The IMAX brand is so confusing... Only a small number of the theaters give the full IMAX experience, but the company doesn't seem to want us to know what level of IMAX experience is being offered at each "IMAX" labeled theater... It's kinda lame that they treat us that way.... Edit: I noticed another commenter is using the term "LIEmax"... which does seem apropos...
Yeah there's no shame in it (I love dual xenon for 3D movies for example), they just need to make it obvious. Tell us the screen size! Is it dual laser? GT?? What about sound?
this is very much a spoil of choice case. if your city only has 1 imax screen (I only have 1 in my whole country of 50 mill people) you will take it whatever it is. because is better than any alternative.
Its soo annoying, the narrator says they have smaller screens to accommodate smaller digital theatres then goes ahead and says in the control room they ensure a consistent imax experience across all theatre's. But it can't be a consistent experience if the's multiple screen sizes and seat arrangements can it
@@AstrologicalLesedi my country only has 1 imax screen and house like 6 times or more seats than normal cinemas. only when to it 2 (avatar 1 and dune) times in my life because it cost 6 times more than a normal movie ticket. but it was worth it.
@@Andrew-rc3vh except it's a lower resolution on a smaller screen, but I'm about the same distance. So liemax is always much worse than real imax or even digital laser imaxes.
Jesus Christ! For decades I thought IMAX was simply the style of theatre screen! And how the filmed-movies translate to the screen with the use of technology, expertise and magic! I never ever knew it involved practically its own cameras, film-format, tech-support ecosystem .. the WORKS!!! Thank you WSJ! NOW - what else don’t I know about this great big world 😂
Sorry to bother you. Would you please be so mindful as to not use the Lord's name in vain. I'm sure there are other words to use to signify your astonishment at what IMAX does.
Because no. lol Because as a content consumer I want the variability. I want creators who use Imax, I want creators who use iphone, but I want them all. @@duran9664
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire transition was actually a good decision to symbolize the entrance to the arena. As opposed to the constant cutting from different aspect ratios within various scenes in other films.
I never knew that part was filmed in IMAX, but I distinctly remember noticing how the aspect ratio changed so dramatically and it definitly gave a wow factor at that point
If the size of movie screens pre-multiplex to current multiplex (aka 40s-70s to 80s to current), modern cinema has glorified TV projectors on several screens (thus home TVs that are now giant make for actual competition) and tiny imax compared to the original 80 foot screens - all means your summary is dead on.
@@TheStig505 I rewatch more old movies than watch new movies, because good new movies isn't common anymore. I refuse to watch movies made for Gen Z too.
Really hope that the modernized 65mm camera means we will potentially see better maintenance for the existing 70mm projectors, and possibly even more implementations of the dual laser system in venues that have a 1.43 aspect ratio screen
@@keenanvandeusen You can't really compare digital and film directly like that, you can scan films at any resolution you like. With digital you have hard cap with the resolution, and if you upscale you are just making stuff up from nothing algorithmically. The end results is totally different. I have scanned 35mm film frame up to 1.7gigapixels for a print.
I did an analog cinema workshop here in Vienna, where the projector operator told me that IMAX appearantly also guarantees that a technician can be send to your location within just a few hours, which probably also plays into the high cost.
yes, that is correct - every IMAX has its dedicated technician with ready-to-go backpack to catch first flight to your location to solve the issue. non-operational IMAX means no licensing fees from tickets
There are digital IMAX theatres with full aspect ratio, it's just that there is few of them. Because cinemas can slap on IMAX branding way cheaper, with smaller screens and projectors
Will never forget my IMAX experiences whilst watching Blade Runner 2049,Mad Max Fury Road, Oppenheimer and Dune Part 1 and 2 absolutely staggering achievements of filmmaking the effort that goes into making and showing the films on IMAX is well worth it it's just so immersive.
Used to work at the Mississauga HQ in the mid-90's when they just started playing with film-to-digital transfer. Jazz musicians, mad scientists, and film arts guys = good times.
yea but thats if they get it in one take, often you need 10-20 takes just to get one shot right meaning to make an entire movie takes well over 20 hours of actively filming which could cost a movie millions that it doesn't have/need
@@mrbanana4536 If movies can afford to spend $100M+ on poor and overrated actors, then spending a million or two on filming isn't much. They also said " _can_ cost", meaning that's the upper limit.
$2,000/minute is in no way a trivial amount of money. $2,000 can get you an entire day of filming on the Alexa or two days of filming on a RED Epic. That mission impossible scene is 2 and half minutes and took 2 takes. That’s $10,000 which would get you 5 days of shooting on the Alexa or 10 days of shooting on a Red Epic. IMAX isn’t some trivial expense to tack on its something you use to enhance a very specific scene
It will not save cinema. There needs to be a return to 35mm in either 2.4 to 1 or 1.85 to 1 ratio. Using a more classic style film stock that is full of colour will blow modern audiences away
@@Art-is-craft Or go a little bit further and do 5/70mm film for added image quality. It would still be expensive, but not IMAX expensive. Sell it as a premium experience like Cinemark's XD or AMC's Dolby Cinema. Then, incorporate the projector and projectionist into the experience by parading movie goers past the projection booth on the way to the auditorium. Let them watch the projector run from behind glass. I think just knowing that the movie you're watching is being screened on film adds to the allure of going to the movies; like you're stepping into the golden era of Hollywood. I think Oppenheimer demonstrated that many people took interest in that. I watched Oppenheimer in a little single auditorium theater that presented it on film and the atmosphere was just different than that of a standard movie going experience.
