THE HISTORY OF IMAX After 3 years of innovation, the groundbreaking tech was given the name IMAX, which stands for “image maximum,” and premiered at the Fuji Pavilion at EXPO '70 in Japan with its extraordinary camera, projector, and domed screen system.
So we were sitting at lunch one day in a Hungarian restaurant in Montreal and we worked out a name on a placemat on which we wrote all the possible names we could think of. We kept working with the idea of maximum image. We turned it around and came up with IMAX.
The larger the surface area of a piece of film, the more photographic information it will contain. This means that an Imax image resolves much more detail and has very little visible film grain. Basically, Imax footage will look significantly cleaner and higher quality.
Did you know that IMAX stands for Image Maximum? This technology uses a 70 mm film surface, as opposed to 35 mm, giving images incredible clarity and sharpness, as well as very rich depth of field and use of colour. Thanks to IMAX technology, audiences can be totally immersed in a film.
The screen is massive and specifically tall, built to fit the unique way the movie is shot. It can be up to 40% larger than a standard movie screen. The seats are angled to open your field of view an average to 70 degrees, while speakers are positioned to immerse you in sound.
Some IMAX theaters do use traditional 3D with smaller glasses, so you'll want to contact your local IMAX theaters to see whether they use the larger glasses or not. For many people who wear glasses, bigger truly is better. Forget about those cheap plastic glasses the theater provides you.
While the biggest cinema screen in the world, the Traumplast Leonberg IMAX in Germany, measures 8,770 square feet. Aronofsky revealed the first look inside The Sphere in an Instagram post, with a caption detailing its cutting-edge specs.
Renowned director Christopher Nolan prefers to sit near the front, in the middle of the third row for cinemascope ratio, and slightly behind the center line for IMAX theaters. Experts suggest sitting in the center of the room, aligned with the screen, to centralize your field of vision and prevent strain.
Is it better to watch a movie in IMAX or standard?
IMAX theatres create a more immersive viewing experience with the massive screen, which delivers up to 40 per cent more imagery due to its high-resolution 3D technology.
IMAX's proprietary digital remastering tools (DMR) allow filmmakers to customize and clean their images to the precise level of noise and grain so films look pristine on the IMAX screen.
With stimulating effects like water, wind, scent and strobe lighting that are timed to enhance what's happening on screen, you'll be truly thrilled in your seat. And speaking of your seat – it moves.
Each Imax camera is said to cost around $500,000, which leads us to the incredible story of how Christopher Nolan destroyed three of these amazing cameras, totaling a whopping $1,500,000. That's without knowing how well the filming of the hotly anticipated Hollywood blockbuster, Oppenheimer, is going.
In 1994, investment bankers Gelfond and Bradley Wechsler acquired IMAX Corporation through a leveraged buyout and publicly listed the company on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
On the other hand, IMAX claims that their sound system can produce up to 120 decibels of sound. While this is slightly lower than Dolby, it is still incredibly loud and can cause hearing damage if listened to for extended periods of time.
The quality of 3D presentations is boosted by the use of two projectors, enabling the simultaneous projection of separate images for the left eye and right eye.
Here are some key distinctions: Screen Size: Real IMAX theaters feature a significantly larger screen compared to traditional movie theaters. A genuine IMAX screen can reach up to 72 feet (22 meters) in width, providing an expansive and immersive viewing experience.
The aim of IMAX is immersion: they aim to fill your vision, including peripheral vision with picture and create an immersive experience. 4k is just a resolution of the traditional cinema wide-screen picture. 4k is adequate for big screen presentation, although 8k would be better.
The average IMAX screen size is approximately 72' x 50' (22m x 16m), which is significantly larger than traditional movie screens of approximately 50' x 20' (16m x 6.1m). Is IMAX worth it? Yes, it is absolutely worth the price of admission. It's the biggest screen with the best quality.
For IMAX there is only one ticket price and for RealD there is the standard ticket price plus the mandatory 3D surcharge. It all amounts to the same thing: you buy a 3D ticket and you get glasses. They are provided at the theater but are turned in at the end of the show.
The IMAX screen provides the highest picture quality on a large screen and the best sound technology. In addition, if the entire movie is shot with an IMAX camera, it's a visual delight on the IMAX screen because you can see the whole large screen filled.
RealD 3D projectors like Sony's 4K Digital Cinema models use a special lens to project 3D visuals giving viewers four times the resolution of full-HD 1080p. Imax Digital 3D theaters, on the other hand, use Christie 2K dual-projector systems which give the same resolution as full-HD.
