IMAX

Authored by

M.SESHU KUMAR
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
S.V.V.S.N ENGINEERING COLLEGE
seshu_msk@yahoo.co.in
MOBILE:9848986844.

B. CHADRASEKHAR
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
S.V.V.S.N ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Email:Chandra.1674@gmail.com
Abstract
IMAX (short for Image Maximum) is a film format
created by Canada's IMAX Corporation that has the
capacity to display images of far greater size and
resolution than conventional film display systems. A
standard IMAX screen is 22 m wide and 16.1 m high
(72.6 ft x 52.8 ft), but can be larger. Currently, IMAX
is the most widely-used system for large-format,
special-venue film presentations. As of March 2007,
there were 280 IMAX theatres in 38 countries (60%
of these are located in Canada and the United States).
Half of these are commercial theatres and half are in
educational venues. A variation of IMAX, IMAX
Dome (originally called OMNIMAX), is designed
for projection on tilted dome screens. Films can also
be projected in 3D with IMAX 3D. The Hyderabad,
India IMAX has the world's largest display screen.
The biggest "IMAX Dome" is in the Liberty Science
Center in Jersey City, New Jersey. The world's
largest IMAX 3D cinema screen is located in
Sydney, Australia.
Contents
1 Precursors
2 History
3 Technical aspects
4 IMAX Dome/OMNIMAX
5 IMAX 3D
6 IMAX HD
7 IMAX Digital 3D
8 Content
9 Other Uses for IMAX
10 Technical specifications
11 IMAX venues
12 See also
13 References
14 External links
Precursors
The desire to increase the visual impact of film has a
long history. In 1929, Fox introduced Fox Grandeur,
the first 70 mm movie format, which quickly fell
from use. In the 1950s, 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 difficult to set up, and the joints
between the screens were difficult to hide.
History
The IMAX system was developed by four Canadians:
Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, Robert Kerr and
William C. Shaw. [1]
During Expo 67 in Montreal, Canada, In the
Labyrinth, their multi-projector giant-screen system
had a number of technical difficulties that led them to
design a single-projector/single-camera system. Tiger
Child, the first IMAX film, was demonstrated at
Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. The first permanent IMAX
system was set up in Toronto at Ontario Place in
1971, and is still in operation. During Expo '74 in
Spokane, Washington, 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 for Transitions at Expo '86, and is
still very much in use, as it is situated at the tip of
Canada Place, a Vancouver landmark.
Over the summer of 2006, IMAX's stock fell
markedly (by as much as 60%) with the
announcement of an SEC investigation[2], falling
again when the announced third quarter earnings
were behind the previous year's.
Technical aspects
A comparison between 35 mm and 15/70 mm
negative areas
An IMAX camera inside a display case
The 15 kW Xenon short-arc lamp used in IMAX
projectors
The intent of IMAX is to dramatically increase the
resolution of the image by using much larger film
stock at a resolution comparable to about 10000 x
7000 pixels. To do this, 70 mm film stock is run
"sideways" through the cameras. While traditional 70
mm film has an image area that is 48.5 mm wide and
22.1 mm tall (for Todd-AO), in IMAX the image is
69.6 mm wide and 48.5 mm tall. In order to expose at
standard film speed of 24 frames per second, three
times as much film needs to move through the
camera each second.
Drawing the large-format film through the projector
was a difficult technical problem to solve;
conventional 70 mm systems were not steady enough
for the 586x magnification. IMAX projection
involved a number of innovations. William Shaw of
IMAX adapted an Australian patent for film transport
called the "rolling loop" by adding a compressed-air
"puffer" to accelerate the film, and put a cylindrical
lens in the projector's "block" for the film to be
vacuumed up against during projection (called the
"field flattener" because it served to flatten the image
field). Because the film actually touches the "field
flattener" lens, the lens itself is twice the height of the
film and is connected to a pneumatic piston so it can
be moved up or down while the projector is running.
This way, if a piece of dust comes off the film and
sticks to the lens, the projectionist can switch to the
clean side of the lens at the push of a button. The lens
also has "wiper bars" made of a felt or brush-like
material which can wipe the dust off the lens as it
moves up or down to keep the show clean. IMAX
projectors are pin-stabilized, meaning 4 registration
pins engage the sprockets at the corners of the
projected frame to ensure perfect alignment. Shaw
added cam-controlled arms to decelerate each frame
to eliminate the microscopic shaking as the frame
"settled" onto the registration pins. The projector's
shutter is also open for around 20% longer than in
conventional equipment and the light source is
brighter. The largest 12-18 kW xenon arc lamps have
hollow, water-cooled electrodes. An IMAX projector
is therefore a substantial piece of equipment,
weighing up to 1.8 tonnes and towering at over 70"
[178 cm] tall and 75" [195 cm] long. The xenon
lamps are made of a thin layer of quartz crystal, and
contain xenon gas at a pressure of about 25
atmospheres; because of this, projectionists are
required to wear protective body armor when
changing or handling these lamps because the flying
shards of crystal could be deadly when combined
with the high pressure of the gas within.
IMAX uses a stronger "ESTAR" (Kodak's trade name
for PET film) base. The reason is not for strength, but
precision. Developing chemicals do not change the
size or shape of Estar, and IMAX's pin-registration
(especially the cam mechanism) is intolerant of either
sprocket-hole or film-thickness variations. The
IMAX format is generically called "15/70" film, the
name referring to the 15 sprockets per frame of 70
mm stock. The bulk of the film requires large platters
rather than conventional film reels.
In order to use more of the image area, IMAX film
does not include an embedded soundtrack. Instead
the IMAX system specifies a separate six-channel 35
mm magnetic tape synchronized to the film. (This
original system--35 mm mag tape locked to a
projector--was commonly used to "dub" or insert
studio sound into the mixed soundtrack of
conventional films.) By the early '90s, a separate
digital 6-track source was synchronized using a more
precise pulse-generator as a source for a conventional
SMPTE timecode synchronization system. This
development presaged conventional theatrical
multichannel sound systems such as Dolby Digital
and Digital Theater System. This digital source came
in the form of a unit called a DDP (Digital Disc
Playback) in which the soundtrack was recorded onto
multiple CD-ROM discs which would play the sound
which was recorded to the discs as a digital audio
file. This DDP system has been replaced in almost all
theaters with the newer DTAC (Digital Theater Audio
Control) system which utilizes a computer running
the IMAX's proprietary DTAC software. The
software works in a similar style as the DDP except
that instead of the audio file being based on discs, it
is instead played directly off a hard drive in the form
of a single uncompressed audio file containing the 6
channels which are distributed directly to the
amplifiers rather than using a decoding method such
as Dolby Digital.
IMAX theater construction also differs significantly
from conventional theaters. The increased resolution
allows the audience to be much closer to the screen;
typically all rows are within one screen-height.
(Conventional theaters seating runs 8 to 12 screen-
heights) Also, the rows of seats are set at a steep