@@joshuagaude6084 35mm standard as a resolution of about 12k. They would not be able to do large screens like 15/70 but they could do large existing digital screens with a much larger and crisper image. This would be cheap to do as it would onshore need to use existing 35mm projects with some minor refurbs. It could be marketed as ultra some or super. All it would take is for Nolan to do this along with Tarantino, Villeneuve or some other director making an epic.
@@Art-is-craft No, 35mm is realistically closer to 4K, so it's about on par with current digital cinema projectors. That's why I was saying 5/70, not 15/70, would still be feasible as it's not prohibitable expensive like IMAX film, but still offer that high quality. 5/70 is probably closer to 12K. But regardless if it's 35mm or 5/70, making the analogue format itself, part of the experience would still be enticing to a large set of movie goers. Or a better middle ground might be to bring back VistaVision as it doubles the resolution of the 35mm film frame.
@@joshuagaude6084 Film does not have pixels it has a solid image. 12k is only an estimation because that is the best image at 80 million pixels that can be done it could be much higher if higher pixel images were transferred. I have seen large 35mm screens in theatres that have a clear image and they could do a much larger image. And those screens were as big as the largest digital today. 70mm is amazing but would not be a realistic format to start with. With 35mm we would have a thousand screens in the US alone.
Apparently only 30 theaters worldwide are 70mm, and from that only 19 in the US. Many states do not have any at all. The Imax site fails to really disclose this so it's a bit of bait and switch to an unknowing customer who sees "wow I never knew I had an Imax near me"
Now only if they'd invest in their GT screen equiped theaters and upgrade them all with AT LEAST Dual Laser. Dallas' IMAX has had a broken 15/70mm IMAX projector for too long.
Amen brother. I actually caught the very last showing of Oppenheimer in IMAX 70mm before it broke the next morning at the end of the film run. It’s been sitting ever since. No Tenet film print, no Dune 2 film print.
It's up to the theaters as to what/when they change systems and which they get. Regal put single laser system on their big screens instead of dual laser to save money. (And many more are still using 2k xenon)
@@thedopplereffect00 Wrong. Scientifically speaking LED walls are worse because your eye is looking straight at the light source (it is like looking at the sun or, a better comparison, a lightbulb, you don't do it for long if you don't want it to burn it's shape in your eye). Meanwhile, projection is bounced light, like everything you see in your life, which means it's natural for the eye to look at it. People haven't been using them for long enough but VR headsets (the apple ones are too heavy so almost no one is usin them for long anyway) are similar to that because they are screens directed at your eyes. And yeah, you'll say "my TV is also a light source and it's fine" but you need to also consider that TVs are now brighter than before and there's not been enough time for HDR TVs users to gather results of if it's affecting them plus in the theatre the only light source, if it was a screen, would be the screen while most people watch TV with some extra light around them in the room, compensating the whole brightness in the area.
@@familygonzcartwright you don't understand physics at all. Light is light. You can control the brightness of LEDs incredibly accurately. Tell me about your magical "bounced light" 😂
My favorite IMAX theatre is at The McWane Center in Birmingham AL. The screen is almost a full sphere and the seats are incredibly steep. When you first sit down, it almost messes with your equilibrium as your eyes are trying to find the edge of the screen.
The IMAX format is just brilliant piece of filmmaking technology. I just wish it was more common at homes, but that would be more expensive. Saw Wicked on IMAX and it blew me away.
I believe the type of projector used is the key element when showing an IMAX film. For example, the AIRBUS IMAX in Virginia uses a Dual 4K laser projection system with "new" optical engine providing unparalleled 3D brightness projecting to a massive 86 foot wide screen (largest in the state!). With regards to audio: 12 discrete channels plus sub-bass for fully immersive audio experience. So I would prefer to see an IMAX film there vs an AMC IMAX.
It's about time people realize how absurdly complicated and incredible this technology is Even compared to modern digital stuff, film still takes the cake in a lot of instances.
1:50 I've only experienced IMAX one time in my life, and that was because it was part of a school trip in the early 2000's. I'm like 99% sure Space Station 3D is what we saw!! Before the movie started, there was an advert (it wasn't a trailer, more a digital version of a poster) for that Titanic movie that you also showed. It creeped me out so much!!
Very few directors use film because of how expensive it is. I would think digital would be the way to go if you use CGI, as it gets costly having to reshoot scenes multiple times. Oppenheimer didn't use CGI and was shot on film.
