DORSET'S landscapes and wildlife are hitting the really big screen this summer with 360 degree Olympic screenings.

Two new films by Dorset Wildlife Trust will be showing at the ICCI360 Arena in Weymouth as part of The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad by the Sea, Maritime Mix.

The films will be part of the 40 day programme of films, animations and performances with the theme ‘In Motion’, reflecting the Olympic and Paralympic sailing and windsurfing events taking place in Weymouth and Portland.

They feature breathtaking and previously unseen footage of the county’s outstanding wildlife and habitats on land and sea, shown on a screen that is six metres high and 60 metres in circumference, housed in a 20 metre dome.

The Dorset’s Living Seas film has been masterminded by Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Peter Tinsley, using incredible imagery created from the DORset Integrated Seabed study (DORIS).

The film, created Roger Harris with sound by Andy Latimer, immerses you in the waters around Portland for a dramatic journey past submerged cliffs, sands and ledges, encountering dolphins, fish and corals as you speed through the water. Peter Tinsley, DWT’s Living Seas Manager, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to appreciate our hidden landscapes – some of which will seem strangely familiar.

“It brings together recent advances in seabed survey, computer animation and video projection to create an otherwise impossible experience “We wouldn’t have been able to do this even just a few years ago.”

Tony Bates, photographer and President of DWT, has used ground-breaking Gigapan technology to create his images of Dorset’s nature reserves, wildlife and coast.

The pictures are made up of a myriad of smaller images, creating a huge panorama in extreme detail.

The sequence takes you through Dorset’s flagship areas from West Dorset woods and vales, the Downs to the north, the heaths to the east and finishes with a journey along the Jurassic coast, all in 5 minutes 30 seconds.

The ICCI360 Arena events take place at Weymouth Pavilion Theatre forecourt from July 26 to September 9.

Tickets cost £3 for a half hour session, which will include a range of films.

The wildlife films will be shown regularly, with detailed programming information available at the event.

Tickets are available from Weymouth Pavilion Theatre box office on 01305 783225 or visit weymouthpavilion.purchase-tickets-online.co.uk. For more information about ICCI360, visit www.plymouth.ac.uk/icci360.

The Dorset Wildlife Trust films have been funded by Natural England, Dorset Coast Forum and the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Dorset Wildlife Trust is part of the Natural Weymouth and Portland Partnership; connecting people with nature.