voyage," an Imax 3-D movie being produced for the Smithsonian.

Noel Archambault, the film's camera operator/stereographer, was killed in an
ultralight aircraft crash along with the pilot, William Raisner Jr., while
shooting in the Galapagos Islands, according to the film's production
company, Mandalay Media Arts.

The two men went missing Friday while filming aerial shots over one of the
islands' volcanoes.

After a six-day search in the remote archipelago that involved local
townspeople, the film crew, the scientific expedition crew, chartered
aircraft and the Ecuadorian air force, their bodies were recovered Wednesday
on the island of Isla Isabella, the largest and least inhabited of the
Galapagos.

The men were found at an elevation of 3,000 feet on Cerro Azul, one of the
two most active volcanoes in the archipelago.

Archambault, an expert and pioneer in the large-format 3-D process, has
worked on every Imax 3-D film made to date.

The Canadian most recently served as stereographer/camera operator on the
upcoming Imax 3-D film "T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous," and as additional
photographer/stereographer on Sony's new Imax 3-D release, "Mark Twain's
America."

His d.p. and camera operator credits additionally include "The Imax
Nutcracker," "Into the Deep" and "Across the Sea of Time."

Raisner, 50, of Colorado Springs, Colo., was a retired Air Force pilot and a
veteran ultralight pilot. This was his third trip to the Galapagos for
filming projects.

Mandalay is "assessing the impact (of the accident) on production,"
according to Barry Clark, co-chairman of Mandalay Media Arts and executive
producer on "Galapagos."

Clark said they are trying to determine "how quickly or if (at all) to go
forward (with production)."



------------------------------