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Precursors The desire to increase the visual impact of film has a long history. In 1929 Fox introduced Fox Grandeur, the first 70mm movie format, which quickly fell from use. Cinemascope and VistaVision widened the projected image from 35 mm film, and there were multi-projector systems such as Cinerama for even wider presentations. While impressive, Cinerama was cumbersome, difficult to set up and the joins between the screens were difficult to hide. Technical aspects
IMAX Dome/OMNIMAX In the late 1960s the San Diego Hall of Science (now known as the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center) began searching North America for a large-format film system to project on the dome of their planned 76-foot tilted-dome planetarium. One of the front-running formats was a double-frame 35 mm system, until they saw IMAX. The IMAX projector was unsuitable for use inside a dome because it had a 12-foot-tall lamphouse on top. However, IMAX Corporation were quick to cooperate and was willing to redesign their system. IMAX designed an elevator to lift the projector to the center of the dome from the projection booth below. Spectra Physics designed a suitable lamphouse that took smaller lamps (about 18 inches long) and placed the bulb behind the lens instead of above the projector. Lights of Canada developed a fisheye lens that would project the image onto a dome instead of a flat screen. The new system, that the San Diego Hall of Science called OMNIMAX, uses a fisheye lens on the camera that squeezes a highly distorted 180 degree field of view onto the 70 mm IMAX film. The lens is aligned below the center of the frame and most of the bottom half of the circular field falls beyond the edge of the film. The part of the field that would fall below the edge of the dome is masked-off. When filming, the camera is aimed upward at an angle that matches the tilt of the dome. When projected through a matching fisheye lens onto a dome the original panoramic view is recreated. OMNIMAX wraps 180 degrees horizontally, 100 degrees above the horizon and 22 degrees below the horizon for a viewer at the center of the dome. It premiered in 1973 at the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center in San Diego's Balboa Park showing two OMNIMAX features, Voyage to the Outer Planets (produced by Graphic Films) and Garden Isle (by Roger Tilton Films) on a double bill. IMAX has since renamed the system IMAX Dome. Even though the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center – which coined the original name – now uses the new name, many theaters such as the Cincinnati Museum Center still call it OMNIMAX. OMNIMAX theaters are now in place at a number of major American museums, particularly those with a scientific focus, where the technical aspects of the system may be highlighted as part of the theme interest. The projection room is often windowed to allow public viewing and accompanied by informational placards like any exhibit. Inside the theatre, the screen may be a permanent fixture, such as at the St. Louis Science Center (which also plays a short educational video about the OMNIMAX system just before the feature film); or lowered and raised as needed, such as at the Science Museum of Minnesota (where it shares an auditorium with a standard IMAX screen). IMAX Dome screens may also be found at several major theme parks and Las Vegas hotels. But despite their impressive capabilities and unique experience, the system seems likely to remain a novelty rather than a widespread commercial phenomenon. Relative to their size, OMNIMAX theaters are very expensive to build and maintain, and have a relatively small seating capacity. To make matters worse, only those seats closest to the center of the theater provide the full effect of the immersive view. Museums are able to run the theaters at a profit only because they are able to subrogate the construction expenses through grants and public fundraising and then show relatively inexpensive documentary films, often while still being able to keep admission prices lower than those of standard cinemas. In this way, OMNIMAX theaters have become a "cash cow" for financially strapped public institutions. Another use of IMAX Dome technology is to provide an immersive visual experience to go with a ride simulator, as in Back to the Future: The Ride. IMAX 3D
Viewer experience For the viewer, these technical differences result in a much more immersive, engaging experience than conventional film projection. The large screen and close seating mean that much of the viewer's field of vision is filled with the image, and the high resolution and positional stability of the film format imparts a sense of reality and detail. IMAX film can be overwhelming at times, with some viewers experiencing motion sickness during scenes with significant motion, especially if the action cuts between moving and still scenes. In scenes where the motion on the screen moves downwards, a "free-fall" sensation is felt (like going down on a roller coaster). History The IMAX system was developed by three Canadians: Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, and Robert Kerr. During Expo 67 in Montreal, Labyrinth, their multi-projector giant-screen system had a number of technical difficulties that led them to design a single-projector/single-camera system. The first IMAX film was demonstrated at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. The first permanent IMAX system was set up in Toronto, in the Ontario Place park in 1971. During Expo '74 in Spokane, Washington, USA, a very large IMAX screen that measured 90 x 65 ft (27.3 x 19.7 m) was featured in the US Pavilion (the largest structure in