IMAX NEWS

When can we book tickets?

I'm really excited about this movie - and I'm not really a big Star Trek fan. Will be great on the IMAX screen!

Agreed, excitement and hype is really high. The sooner we can book our tickets for the opening night the better.

"Star Trek is a full length feature film, digitally remastered into the unparalleled IMAX Experience."

Does this mean that this IMAX version of Star Trek will be of a high picture resolution than that shown on a normal cinema screen? ie if an IMAX 'digitally remastered' version of the movie was shown side-by-side with a regular cinema version of the movie on the same-sized screen, would the IMAX version have better picture clarity?

Sorry about the slightly technical question! I'm just wondering whether it would be worth the trip into the city to experience this movie on IMAX (never been before but I'm a big Star Trek fan) :-)

Good question. I've actually forwarded this to the technical people at IMAX's film labs in Los Angeles, but in the meantime I'll give you a partial explanation. If it were possible to screen the normal film version (35mm) so that it would be large enough for our screen (and it is not possible to do this) what you would see would be a particularly grainy picture. The reason the film has been digitally remastered for IMAX is because the IMAX film frame is ten times larger than a traditional cinema film frame and therefore needs to be 'sharpened' up in quality before it can be enlarged for projection on our screen.

So to answer your question about whether it would look different shown side by side on a regular screen, the answer is probably no, it wouldn't be much different. However if your question was how would it compare screened on our IMAX screen against a 35mm film print on the same screen then the answer is that it would be vastly superior. What we will be offering you is the biggest picture (in the world, as it happens) at the very best possible quality. Throw in 12,000 watts of digital surround sound, custom built for our auditorium and it should be hard to beat (but then I am just a little bit biased).

Here's the word from IMAX Corp, I hope this helps answer your question:

IMAX DMR

IMAX Corporation has developed a proprietary process to re-master Hollywood feature films into IMAX’s 15/70 format so that audiences can experience the adventure, drama and emotion of their favorite blockbusters with the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience. Known as IMAX DMR, this proprietary technology digitally enhances the image and sound quality of these films for exhibition in IMAX theatres. The resulting images have a level of clarity and sharpness that consumers expect from An IMAX Experience®.

The development of the IMAX DMR process was based on IMAX’s in-depth knowledge and understanding of the 15/70 format and the projection environment in IMAX theatres.

IMAX DMR is much more than just a software tool. It is a complete, purpose-built, end-to-end system designed to accommodate the high demands of day-and-date releases.

THE PROCESS
IMAX DMR starts by scanning, at the highest resolution possible, each individual frame of the 35mm film and converting them into digital images. If the images were originally captured digitally, IMAX acquires the highest resolution source material.

Next, proprietary image enhancement tools, developed and refined over many years, optimize each image for IMAX presentation. The useful information contained within the original source material is analyzed. Some of the techniques used to enhance the digital image include sharpening, color correction, contrast, digital artifact removal, and eliminating unsteadiness.

The enhanced digital signal is then recorded onto 15/70 film resulting in a visual presentation which, when projected on IMAX’s state-of-the-art projection system, is bright, crisp, steady and absolutely stunning.

The highly automated IMAX DMR system allows the process to meet rigorous film production schedules.

Sound
For IMAX DMR releases, the original soundtrack of the movie is re-mastered for IMAX’s proprietary multi-channel, digital surround sound system. Unlike conventional theatre sound systems, IMAX sound systems are uncompressed, full fidelity and use proprietary loudspeaker systems that ensure every theatre seat is in a good listening position. IMAX already offers Studio Master Quality surround sound that puts audiences in the picture. IMAX DMR creates an immersive experience for Hollywood event films with clear, distortion-free soundtracks.

IMAX is not better if not shot on native IMAX size film. It is bigger, but that may sometimes be annoying. I prefer a 35mm film on a nice big screen- but not IMAX. Save IMAX for movies that deserve it- like Batman- that was amazing in IMAX-when the scenes opened out to the larger IMAX footage!

You have a point and it's one reason why we don't book all the 2D films that are converted for IMAX. We only book a film if we really feel it will work well in our theatre. It's a slightly different case with 3D because there are two things that are really important for good 3D - one is a large screen (and we've certainly got that), the other is to have the audience sitting perpendicular to the screen (and our steeply raked seating does that). In this instance even films shot for 35mm and digitally remastered for IMAX look great in 3D on the screen (as the case with Monsters Vs Aliens).

But Jack is right to point out nothing is as good as footage shot to native IMAX film size (15 perforation 70mm film) and this is apparent with a film like Under the Sea 3D which was shot entirely for IMAX 3D using IMAX native film size and IMAX's high quality Solido 3D camera.

Transformers 2 will be partially shot for selected IMAX scenes (similar to The Dark Knight) and so will go to full screen.

Does Any one know how many minutes of Transformers will be in 70mm film compared to The Dark Knight. I heard that the visual effects artists are faced with the difficulting of making the cgi more realistic as they have to work on a much larger resolution to the last film. As 70mm film compared to 35mm film will mean that the canvas with which to work on is much larger and more complex. The detail should be mindblowing. Repeat viewings will be in order I assume.