Imax 3d

[PaniqL]

At the moment 3D is just no more than a gimmick and a way to make extra money. And too small scale to let you get embraced into a movie.

I then booked tickets to see "Hobbit" in IMAX 3D and was told IMAX 3D is actually very good.

Has anybody had the chance to see a IMAX 3D Screening and what are your thoughts/opinions on it?

- Panic

[BD3Dfan]

IMAX 3D actually comes in a few flavours. Let me list them.

IMAX Full Frame: This is when IMAX is projected onto a screen almost the size of a few double-decker buses stacked on each other. The screen is so large that you are literally taken into the experience, due to your field of vision being practically filled. IMAX 3D this way is an experience never to be missed, especially with IMAX format movies.

IMAX MPX-Purpose Built: This version uses a smaller IMAX screen. But it's not as small as to look like a normal screen. It's kind of like cutting an IMAX Full Frama screen in half. You get the IMAX sound and some of the experience. Think of it as Diet-IMAX.

IMAX MPX-Retrofit: This is where IMAX is forced into an existing theater/cinema screen. This type you should avoid, due to it under-representing the IMAX experience.


Good luck trying to figure out which one your cinema has though, since IMAX themself refuses to make a distinction. The best bet is to check screen sizes and projection format. Digital IMAX definetly means it'll fall into either of the latter two flavours. Most cinemas do this, most don't. So, in this case, buyers beware.

Additional note: If you hear the term Lie-MAX being thrown around in description of a cinema with an IMAX screen, chances are that screen might be one of the latter two flavours.

[R3P0]

Originally Posted by PaniqL

At the moment 3D is just no more than a gimmick and a way to make extra money. And too small scale to let you get embraced into a movie.

I then booked tickets to see "Hobbit" in IMAX 3D and was told IMAX 3D is actually very good.

Has anybody had the chance to see a IMAX 3D Screening and what are your thoughts/opinions on it?

- Panic

Theres a good site that tracks IMAX screens and you can find out depending where you live it may or may not be worth it. I can post the link later.

Heres a older list for you.

http://www.entertainmentgeekly.com/2...imax-theaters/

Heres another more upto date

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayli...-imax-20120716

[PaniqL]

thanks for the replys.
im going to BFI IMAX which is the biggest screen in Britain and is one of the best IMAX's around so it should be Fullframe.

Im watching Hobbit and i know that it is digital filmed on RED Cameras.

Im really looking forward to it , like you said your whole field of vision being filled , along with the IMAX Sound etc, it should be great.

Im guessing its a bit to overwhelming sitting near the front with a 3D movie?
i normally sit a few rows back for 2D what about 3D?

[R3P0]

Originally Posted by PaniqL

thanks for the replys.
im going to BFI IMAX which is the biggest screen in Britain and is one of the best IMAX's around so it should be Fullframe.

Im watching Hobbit and i know that it is digital filmed on RED Cameras.

Im really looking forward to it , like you said your whole field of vision being filled , along with the IMAX Sound etc, it should be great.

Im guessing its a bit to overwhelming sitting near the front with a 3D movie?
i normally sit a few rows back for 2D what about 3D?

Sit as close to the middle as you can

[UFAlien]

If your opinion on 3D in general is so solidly negative, I doubt IMAX 3D will instantly convert you. I have a "Lie-Max" right near me and I generally like it, but there are some issues not present in standard 3D theatres with RealD or Dolby 3D - namely, if you tilt your head side to side or even up and down at too much of an angle, the 3D effect breaks into a double image because they use linear polarization instead of circular polarization or the spectrum filtering Dolby does. This is true of all IMAX theatres.

The other issue is that the size of the screen can actually diminish the 3D effect. Some people say that the only factor in determining 3D "roundness" or apparent depth is distance from the screen regardless of its size - I don't buy this for a second. Consistently, seeing a movie in IMAX 3D and then in RealD on a smaller screen has always resulted in an apparently deeper picture for me in RealD (and besides, if that were true, it'd be impossible to get a decent 3D effect on a TV). IMAX-produced films like nature documentaries and such (one of which I saw at the real, massive 70mm IMAX at the local aquarium) compensate for this by using HUGE amounts of lens separation, which leads to its own problems for a lot of people - I had to take off my glasses several times because of a crippling eyestrain-induced headache, which has never happened to me with any other 3D presentation. That said, The Hobbit is not an IMAX-produced film, so it shouldn't have this excessive parallax problem.

Other thing to note: Since it wasn't shot in IMAX at all, it probably won't fill the screen at a "real" IMAX venue. Those screens are about 4:3, so "normal" movies released on them are letterboxed. I wouldn't be surprised if they opened up the framing somewhat from the standard 2.40:1, but I doubt you'll actually be getting the whole screen.

[hugoagogo69]

Its been a while since i went to the Waterloo Imax but it was my first experience of 3d & it got me hooked. The sound system is amazing!!

[BleedOrange11]

Originally Posted by UFAlien

The other issue is that the size of the screen can actually diminish the 3D effect. Some people say that the only factor in determining 3D "roundness" or apparent depth is distance from the screen regardless of its size - I don't buy this for a second. Consistently, seeing a movie in IMAX 3D and then in RealD on a smaller screen has always resulted in an apparently deeper picture for me in RealD (and besides, if that were true, it'd be impossible to get a decent 3D effect on a TV).