angle (Up to 23 degrees in some domed theaters) so
that the audience is facing the screen directly.
IMAX Dome/OMNIMAX
The frame layout of the IMAX Dome film.
The Control room of an IMAX Dome Theatre.
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 lamp house on top. However, IMAX
Corporation was quick to cooperate and was willing
to redesign its 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. Leitz of Canada
developed a fisheye lens that would project the image
onto a dome instead of a flat screen.
The dome system, which 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.
OMNIMAX premiered in 1973 at the Reuben H.
Fleet Space Theater and Science Center 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.
Many theaters continue to 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). Before the feature begins, the screen is
backlit to show the speakers and girders behind the
screen. IMAX Dome screens may also be found at
several major theme parks.
The OMNIMAX experience is quite different from
that of a regular IMAX theater. The image wraps
around both sides of the viewer and upwards as well,
which can give the impression one is actually inside
the scene being projected. (A plain IMAX screen is
large but does not create such a natural feeling of
immersion because the viewer is aware that the scene
ends where the rectangular walls and ceiling begin.)
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
Dome was also used in the former EPCOT attraction
Horizons and another Disney attraction, Soarin' Over
California. "Soarin'" Featured at Disney's California
Adventure and EPCOT.
IMAX 3D
IMAX 3D theatre in Eilat, Israel
An IMAX 3D camera.
To create the illusion of 3-dimensional depth, the
IMAX 3D process uses two camera lenses to
represent the left and right eyes. The two lenses are
separated by an interocular distance of about 64
mm/2.5 in., the average distance between a human's
eyes. By recording on two separate rolls of film for
the left and right eyes, and then projecting them
simultaneously, we can be tricked into seeing a 3D
image on a 2D screen. The IMAX 3D camera is very
cumbersome, weighing over 113 kg/250 pounds. This
makes it extremely difficult to film on-location
documentaries.
There are two methods to creating the 3D illusion in
the theatre. The first involves polarization. During
projection, the left and right eye images are polarized
perpendicular to one another as they are projected
onto the IMAX screen. By wearing special
eyeglasses with lenses polarized in their respective
directions to match the projection, the left eye image
can be viewed only by the left eye since the
polarization of the left lens will cancel out that of the
right eye projection, and the right eye image can be
viewed only by the right eye since the polarization of
the right lens will cancel out that of the left eye
projection. Another method for 3D projection
involves LCD shutter glasses. These glasses contain
LCD panels which are synchronised to the projector
which alternates rapidly at 96 frames per second
between displaying the left and right images which
are momentarily viewed by the appropriate eye by
allowing that eye's panel to become transparent while
the other remains opaque. While the panels within
these active-shutter 3D glasses alternate at 96 frames
per second, the actual film is displayed at 24 frames
per second.
One particular problem that 3D movies face is that
the 3D effect does not extend past the boundaries of
the physical screen. It is for this reason that the
screen must be large enough to cover as much of the
viewer's peripheral vision as possible. Another
problem with IMAX 3D movies is due to an inherent
difference between our eyes and the film format.
Because of the large negative, depth of field is
dramatically reduced, causing an often distracting
depiction of the scene. Computer-generated imagery
films do not have this problem as they are able to
control the depth of field in the images to allow
everything to be in focus. While some may argue that
this is less artistic than regular 2D films that
purposefully employ shallow depth of field for
aesthetic reasons, IMAX screens take up more of the
viewer's vision than regular 2D films, and therefore
the viewer can be disoriented by seeing images that
are out of focus. The biggest 3D IMAX screen is in
Prasads IMAX located in Hyderabad, India.[3]
Improvements in the sound systems have included a
3D sound system and the elliptical-pattern speaker-
clusters.
IMAX HD
Further improvements and variations on IMAX
include the possibility of a faster 48 frames per
second rate, known as IMAX HD. This system was
tested in 1992 at the Canada Pavilion of the Seville
Expo '92 with the film Momentum, but was deemed
too costly and abandoned but not before many
theaters were retrofitted to project at 48 frames,
especially in Canada.[citation needed]
A theme park in Germany also used IMAX HD for a
film in the mid-1990s.[citation needed] Soarin' Over
California, originally built at Disney's California
Adventure before being replicated at Epcot, features
a modification of both IMAX HD and IMAX Dome,
projecting in 48 frames per second.
IMAX Digital 3D
A new IMAX projection system slated for use in
mid-2008 simulates a 3D view and uses new digital
technology. This will alleviate the need for the use of
bulky film reels and facilitate inexpensive
distribution of IMAX features. Deals have already
been signed with Hollywood studios for such
features, such as "Shrek Goes Forth 3D" [4]
IMAX recently signed a deal with AMC to start
utilizing this new technology beginning July 2008[5].
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. [citation
needed]
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 (directed by
Brett Leonard), which had a successful run in 1998
and Haunted Castle, released in 2001 (both of these
were IMAX 3-D films). In 1999, The Old Man and
the Sea became the first fully-animated film to be
released on IMAX screens and proceeded to win an
Oscar. The same year, 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 "up" converted into IMAX format. Other
theatrically-released films, would subsequently be re-
released at IMAX venues using the DMR process.
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. Later
releases did not have this limitation. Current IMAX
platters allow a run length of up to 150 minutes. It
was previously reported that Star Wars Episode III:
Revenge of the Sith was released with an IMAX
DMR version, however it never underwent the DMR
process. Venues that showed this film in an IMAX
screen used standard 35 mm projection.
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.
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. Many large format film industry professionals
point out, 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.
Since 2002 many other Hollywood films have been
remastered for IMAX. Warner Brothers has
especially embraced the format with the
aforementioned Matrix sequels and since 2004 has
been releasing its Harry Potter film franchise in
IMAX to strong financial success. In 2005 WB also
released Batman Begins simultaneously in IMAX,
which buoyed the film's strong legs helping it reach
$200 m at the domestic box office, and before the
fourth Harry Potter film was released in IMAX IMAX venues
format in November had claimed the record for most
box office by a DMR movie. In summer 2006 WB
released the highly anticipated Superman Returns
remastered for IMAX and partially digitally
transformed into 3D (director Bryan Singer chose
four action scenes in the film to show in 3D). An
IMAX exclusive film about the enormous, surprising
success of the Mars Exploration Rovers was released
in 2006, titled Roving Mars and used exclusive data
from the Rovers. Spider-Man 3 broke the IMAX
gross record in 2007 by a huge margin.