You’re spot on. Christopher Nolan is pretty much the only director that is actively both shooting AND finishing a movie on film and actually having it projected that way as well. VFX shots are typically scanned in at 8k and then re printed to film. It works out better than you’d think because he opts to do as much in camera as possible, so the VFX you see often times are trivial, like painting out wires or just basic compositing of practical elements.
Depends on the director. Some do it the same way the did it before digital cameras or digital projection. Some scan the film and finish everything digitally and release digitally. Dune part 2 was shot digitally and printed to film for 12 copies, everything else is digital. No the VFX aren't 18k.
Put it through a 65mm film scanner, get the plates, do all our elements in waaaaay lower resolution than 18k, recompose and output to a film printer. We have done it in the 90s and early 2000s.
Shocking that IMAX is still thriving in an ever streaming world. IMAX has too much distortion in their speakers at many locations. They need to partner with Meyer Sound to bring that dynamic finesse. Even Dolby Theaters are much more responsive in the full experience.
5:59 TIL if you can get into their network you can hack into and probably do some damage to all IMAX locations around the world. Oh and they seem to just all sit in a VPN and manage the fleet via RDP. Neato.
I saw Oppenheimer in IMAX back in August, and it was amazing. Here are a few things of note: -Admittedly, the visual quality of the IMAX scenes wasn't as breathtaking as others have made it out to be, but the scale of the image was. I'd say the visual quality of the IMAX scenes were comparable to a 4k TV (which is really good), but with IMAX that level of quality is on a much larger screen that nearly engulfs your vision, which is incredible. -The scenes that were not shot on IMAX looked bad. The non-IMAX scenes were shot on standard 65mm, which is 1/3 the size of IMAX. It probably looked better than Nolan's other films, which used 35mm for those scenes (this is the first Nolan film i saw in IMAX, so i can't confirm how bad they looked), but it's still jarring. -With IMAX 70mm, no trailers are played since there's no room for them on the giant reels. I knew this beforehand, but i don't think everyone else that went knew, and the majority of the audience got into the theater as it was starting. -Yes, the explosions were quite loud. The sound system was superb.
@@LaNoturna1115headphones really can't hold a candle to the hundreds of good speakers in an IMAX cinema. And good luck finding even 3d 4k movies to play in VR, let alone 18k if you're lucky enough to live near one of the proper IMAX.
It was so cool seeing the space station 3d one being featured. It was the first iMax 3D i had ever seen. Got to see it during a school field trip. The biggest gripe i have about movies is that most are still filmed/recorded at 24 fps... i would love to start seeing 60 being standard. The studder on 120 hz oleds sucks so bad.
I'm glad they've realized that they need more film cameras. You cannot beat film. A legit IMAX theater used to be a few miles from me. It had a film, projector and everything. But it's gone now and it's honestly a crime. People want to see movies on film. I saw Oppenheimer on 70mm two times and the theater was FULL every time. I also saw it on IMAX laser twice. The image quality between film and even IMAX laser doesn't compare.
By imax you mean 70mm film? Film has natural colours with extreme levels of contrast which means blacks are relative to the other colours. A perfect black on OLED will not look better.
Interesting! There is also a video from the cinematographer of Oppenheimer, Hoyte van Hoytema, that is interesting about the rigors of filming Oppenheimer. iMax didn't have a B&W film stock in 65mm so they had to contact Kodak to make it for the scenes Christopher Nolan wanted to be filmed.
@@Jsjsjjssjs Kodak doesn't make black and white film stock anymore. The production company had to design a film stock and have it manufactured especially for the movie . There was no film to 'cut to size' in the Kodak vaults.
@@everettengbers3553 Yes they do, it's called Double-X, and they make it for 16mm and 35mm. It was the first time they made it for 65mm. Don't know where you get that info but it's simply not true
Im 47 i had a foto camera as a kid and loved to take pictures Now because those cameras are gone there is no fun in taking pitures anymore. These imax film projectors and recorders where something else and the movies in theatre where so mutch better than the digital ones The clarity and color poped way more. Like seeing it with your own eyes for real instead of on a screen.
Most IMAX theatres aren't even in the IMAX 70nm aspect ratio because it's so expensive to buy. And you pay for the brand but don't get the full film. It's a shame because if people knew this cinemas would be more keen to invest in full size screens
I got to experience similarly, on the third largest imax screen in the world and the largest in the western hemisphere (AMC lincoln square manhattan). It was staggeringly awesome, and worth driving 3 hours from Albany for it.
It’s that time of year again where a blockbuster movie was shot in imax and every news outlet and tech related channel talk about how imax is amazing and the tech behind it.
I never knew the difference of IMAX and a regular movie at the theater so most times i go for regular cause it’s cheaper.After watching this i will keep buying the regular cheap one.Never saw a difference 😅😂
Probably because the IMAX theater you went to did not have the proper equipment to show IMAX films at their fullest. I heard it's an issue at many theaters who advertise themselves as IMAX.
