IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating, with the 1.43:1 ratio format being available only in few selected locations.[1]
This article is about the IMAX motion picture film format. For the company responsible for this format, see IMAX Corporation. For the car known as the Hyundai iMax in some markets, see Hyundai Starex.Type
Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, Robert Kerr, and William C. Shaw were the co-founders of what would be named the IMAX Corporation (founded in September 1967 as Multiscreen Corporation, Ltd.), and they developed the first IMAX cinema projection standards in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Canada.[2]
IMAX GT is the premium large format. The digital format uses dual laser projectors, which can show 1.43 digital content when combined with a 1.43 screen. The film format uses very large screens of 18 by 24 metres (59 by 79 feet) and, unlike most conventional film projectors, the film runs horizontally so that the image width can be greater than the width of the film stock. It is called the 15/70 format. They can be purpose-built theaters and dome theaters, and many installations of this type limit themselves to a projection of high quality, short documentaries.
The dedicated buildings and projectors required high construction and maintenance costs, necessitating several compromises in the following years. To reduce costs, the IMAX SR and MPX systems were introduced in 1998 and 2004, respectively, to make IMAX available to multiplex and existing theaters. The SR system featured slightly smaller screens than GT theatres, though still in purpose-built auditoriums with a 1.43:1 aspect ratio. The MPX projectors were solely used to retrofit existing multiplex auditoriums, losing much of the quality of the GT experience.[3]
Later came the introduction of the IMAX Digital 2K and IMAX with Laser 4K in 2008 and 2014 respectively, still limited in respect to the 70 megapixels of equivalent resolution of the original 15/70 film. Both technologies are purely digital and suitable to retrofit existing theaters. Since 2018, the Laser system has been employed to retrofit full dome installations, with limited results due to the large area of a dome screen.
Laser projection[edit]
In April 2012, IMAX began testing a new 4K laser projection system, based on patents licensed from Eastman Kodak. Like the 3D film and digital systems, it used two projectors, but it improved over the smaller digital screens by retaining the traditional IMAX aspect ratio and let films be shown on screens 36 m (118 ft) wide or more.[50] In December 2014, IMAX began rolling out its new dual 4K laser projector system, dubbed "IMAX with Laser" and known as IMAX GT, with the first installation occurring at the Cineplex Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto.[51][52] The system allows digital projection of the 1.43:1 aspect ratio surface of a traditional IMAX screen, but can also be used on other screens such as the 1.90:1-aspect-ratio TCL Chinese Theater.
The system replaces the xenon arc lamp of a traditional digital projector with a laser light source, and is capable of 60 fps with "50 percent greater" brightness than the Digital Cinema Initiatives spec, a contrast ratio "double" that of IMAX 15/70 mm film projection and "higher" than the 2,500:1 contrast ratio of IMAX's xenon lamp-based projection systems, and displaying the full Rec. 2020 color gamut. The system also features a new 12-channel surround sound system, which adds an additional speaker on either side of the theater as well as four new overhead speakers.[53][54]
While still not matching the theoretical resolution of traditional IMAX film, which is estimated at up to 12,000 lines of horizontal resolution on the 65 mm camera negative (12K) and approximately 6,000 on a 35 mm release print (6K),[22] the new laser system features dual-4K resolution projectors, each capable of displaying four times the detail of one Digital IMAX projector. Like Digital IMAX, images from the two projectors are projected superimposed on each other with a half-pixel offset, using super-resolution imaging, which makes the perceived resolution greater than 4K.[55] In-theater cameras and microphones are used to automatically calibrate the projectors and sound system between showings.[56] For 3D presentations, one projector is used to display the image for each eye, while 2D presentations use the superimposed images to allow for a brighter image.[54] For 3D presentations, IMAX with Laser systems use dichroic filter glasses, similar to those used by Dolby 3D, as opposed to the linear polarization glasses used in Digital IMAX theaters.[57]
On April 24, 2018, IMAX announced that they would begin rolling out a new single-unit version of their laser projector system later that year, with this iteration designed to replace the IMAX Xenon digital projection system for 1.89:1 screens.[58]
Theatres[edit]
IMAX theatres are described as either "Classic Design" (purpose-built structures), or "Multiplex Design" (retrofitted auditoriums).[59] Classic IMAX theatre construction differs significantly from conventional theatres. The increased resolution lets the audience be much closer to the screen. Typically all rows are within one screen height – conventional theatre seating runs 8 to 12-screen heights. Also, the rows of seats are set at a steep angle (up to 30° in some domed theatres) so that the audience is facing the screen directly.[60]
The world's largest IMAX screen currently stands in Leonberg near Stuttgart, Germany and measures 38 by 22 m (125 by 72 ft).[61] Until the Leonberg IMAX opened in 2021, the largest operating IMAX screen was located within the Melbourne Museum in Melbourne, Australia, measuring 32 m × 23 m (105 ft × 75 ft).[62] Until its demolition in 2016, the world's largest IMAX screen had been in Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia, measuring 35.72 m × 29.57 m (117.2 ft × 97.0 ft).[63][64] It reopened on 12 October 2023, with a screen measuring 693 square meters 31.2 by 22.2 m (102 by 73 ft) within The Ribbon building, after years of extensive redevelopment, making it the world's third-largest screen.[65][66]
In 1996, IMAX was awarded the Oscar for Scientific and Technical Achievement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[130] The award cited IMAX's innovations in creating and developing a method of filming and exhibiting large-format, wide-angle motion pictures.[131]
To date, ten native-format IMAX format films have received Academy Awards nomination, with one winner. While on technical aspects and the usage of the IMAX system, only Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography on Oppenheimer has won, while Wally Pfister's cinematography on The Dark Knight and Hoytema’s cinematography on Dunkirk have also earned nominations.
IMAX (15/70)
IMAX Dome/Omnimax
Same as IMAX with the addition of:
Competitors[edit]
In late 2014, Dolby announced Dolby Cinema as an IMAX competitor with super-vivid image mainly in High Dynamic Range with shadow.[133] In Australia and New Zealand, Event Cinemas sells a premium cinema experience with a bigger screen, improved imagery and better seats marketed as Vmax. In the United States Cinemark has its Cinemark XD: Extreme Digital Cinema.[134][135][136][137]
