MacGillivray Freeman Films

MacGillivray Freeman Films
Industry	Film
Founded	1963 in Laguna Beach, California, USA
Founders	Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman
Headquarters	Laguna Beach, CA, USA
Areas served	Worldwide
Key people	Greg MacGillivray (Chair, Founder, Director) Shaun MacGillivray (President, Producer) Brad Ohlund (Director of Photography) Steve Judson (Writer and Editor)
Products	Motion Pictures
Website	https://macgillivrayfreeman.com

MacGillivray Freeman Films is an American film studio based in Laguna Beach, California and founded in the mid-1960s by Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman. It produces documentaries, feature films, and IMAX films.

History

MacGillivray Freeman Films was established in 1963 in Laguna Beach, California, by Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman.^[1] Greg MacGillivray began making films when he was 13 and later partnered with his best friend, Jim Freeman, to form MacGillivray Freeman Films. In 1966, at the age of 19, the two dropped out of college to make movies full time starting with a film in South America after the success of one of their first surfing documentaries, Free and Easy, which recouped its production costs after only 10 screenings.^[2]^[3]

In the ensuing years, MacGillivray and Freeman produced a series of documentaries about surfing and skateboarding, pioneering a cinematic perspective for the genre by putting the viewer in the middle of the action via board-mounted cameras.

MacGillivray has produced and directed more than 50 films, over 35 of which are IMAX,^[2] and has developed three IMAX cameras: a high-speed (slow-motion) model, a lightweight model and the “all-weather” camera he used while filming on Mt. Everest.^[3]

Freeman died in a helicopter crash in 1976, two days before the release of To Fly!^[4]

Films

Documentaries and other films

Prior to producing IMAX films, the company produced surfing documentaries, TV commercials and filming for Hollywood feature films.

In 1976, it produced Magic Rolling Board, a 10-minute documentary about skateboarding. The company has directed and photographed for Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount and Stanley Kubrick. Cinematographer Jonathan Livingston Seagull was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Photography in 1974.^[5]The Towering Inferno received the Academy Award for Best Photography in 1975.^[6]

IMAX films

Most well known for its IMAX films, the studio has produced and distributed 35 IMAX films since 1974. Its first IMAX film, To Fly!, produced for the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum, was later selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry.

Two of its films, Dolphins (2000) and The Living Sea (1995), were nominated for Academy Awards. Its film Everest (1998) appeared on Variety's Top 10 Box Office chart for North America.

The company's films have received nominations and awards from the Giant Screen Cinema Association (GSCA).^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]

Filmography

Below is a list of films and television commercials produced and/or distributed by MacGillivray Freeman Films.


Title	Release Date	Runtime	Format	Notes
Let There Be Surf	1963	n/a	16 mm	Jim Freeman's first commercial film.
Outside the Third Dimension	1964	n/a	16 mm	Produced and directed by Jim Freeman. A film about Hawaiian surfing photographed and released in 3D.
A Cool Wave of Summer	1964	n/a	16 mm	Greg MacGillivray's first commercial film. An avant-garde film about surfing in California.
The Glass Wall	1965	n/a	16 mm	Produced and distributed by Jim Freeman.
The Performers	1965	n/a	35 mm	Produced and directed by Greg MacGillivray. A study of three Californians who find surf and adventure in Hawaii, Mexico and Florida.
Moods of Surfing	1968	15 minutes	35 mm	Short Film for Theatrical Release by United Artists.
Television Commercials	1969	n/a	n/a	LTV Corporation Global Van Lines Oldsmobile
Catch the Joy	1969	15 minutes	35 mm	An aesthetic look at the sport of Dune Buggy-ing by United Artists.
Waves of Change	1969	n/a	35 mm
Television Commercials	1970	n/a	n/a	Holiday Inns of America Frosty Root Beer Carnation
Sentinels of Silence	1970	28 minutes	35 mm	Narrated by Orson Welles. Photographed by Jim Freeman.
Ski Movie One	1970	n/a	n/a	Produced with Summit Films
Five Summer Stories	1972	n/a	n/a
To Fly!	1976	27 minutes	70 mm	The premiere film for the Theater of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
The Living Sea	1995	40 minutes	70 mm
Dolphins	2000	39 minutes	70 mm
Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk	2008	44 minutes	70 mm	A journey down the Colorado River on a two-week expedition to highlight water conservation issues.
To The Arctic^[11]	2012	40 minutes	70 mm	A close up look at Arctic wildlife
Journey to the South Pacific	2013	40 minutes	70 mm	A film about marine conservation in Indonesia
Humpback Whales^[12]	2015	40 minutes	70 mm	A film about the resurgence of Humpback whales
National Parks Adventure^[13]	2016	43 minutes	70 mm	A celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the US National Park Service
Dream Big: Engineering Our World^[14]	2017	42 minutes	70 mm	Pioneers of engineering and man-made wonders
We, The Marines^[15]	2017	37 minutes	70 mm	Large format documentary made for permanent exhibit at the National Museum of the Marine Corps
America's Musical Journey^[16]	2018	40 minutes	70 mm	Exploring the roots of America's music
Out Where The West Begins^[17]	2021	40 minutes	70 mm	Four-episode documentary series explaining the history of the Western United States

Conservation

MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation

In 2004, Greg MacGillivray and his wife Barbara founded the non-profit MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation to contribute to the conservation of the world's natural and cultural heritage through giant screen films and companion educational programming.

One World One Ocean Campaign

MacGillivray Freeman established the One World One Ocean campaign,^[18] which, along with other organizations, was featured in Laguna Beach Eco Heroes, a 30-minute documentary by The My Hero Project. The efforts of the Crystal Cove Alliance, ECO Warrior, Laguna Bluebelt, Laguna Canyon Foundation, Nancy Caruso, Pacific Marine Mammal Center, Wyland, and Zero Trash Laguna were also highlighted in the documentary.^[19]

References

^ "About Us | MacGillivray Freeman". macgillivrayfreeman.com. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Our Story | MacGillivray Freeman". macgillivrayfreeman.com. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Maximum Exposure | FLYP". December 25, 2010. Archived from the original on December 25, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
^ "Surf-film pioneer MacGillivray to be honored at Newport Film Festival". ocregister.com. April 25, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
^ "The 46th Academy Awards | 1974". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
^ "The 47th Academy Awards | 1975". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
^ "2015 Award Winners". giantscreencinema.com. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
^ "2014 Award Winners". giantscreencinema.com. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
^ "2013 Award Winners". giantscreencinema.com. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
^ "2012 Award Winners". giantscreencinema.com. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
^ "To the Arctic: Film Review". hollywoodreporter.com. February 23, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
^ "'Humpback Whales': Film Review". hollywoodreporter.com/. February 10, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
^ "Film Review: 'National Parks Adventure'". variety.com. February 16, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
^ "Film Review: 'Dream Big: Engineering Our World'". variety.com. February 16, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
^ "To the Arctic: Film Review". military.com. December 20, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
^ "Latest IMAX Film Studies History of American Music". smithsonianmag.com. February 23, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
^ "Out Where the West Begins Season 1 - episodes streaming online". JustWatch. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
^ "Our Story". One World One Ocean. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
^ Laguna Beach Indy Staff (August 6, 2015). "Roundabout Comes to Town". Laguna Beach Indy. Retrieved December 5, 2016.