I really hope that the new IMAX film camera comes early and Chris Nolan can shoot all of his film in IMAX unlike his previous films where only some portions are in IMAX
I saw Dune 2 in IMAX. The projection had terrible chromatic aberration as they forgot to remove a protective film on the projector lens. No point to this story
If only IMAX films can release their films digitally or on dvd in their full IMAX ratios with the blackbars or a blur on the borders. It would make IMAX films like Oppenheimer, Avatar Way of Water, Dune 1-2, and all other IMAX films viewable to the public and would have so much more information on the movie's screen and scale like how the film is supposed to be watched. And, afterall films and movies are made for the entire world to see. To limit this work of joy and ingeniousness to anyone is to limit the art of beauty everywhere
The IMAX brand is so confusing... Only a small number of the theaters give the full IMAX experience, but the company doesn't seem to want us to know what level of IMAX experience is being offered at each "IMAX" labeled theater... It's kinda lame that they treat us that way....
Edit: I noticed another commenter is using the term "LIEmax"... which does seem apropos...
Yeah there's no shame in it (I love dual xenon for 3D movies for example), they just need to make it obvious. Tell us the screen size! Is it dual laser? GT?? What about sound?
this is very much a spoil of choice case. if your city only has 1 imax screen (I only have 1 in my whole country of 50 mill people) you will take it whatever it is. because is better than any alternative.
SO true... some times it feels as if it is a scam
@@kelownatechkidYou love 3D Movies? 😮🤨
@@lucaskp16 Where do u come from if u don't mind me asking :)
I like how they barely hint at the difference they try to hide between real IMAX and Liemax
Its soo annoying, the narrator says they have smaller screens to accommodate smaller digital theatres then goes ahead and says in the control room they ensure a consistent imax experience across all theatre's. But it can't be a consistent experience if the's multiple screen sizes and seat arrangements can it
@@AstrologicalLesedi my country only has 1 imax screen and house like 6 times or more seats than normal cinemas. only when to it 2 (avatar 1 and dune) times in my life because it cost 6 times more than a normal movie ticket. but it was worth it.
@@lucaskp16 where do you live?
@@AstrologicalLesediThink in terms of angular resolution rather than the absolute size of the pixels and you will understand it can be done.
@@Andrew-rc3vh except it's a lower resolution on a smaller screen, but I'm about the same distance. So liemax is always much worse than real imax or even digital laser imaxes.
Jesus Christ! For decades I thought IMAX was simply the style of theatre screen! And how the filmed-movies translate to the screen with the use of technology, expertise and magic! I never ever knew it involved practically its own cameras, film-format, tech-support ecosystem .. the WORKS!!! Thank you WSJ! NOW - what else don’t I know about this great big world 😂
❓WHY❓
Why iMAX when it’s better to focus on building an Ai model that can make the whole movie & upscale it to even the Sphere standard ‼️😒
@@duran9664, same idea visited my mind while watching this. 😊
Most of the larger imax theaters have a viewing area behind the projector so you see the giant projector up close.
Sorry to bother you. Would you please be so mindful as to not use the Lord's name in vain. I'm sure there are other words to use to signify your astonishment at what IMAX does.
Because no. lol Because as a content consumer I want the variability. I want creators who use Imax, I want creators who use iphone, but I want them all. @@duran9664
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire transition was actually a good decision to symbolize the entrance to the arena. As opposed to the constant cutting from different aspect ratios within various scenes in other films.
Intersteller, for example
I never knew that part was filmed in IMAX, but I distinctly remember noticing how the aspect ratio changed so dramatically and it definitly gave a wow factor at that point
Real Imax is great but most theaters really just have lieMax and it sucks. Need to actually standardize all Imax to at least high end laser 4k.
If the size of movie screens pre-multiplex to current multiplex (aka 40s-70s to 80s to current), modern cinema has glorified TV projectors on several screens (thus home TVs that are now giant make for actual competition) and tiny imax compared to the original 80 foot screens - all means your summary is dead on.
Just stop watching movies all together. That seems like a rational solution to your rational gripe
It's so expensive because there's a dwarf in the box doing the magic.
@@poindextertunes movies suck nowadays so that's probably the best choice.
@@TheStig505 I rewatch more old movies than watch new movies, because good new movies isn't common anymore.
I refuse to watch movies made for Gen Z too.
New IMAX camera!?!? That's awesome
Really hope that the modernized 65mm camera means we will potentially see better maintenance for the existing 70mm projectors, and possibly even more implementations of the dual laser system in venues that have a 1.43 aspect ratio screen
❓WHY❓
Why when it’s better to focus on building an Ai model that can make the whole movie & upscale it to even the Sphere standard ‼️😒
@@duran9664 I’m gonna assume this is satirical or rage bait
Unfortunately despite the success of Oppenheimer, they still won't invest in their projectors
@@duran9664 The funny thing is, one 70mm IMAX camera is the same resolution (18k) as the digital camera cluster built for the Vegas Sphere
@@keenanvandeusen You can't really compare digital and film directly like that, you can scan films at any resolution you like. With digital you have hard cap with the resolution, and if you upscale you are just making stuff up from nothing algorithmically. The end results is totally different. I have scanned 35mm film frame up to 1.7gigapixels for a print.