The size of the screen slightly diminishes video quality, which can certainly affect your perception of a 3D image. With IMAX, you are seeing a 2K or 4K or 70mm image stretched out across a 70ft screen. Compared to watching the same 2K or 4K image on a smaller theater screen or an equivalent 1080p image on a 60in 3DTV, the IMAX image will look slightly more washed out, and lines will be less sharp, making the forms of 3D objects appear less defined. Perhaps that gives a mental perception similar to a reduction in 3D effect.

However, the screen size doesn't actually affect the strength of the 3D roundness (By roundness, I mean 3D proportions--like how a sphere should appear as a perfect sphere, rather than a flattened ovoid shape). That is only affected by viewing distance

[Show spoiler](and interocular, interaxial, and camera distance, but those can't be altered by the viewer)

. Objects appear rounder as you move further away. As the screen size increases, the size and volume of the 3D objects scales linearly, so their proportions do not change. (Test here.)

Despite appearing less defined because of the stretch in video quality, a 3D IMAX image should appear deeper and rounder than it can at home or in RealD because of the (typically) increased viewing distance. Often, filmmakers design 3D movies to be seen from theatrical viewing distances, so a large, immersive, nicely calibrated theater screen (like IMAX or a quality RealD projection) is a great place to see a 3D movie close to how the director intended it to look.

That doesn't mean the same 3D image can't give nice effects from a 6-8ft viewing distance on a small screen at home. It just means that 3D proportions are slightly reduced under those conditions.

My guess is that the documentary you saw in IMAX was edited up close on small displays and designed to look optimal under those conditions. When you saw it on a big screen at increased distance, the result was too much depth and roundness, giving the headache and probably making it a challenge to converge on the images. I've never seen an IMAX documentary on the big screen but find some of their BD3Ds, like Deep Sea and Under the Sea to look outstanding and very strong and realistic on my 3DTV at home without eyestrain, which is contrary to the tamer, flatter experience that I have with most Hollywood movies.

[BleedOrange11]

Originally Posted by PaniqL

I then booked tickets to see "Hobbit" in IMAX 3D and was told IMAX 3D is actually very good.

Has anybody had the chance to see a IMAX 3D Screening and what are your thoughts/opinions on it?

- Panic

I've been to a local digital IMAX a few times, and their 3D projector setup is very bright and nicely calibrated. Calibration, and therefore video quality and delineation of 3D forms, depends on theater management and varies from theater to theater, but IMAX has a good reputation for maintaining higher standards. A quality RealD setup can be equally (or even more) satisfying.

3D effect is determined by how the director and stereographers and cinematographers setup the 3D camera rigs. For native 3D, the shape of the 3D is determined by the distance between the two cameras (interaxial) and the distance of the camera to the main subject that it's filming. These also interact with the viewer's interocular distance and seating distance.

When you go to your 3D Hobbit showing, I recommend getting there early and sitting eye level in the middle of the screen or where you can just fit the entire screen within your field of vision. Alternatively, sit toward the back, and avoid the front rows. Hope you enjoy it.

[MikeCL]

Originally Posted by BD3Dfan

IMAX 3D actually comes in a few flavours. Let me list them.

IMAX Full Frame: This is when IMAX is projected onto a screen almost the size of a few double-decker buses stacked on each other. The screen is so large that you are literally taken into the experience, due to your field of vision being practically filled. IMAX 3D this way is an experience never to be missed, especially with IMAX format movies.

IMAX MPX-Purpose Built: This version uses a smaller IMAX screen. But it's not as small as to look like a normal screen. It's kind of like cutting an IMAX Full Frama screen in half. You get the IMAX sound and some of the experience. Think of it as Diet-IMAX.

IMAX MPX-Retrofit: This is where IMAX is forced into an existing theater/cinema screen. This type you should avoid, due to it under-representing the IMAX experience.


Good luck trying to figure out which one your cinema has though, since IMAX themself refuses to make a distinction. The best bet is to check screen sizes and projection format. Digital IMAX definetly means it'll fall into either of the latter two flavours. Most cinemas do this, most don't. So, in this case, buyers beware.

Additional note: If you hear the term Lie-MAX being thrown around in description of a cinema with an IMAX screen, chances are that screen might be one of the latter two flavours.

I took a picture of a non Imax screen last night when watching Skfall and when I go to see Life of PI which will be Imax I want to see the size.. I ask because this AMC theater has 10 theaters and two (I think) being Imax no way in hell can they be the full sized Imax given the external roof heights and all.

I saw titanic 3D in real 3D but they had it in no Imax so that might be a hint that it's a fake Imax?

[MikeCL]

Originally Posted by R3P0

Theres a good site that tracks IMAX screens and you can find out depending where you live it may or may not be worth it. I can post the link later.

Heres a older list for you.

http://www.entertainmentgeekly.com/2...imax-theaters/

Heres another more upto date

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayli...-imax-20120716

yep my "Imax" AMC theater is not listed in Port Chester, NY