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.
The black structure seen in this photo is the Luxor
IMAX Theater, situated in the Luxor Hotel.
Main article: List of IMAX venues

Other Uses for IMAX

In July 2005 the BFI IMAX Cinema in London References

became the first to host live music concerts. IMAX
theater owners increasingly look to use the venue at 1. ^
varying times for alternatives to films.
http://ieee.ca/millennium/imax/imax_birth.html
2. ^ National Post Story "'Red Flags' at IMAX",
The Science Museum London and BFI IMAX
Monday, April 09, 2007
Cinema have also hosted computer game
tournaments using digital projectors on the large 3. ^ "Prasads, "Prasad's IMAX Multiplex Theater
IMAX screen. Other IMAX Theatres have also - a review"
followed suit with game tournaments on their screens 4. ^
as well. http://washington.bizjournals.com/baltimore/sto
ries/2007/12/03/daily35.html
Technical specifications 5. ^
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071207/imax_mover.ht
IMAX (15/70) ml?.v=2

spherical lenses
70 mm film, 15 perforations per frame
horizontal pulldown, from right to left
(viewed from base side)
24 frames per second
camera aperture: 70.41 mm (2.772) by
52.63 mm (2.072)
projection aperture: at least 20.3 mm
(0.80) less than camera aperture on the
vertical axis and at least 0.016 less on the
horizontal axis
aspect ratio: 1.34:1

IMAX Dome/OMNIMAX
Same as IMAX except:

special fisheye lenses

lens optically centered 9.4 mm (0.37)
above film horizontal center line
projected elliptically on a dome screen, 20
degrees below and 110 degrees above
perfectly centered viewers