How they transitioned from regular to Imax on Catching Fire is as of today my favorite!!
I did an analog cinema workshop here in Vienna, where the projector operator told me that IMAX appearantly also guarantees that a technician can be send to your location within just a few hours, which probably also plays into the high cost.
yes, that is correct - every IMAX has its dedicated technician with ready-to-go backpack to catch first flight to your location to solve the issue.
non-operational IMAX means no licensing fees from tickets
There are digital IMAX theatres with full aspect ratio, it's just that there is few of them.
Because cinemas can slap on IMAX branding way cheaper, with smaller screens and projectors
It's not about the aspect ratio, it's about the resolution. Digital is still just 4K at best, IMAX film is about 12K-16K.
Okay. Now i need a full atleast 1 hour documentary about IMAX shot on IMAX.
Just a small sum of a million dollars would do
Will never forget my IMAX experiences whilst watching Blade Runner 2049,Mad Max Fury Road, Oppenheimer and Dune Part 1 and 2 absolutely staggering achievements of filmmaking the effort that goes into making and showing the films on IMAX is well worth it it's just so immersive.
They're actually making a new film-camera? There is hope in the galaxy
❓WHY❓
Why when it’s better to focus on building an Ai model that can make the whole movie & upscale it to even the Sphere standard ‼️😒
@@duran9664 Your comment is absurd that's why
@@thealaris, not at all. Ancient people thought only wood can float, not metal. And now metal even can fly. New way of thinking changes the world.
@@TroyQwertwtf
@@marcviej.5635 , change your way of thinking.
Used to work at the Mississauga HQ in the mid-90's when they just started playing with film-to-digital transfer. Jazz musicians, mad scientists, and film arts guys = good times.
Yes I love this. Imax isn’t just keeping analog mainstream, they’re advancing it into the future. I wish someone would do that with recording tape
$2,000/minute sounds like an absolutely trivial amount of money for that industry
yea but thats if they get it in one take, often you need 10-20 takes just to get one shot right meaning to make an entire movie takes well over 20 hours of actively filming which could cost a movie millions that it doesn't have/need
@@mrbanana4536 If movies can afford to spend $100M+ on poor and overrated actors, then spending a million or two on filming isn't much. They also said " _can_ cost", meaning that's the upper limit.
$2,000/minute is in no way a trivial amount of money. $2,000 can get you an entire day of filming on the Alexa or two days of filming on a RED Epic. That mission impossible scene is 2 and half minutes and took 2 takes. That’s $10,000 which would get you 5 days of shooting on the Alexa or 10 days of shooting on a Red Epic. IMAX isn’t some trivial expense to tack on its something you use to enhance a very specific scene
@@TheJjcczz You don't get it. It's trivial because they have $200M+ budgets. That's $1,000,000+/minute.
@@oyuyuyMost movies don't have 200 million+ budget and there are tons of other costs besides the film.
Awesome video!!! Thanks WSJ for showing these details about the IMAX cameras!
It's great that there are people who are still passionate about film-and especially about large formats like this!
It will not save cinema. There needs to be a return to 35mm in either 2.4 to 1 or 1.85 to 1 ratio. Using a more classic style film stock that is full of colour will blow modern audiences away
@@Art-is-craft Or go a little bit further and do 5/70mm film for added image quality. It would still be expensive, but not IMAX expensive. Sell it as a premium experience like Cinemark's XD or AMC's Dolby Cinema. Then, incorporate the projector and projectionist into the experience by parading movie goers past the projection booth on the way to the auditorium. Let them watch the projector run from behind glass. I think just knowing that the movie you're watching is being screened on film adds to the allure of going to the movies; like you're stepping into the golden era of Hollywood. I think Oppenheimer demonstrated that many people took interest in that.
I watched Oppenheimer in a little single auditorium theater that presented it on film and the atmosphere was just different than that of a standard movie going experience.
@@joshuagaude6084
35mm standard as a resolution of about 12k. They would not be able to do large screens like 15/70 but they could do large existing digital screens with a much larger and crisper image. This would be cheap to do as it would onshore need to use existing 35mm projects with some minor refurbs. It could be marketed as ultra some or super. All it would take is for Nolan to do this along with Tarantino, Villeneuve or some other director making an epic.
@@Art-is-craft No, 35mm is realistically closer to 4K, so it's about on par with current digital cinema projectors. That's why I was saying 5/70, not 15/70, would still be feasible as it's not prohibitable expensive like IMAX film, but still offer that high quality. 5/70 is probably closer to 12K. But regardless if it's 35mm or 5/70, making the analogue format itself, part of the experience would still be enticing to a large set of movie goers.
Or a better middle ground might be to bring back VistaVision as it doubles the resolution of the 35mm film frame.