the expo). About 5 million visitors viewed the screen, which covered a person's total field of vision when looking directly forward. This easily created a sensation of motion for nearly everyone, and motion sickness in a few viewers. However, it was only a temporary screen for the six-month duration of the Expo. Several years later, a standard size IMAX screen was installed, and is still in operation at the renamed "Riverfront Park IMAX Theatre." The first permanent IMAX Dome installation, the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center, opened in San Diego's Balboa Park in 1973. The first permanent IMAX 3D theatre was built in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for Expo '86, and is still very much in use, as it is situated at the tip of Canada Place, one of Vancouver and the world's most recognized structures. As of May 2003, there were 230 IMAX theatres in 34 countries around the world. Half of these are commercial theaters and half are in educational venues. Content Although IMAX is an impressive format from a technical perspective, its popularity as a motion picture format has traditionally been limited. The expense and logistics of producing and presenting IMAX films has dictated a shorter running time compared to conventional movies for most presentations (typically around 40 minutes). The majority of films in this format tend to be documentaries ideally suited for institutional venues such as museums and science centers. IMAX cameras have been taken into space aboard the Space Shuttle, to Mount Everest, to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean, and to the Antarctic to film such documentaries. Although IMAX documentaries have been praised for their technical quality, critics have also complained that many have banal narration. Some IMAX theaters had shown conventional films (using conventional projection equipment) as a sideline to the native-IMAX presentations. In the late 1990s there was a wave of interest in broadening the use of IMAX as an entertainment format. A few pure-entertainment IMAX short films have been created, notably T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous, which had a successful run in 1998 and Haunted Castle, released in 2001 (both of these were IMAX 3-D films). In 1999, Disney produced Fantasia 2000, the first full-length animated feature released exclusively in the IMAX format (the film would later have a conventional-theatrical release). Disney would also release the first 2-D live-action native IMAX entertainment film, Young Black Stallion, in late 2003. In the fall of 2002, IMAX and Universal Studios released a new IMAX-format of the 1995 theatrical film Apollo 13. This release marked the first use of the IMAX-proprietary "DMR" (Digital Re-mastering) process that allowed conventional films to be converted into IMAX format. Other theatrically-released films, including Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, would subsequently be re-released at IMAX venues using the DMR process. In 2003 a notable IMAX re-release, again using the DMR process, was The Matrix Reloaded. Later in 2003, the sequel The Matrix Revolutions was the first live action film to be released simultaneously in IMAX and conventional theaters, the first feature film being Treasure Planet. Because of a technical limitation on the size of the film reel, these early DMR releases were edited to conform to a two-hour length limitation. Reviewers have generally praised the results of the DMR blowup process, which have superior visual and auditory impact to the same films projected in 35 mm. Some large format film industry professionals claim, however, that DMR blowups are not comparable to films created directly in the 70 mm 15-perf IMAX format. They note that the decline of Cinerama coincided roughly with the supersession of the original process with a simplified, reduced-cost, technically inferior version, and view DMR with alarm. IMAX originally reserved the phrase "the IMAX experience" for true 70 mm productions, but now allows its use on DMR productions as well. However, IMAX DMR versions of commercial Hollywood films are generally popular with audiences, with many people choosing to pay more than standard admission to see the IMAX version. Noted feature film director James Cameron filmed a movie about the ''Titanic'' in 3D IMAX format, Ghosts of the Abyss. Up to 2002, eight IMAX format films have received Academy Awards nomination with one win, the animated short, The Old Man and the Sea in 2000. Many IMAX films have been remastered into HDTV format for the INHD channels. Controversy In late March 2005, some IMAX theaters in the United States chose not to show Volcanoes of the Deep Sea, a movie directed by frequent IMAX documentarian Stephen Low. The film is about undersea volcanoes, and theater managers feared that the mention of evolution in the film would provoke a negative reaction from creationist patrons. In particular, the film discussed the similarities in bacterial and human DNA. *, * IMAX as a music venue In July 2005 the BFI IMAX Cinema in London became the first to host live music concerts. In a departure from its usual use for the Optronica visual music festival, no IMAX films were shown for 4 days; instead a stage was built in front of the giant screen. Brainchild of UK artists Addictive TV, performances included Kraftwerk's Karl Bartos and NY turntablist DJ Spooky remixing America's first feature film Birth of a Nation. * * * List of notable IMAX films List of feature films released on IMAX screens Technical specifications IMAX (15/70) IMAX Dome/OMNIMAX Same as IMAX except: IMAX venues Notable IMAX venues include: | |||||||||||||
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