Imagine standing on top of a six-story building-then jumping off and free-falling to the ground. Then imagine that the building and ground are made of fast-moving liquid, that you're jumping to your feet on a surfboard, and that the building is throwing itself outwards and crashing down behind you with several tons of force, threatening to crush you. This visualization may give you some small idea of what it feels like to charge the monster waves of Mavericks.

Production of WILD IN CALIFORNIA began fittingly at this infamous stretch of surfing beach in Half Moon Bay, California where cold, hard seas rage in winter-time, producing some of California's biggest waves, some of them the size of small mountains. At Maverick's Beach, a rare breed of surfers dares to ascend these temporary summits of surf, taking the art of waveriding to new extremes.

This was territory close to filmmaker Greg MacGillivray's heart, since he himself is a highly respected surfer and surfing cinematographer. He oversaw the shoot - a profile of Jeff Clark, the bold wave-rider who discovered Maverick's Beach and now uses it as a testing ground for his ability to transcend panic and stay calm in the belly of the ocean's unpredictable fury.

It wasn't exactly a leisurely start because Mavericks' only "goes off" a few times each year, usually with less than 48 hours notice. Incoming winter storms produce the six-story high walls of water that elite big-wave surfers crave. For the courageous and lucky, this means the ride of their life. For the unlucky, it means being dashed into the Boneyard, a rocky shore where surfers have been pinned for life-threatening minutes.

The surf here demands the utmost respect and caution. The production team and Clark watched the weather radar and consulted expert wave forecasters to pick the perfect conditions. They had a "firehouse" mentality the whole time - ever at the ready, the minute conditions seemed right, the alarms went off and the whole team piled their rig into cars, boats and helicopters and set off for the shore.

Because the towering waves at Maverick's Beach are generally a half-mile out in the ocean, the logistics were complicated. Using long telephoto lenses, portions of the surfing scenes were shot from boats (with special stabilizing mounts), from helicopters and from the shore. Up-close shots right from the water's surface were captured by cameraman Mike Peralta, a renowned surfing photographer who won't shoot on a boat because he gets sea-sick! The IMAX camera was placed in a specially-created waterproof box for Peralta but the waves were so violent that three times the invaluable camera was ripped from his hands and had to be rescued by helicopter.

In the end, all the technical obstacles were overcome and the IMAX camera captured the 30-foot waves and 35 MPH surfers in all their full scope and glory. As Jeff Clark notes: "If you can make peace with the power of Maverick's, it is like nowhere else on earth."

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