@@joshuagaude6084
Film does not have pixels it has a solid image. 12k is only an estimation because that is the best image at 80 million pixels that can be done it could be much higher if higher pixel images were transferred.
I have seen large 35mm screens in theatres that have a clear image and they could do a much larger image. And those screens were as big as the largest digital today. 70mm is amazing but would not be a realistic format to start with. With 35mm we would have a thousand screens in the US alone.
This 6 minute video fulfilled my curiosity about IMAX that no other videos can 🔥
You could add a backpack for the film, picture a soldier with a gatling gun with the ammo belt being fed from a backpack.
I like the special Bluray releases that come with snippets of IMAX film from the movie in the case.
Apparently only 30 theaters worldwide are 70mm, and from that only 19 in the US. Many states do not have any at all. The Imax site fails to really disclose this so it's a bit of bait and switch to an unknowing customer who sees "wow I never knew I had an Imax near me"
Now only if they'd invest in their GT screen equiped theaters and upgrade them all with AT LEAST Dual Laser. Dallas' IMAX has had a broken 15/70mm IMAX projector for too long.
Amen brother. I actually caught the very last showing of Oppenheimer in IMAX 70mm before it broke the next morning at the end of the film run. It’s been sitting ever since. No Tenet film print, no Dune 2 film print.
LED walls are the future
It's up to the theaters as to what/when they change systems and which they get.
Regal put single laser system on their big screens instead of dual laser to save money.
(And many more are still using 2k xenon)
@@thedopplereffect00 Wrong. Scientifically speaking LED walls are worse because your eye is looking straight at the light source (it is like looking at the sun or, a better comparison, a lightbulb, you don't do it for long if you don't want it to burn it's shape in your eye). Meanwhile, projection is bounced light, like everything you see in your life, which means it's natural for the eye to look at it.
People haven't been using them for long enough but VR headsets (the apple ones are too heavy so almost no one is usin them for long anyway) are similar to that because they are screens directed at your eyes.
And yeah, you'll say "my TV is also a light source and it's fine" but you need to also consider that TVs are now brighter than before and there's not been enough time for HDR TVs users to gather results of if it's affecting them plus in the theatre the only light source, if it was a screen, would be the screen while most people watch TV with some extra light around them in the room, compensating the whole brightness in the area.
@@familygonzcartwright you don't understand physics at all. Light is light. You can control the brightness of LEDs incredibly accurately. Tell me about your magical "bounced light" 😂
My favorite IMAX theatre is at The McWane Center in Birmingham AL. The screen is almost a full sphere and the seats are incredibly steep. When you first sit down, it almost messes with your equilibrium as your eyes are trying to find the edge of the screen.
One of the coolest videos I’ve watched in a while. Completely enjoyed this
Greatest documentaries are made in IMAX...
WSJ you are heading the right way. Tech, ideas, business, future... this is all we need. Fresh news of possibilities. Not just death, fear and terror.
IMAX really does elevate the movie experience! 🎬
The IMAX format is just brilliant piece of filmmaking technology. I just wish it was more common at homes, but that would be more expensive. Saw Wicked on IMAX and it blew me away.
I just saw Dune 2 in IMAX and it was a great experience.
but you wouldn't watch it again - too boring
@@dieglhixobviously, he now knows the story and that makes it boring to watch again.
there are loads of movies I have watched over twice@@MtFoxt
@@dieglhix no its not
"how to make things Needlessly expensive"
Perfect.
Love the topic you guys pick loved it ❤
I believe the type of projector used is the key element when showing an IMAX film. For example, the AIRBUS IMAX in Virginia uses a Dual 4K laser projection system with "new" optical engine providing unparalleled 3D brightness projecting to a massive 86 foot wide screen (largest in the state!). With regards to audio: 12 discrete channels plus sub-bass for fully immersive audio experience. So I would prefer to see an IMAX film there vs an AMC IMAX.
cool to see they are developing a new film camera!
It's about time people realize how absurdly complicated and incredible this technology is Even compared to modern digital stuff, film still takes the cake in a lot of instances.
5:56 - go and open a terminal to ping something...it'll look interesting!
1:50 I've only experienced IMAX one time in my life, and that was because it was part of a school trip in the early 2000's. I'm like 99% sure Space Station 3D is what we saw!! Before the movie started, there was an advert (it wasn't a trailer, more a digital version of a poster) for that Titanic movie that you also showed. It creeped me out so much!!
How do they edit and effects after filming, they scan the film to pc? After that, do they print it out? With what? And in 18K?
Very few directors use film because of how expensive it is. I would think digital would be the way to go if you use CGI, as it gets costly having to reshoot scenes multiple times. Oppenheimer didn't use CGI and was shot on film.
You’re spot on. Christopher Nolan is pretty much the only director that is actively both shooting AND finishing a movie on film and actually having it projected that way as well. VFX shots are typically scanned in at 8k and then re printed to film. It works out better than you’d think because he opts to do as much in camera as possible, so the VFX you see often times are trivial, like painting out wires or just basic compositing of practical elements.
Depends on the director. Some do it the same way the did it before digital cameras or digital projection. Some scan the film and finish everything digitally and release digitally.
Dune part 2 was shot digitally and printed to film for 12 copies, everything else is digital.
No the VFX aren't 18k.
Put it through a 65mm film scanner, get the plates, do all our elements in waaaaay lower resolution than 18k, recompose and output to a film printer. We have done it in the 90s and early 2000s.
Now do dolby atmos, vision and dtx and such next please
Shocking that IMAX is still thriving in an ever streaming world. IMAX has too much distortion in their speakers at many locations. They need to partner with Meyer Sound to bring that dynamic finesse. Even Dolby Theaters are much more responsive in the full experience.
IMAX really is the best format
5:55 - Windows Vista?
No, it's windows 10.. it's just remoted in
5:59 TIL if you can get into their network you can hack into and probably do some damage to all IMAX locations around the world.
Oh and they seem to just all sit in a VPN and manage the fleet via RDP.
Neato.
I saw Oppenheimer in IMAX back in August, and it was amazing. Here are a few things of note:
-Admittedly, the visual quality of the IMAX scenes wasn't as breathtaking as others have made it out to be, but the scale of the image was. I'd say the visual quality of the IMAX scenes were comparable to a 4k TV (which is really good), but with IMAX that level of quality is on a much larger screen that nearly engulfs your vision, which is incredible.
-The scenes that were not shot on IMAX looked bad. The non-IMAX scenes were shot on standard 65mm, which is 1/3 the size of IMAX. It probably looked better than Nolan's other films, which used 35mm for those scenes (this is the first Nolan film i saw in IMAX, so i can't confirm how bad they looked), but it's still jarring.
-With IMAX 70mm, no trailers are played since there's no room for them on the giant reels. I knew this beforehand, but i don't think everyone else that went knew, and the majority of the audience got into the theater as it was starting.
-Yes, the explosions were quite loud. The sound system was superb.
VR...good headphones...
@@LaNoturna1115headphones really can't hold a candle to the hundreds of good speakers in an IMAX cinema. And good luck finding even 3d 4k movies to play in VR, let alone 18k if you're lucky enough to live near one of the proper IMAX.
I don't need big screens, high fidelity audio and all that fancy stuff. I need good movies.
You learn something new everyday!
It was so cool seeing the space station 3d one being featured. It was the first iMax 3D i had ever seen. Got to see it during a school field trip.
The biggest gripe i have about movies is that most are still filmed/recorded at 24 fps... i would love to start seeing 60 being standard. The studder on 120 hz oleds sucks so bad.
Peter Jackson did that with the Hobbit and the series got a lot of criticism because the extra sharpness gave the films the "soap opera" effect.
“It is much easier than you think and it makes things so much better.” - Hoyte van Hoytema
Thank wsj for such information help me to different aesthetic aspects and different colours on eyes...
I do think it's crazy that IMAX, such a well known company isn't even a billion dollar company
Mkt cap
1.11B
It's worth $1.1 billion according to the US stock market
Movie theatre projection and sound is such fascinating technology.
A shaking dog on the desk is so cute
THIS VIDEO NOT HAVING 4K RES IS A CRIME.
Space Station 3D is the first IMAX movie I saw on a school field trip, it was awesome.
A shaking dog on the desk is so cute
Wow! This is pretty cool, I never knew they still use physical film in this time and age. I've always thought they used a hdd to store the movie on.
I'm glad they've realized that they need more film cameras. You cannot beat film. A legit IMAX theater used to be a few miles from me. It had a film, projector and everything. But it's gone now and it's honestly a crime. People want to see movies on film. I saw Oppenheimer on 70mm two times and the theater was FULL every time. I also saw it on IMAX laser twice. The image quality between film and even IMAX laser doesn't compare.
To watch a Movie (maybe in 3D) with a VR Headset is greater than IMAX cinema. And everyone can have this at home.
Can IMAX produce perfect blacks like an OLED panel?
I highly doubt it
By imax you mean 70mm film?
Film has natural colours with extreme levels of contrast which means blacks are relative to the other colours. A perfect black on OLED will not look better.
I saw The Dark Night Rises in IMAX at the Museum of Science and Discovery. Easily the greatest movie going experience I’ve ever had.
IMAX is a Canadian invention 🇨🇦
Canada is an IMAX invention
I remember a few occasions going to the IMAX theatre at Ontario Place.
Incredible Astonishing Innovation of Science beyond Imagination!!!
Interesting! There is also a video from the cinematographer of Oppenheimer, Hoyte van Hoytema, that is interesting about the rigors of filming Oppenheimer. iMax didn't have a B&W film stock in 65mm so they had to contact Kodak to make it for the scenes Christopher Nolan wanted to be filmed.
IMAX doesnt make film stock, Kodak makes all the 65mm stock available. They simply had to cut it to size
@@Jsjsjjssjs Kodak doesn't make black and white film stock anymore. The production company had to design a film stock and have it manufactured especially for the movie . There was no film to 'cut to size' in the Kodak vaults.
@@everettengbers3553 Yes they do, it's called Double-X, and they make it for 16mm and 35mm. It was the first time they made it for 65mm. Don't know where you get that info but it's simply not true
@@Jsjsjjssjs Kodak no longer makes black and white movie film, that is substantially true.
@@everettengbers3553Dude I literally shot Kodak B&W 16mm last month. Why would I lie?? Just do a simple google search, it's on their website.
Im 47 i had a foto camera as a kid and loved to take pictures Now because those cameras are gone there is no fun in taking pitures anymore. These imax film projectors and recorders where something else and the movies in theatre where so mutch better than the digital ones The clarity and color poped way more. Like seeing it with your own eyes for real instead of on a screen.
Superb informative video boss 👌👌👌
Now we have the BlackMagic Ursa Cine 17k Digital Camera coming in later this year 🔥🎥
Christopher Nolan is single handledly funding IMAX research 😂
That is one film-hungry camera!
Please make a documentary about Cable and sattelite television in the Netflix era
Ngl I never notice the difference at the theaters
IMAX 1570 film format:
IMAX 65 millimeters horizontal negative
(1570 horizontal print)
70.41 × 52.63 millimeters frame
11,734 × 8,771 = 102,918,914 digital equivalent pixels resolution
Give this camera to Noland please
*Nolan
Yay new camera on way😭😭🔥💯! We may get dune 3 with that one.
We want IMAX because of its resolution not “this movie was shoot on IMAX but we downsample to fit a standard Super 35 theater”
Most IMAX theatres aren't even in the IMAX 70nm aspect ratio because it's so expensive to buy. And you pay for the brand but don't get the full film.
It's a shame because if people knew this cinemas would be more keen to invest in full size screens
I just wish we had an Imax 70 mm cinema in Houston.
Any product that starts with "i" always have the best quality. For example, iPhone, iPad, IMAX etc.
I was in Leonberg watching dune 2 on the largest Cinema IMAX Screen in the world and it was an experience for a lifetime
I got to experience similarly, on the third largest imax screen in the world and the largest in the western hemisphere (AMC lincoln square manhattan). It was staggeringly awesome, and worth driving 3 hours from Albany for it.
This is why we can not let the real cinema experience die! Reject streaming services and watch it on the big screen!
Definitely a show of shows
These has been that saying for years that every click of a IMAX camera is $100 being spent. Seems nothing has changed
All movies should be played in a venue such as The Sphere - Las Vegas. Lol. That’s hands down, the future of entertainment.
It’s that time of year again where a blockbuster movie was shot in imax and every news outlet and tech related channel talk about how imax is amazing and the tech behind it.
I never knew the difference of IMAX and a regular movie at the theater so most times i go for regular cause it’s cheaper.After watching this i will keep buying the regular cheap one.Never saw a difference 😅😂
Probably because the IMAX theater you went to did not have the proper equipment to show IMAX films at their fullest. I heard it's an issue at many theaters who advertise themselves as IMAX.
we going back to 1900s with this boyz
I bet you Christopher Nolan has some say in this. And he should. He himself ALONE has took a niche thing and shown it can be used in movies.
I really hope that the new IMAX film camera comes early and Chris Nolan can shoot all of his film in IMAX unlike his previous films where only some portions are in IMAX
Im also modernizing Large Format cameras :) With WIFI and such, just a still camera with 4x5" film size. So a bit larger.
Just saw Dune part 2 in true top IMAX and it totally stole me away into that world!
Excellent vid, images and narrative along the way. Film is not quite finished afterall. Very impressive .
2000$ for a minute really shows how much money it takes to control the world.
Laser projectors will very fast be obsolete as LED becomes cheaper and faster
This is amazing - While the rest of the world is powering ahead with digital, film is still the best.
These guys put alot of work😮
I saw Dune 2 in IMAX. The projection had terrible chromatic aberration as they forgot to remove a protective film on the projector lens.
No point to this story
Digital is very difficult to get right. I have seen digital with good pictures and bad.
If only IMAX films can release their films digitally or on dvd in their full IMAX ratios with the blackbars or a blur on the borders. It would make IMAX films like Oppenheimer, Avatar Way of Water, Dune 1-2, and all other IMAX films viewable to the public and would have so much more information on the movie's screen and scale like how the film is supposed to be watched. And, afterall films and movies are made for the entire world to see. To limit this work of joy and ingeniousness to anyone is to limit the art of beauty everywhere
My hometown thankfully has a legit IMAX theatre: Royal BC Museum in Victoria BC. Unfortunately it is a digital laser projector.
To think that all of this will be gone within 10 years is crazy.. movie theaters will be out of business by then.
It just got confirmed that the next Nolan movie will be shot with next gen imax cameras
Who thought it was a good idea to post this video is 1080p