Large Format/"Premium" Theaters (IMAX 15/70, Digital IMAX, XD, ETX, RPX, etc.)

[ITDEFX101]

Originally Posted by shovel415

I’m debating on seeing Pacific Rim: Uprising tomorrow in IMAX 3D or just going the next day to regular IMAX. Any opinions on either way to go?

I read that the 3d wasn't that great...... 3d doesn't work too well for me, unless it's Frame Breaking.

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by ITDEFX101

I read that the 3d wasn't that great...... 3d doesn't work too well for me, unless it's Frame Breaking.

I'm a fan of either kind of 3D. I saw a trailer in 3D and it looked fine to me.
Hopefully, it'll hold up.

[shovel415]

My only problem with 3D is I feel like it dims the color, apparently lots of theaters dim the bulbs in order to save money.

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by shovel415

My only problem with 3D is I feel like it dims the color, apparently lots of theaters dim the bulbs in order to save money.

In IMAX 3D, the bulbs run bright plus some theaters actually raise their bulbs to the right level.

[ITDEFX101]

Came back from the IMAX 3d viewing an hour ago. No AR changes......it was letterboxed throughout the film.

[molnizzle]

Originally Posted by ITDEFX101

Came back from the IMAX 3d viewing an hour ago. No AR changes......it was letterboxed throughout the film.

Lame, no care then. Might as well see in a normal theater with MoviePass.

Shifting AR is the only reason I even care about IMAX.

[Riddhi2011]

Christopher Nolan is coming to India on March 30 and I'll be attending an event on April 1, where he, Tacita Dean (visual artist) and Shivendra Sing Dungarpur (Film preservationist) will give a talk in Mumbai. It will be really cool to see these people, fighting to save celluloid cinema, in flesh and blood.

Plus, Nolan will himself present an IMAX 65mm screening of 'Dunkirk' and a (probably 35mm) film screening of Interstellar, on the 31st of March, in Mumbai. I don't know yet whether tickets will be available for all.

As for IMAX, it means "IMAGE MAXIMUM." It was designed for a large aspect ratio exhibition, to differentiate it from regular scope or flat cinemas. The IMAX owners have completely forgotten that and have chosen to dilute the brand, to make more money while offering eager customers a lesser experience.

I have no intention of wasting my hard-earned money to watch a scope film with black bars on top and bottom on an IMAX screen that doesn't even try to take advantage of the said format. It's just a ruse to make more money. One day people will realise this and start ditching IMAX.

[ITDEFX101]

Just got back an hour ago from RP1..............NO AR CHANGES in the IMAX version!!! That's 3 for three these past three movies!!!

[ITDEFX101]

but the good news is that the IMAX 3d version of the final Avengers trailer looked amazing and yes I could notice the color grading difference! The 3d worked very well....so hopefully the final product will look amazing in 3d imax.

[ITDEFX101]

Originally Posted by Riddhi2011

Christopher Nolan is coming to India on March 30 and I'll be attending an event on April 1, where he, Tacita Dean (visual artist) and Shivendra Sing Dungarpur (Film preservationist) will give a talk in Mumbai. It will be really cool to see these people, fighting to save celluloid cinema, in flesh and blood.

Plus, Nolan will himself present an IMAX 65mm screening of 'Dunkirk' and a (probably 35mm) film screening of Interstellar, on the 31st of March, in Mumbai. I don't know yet whether tickets will be available for all.

As for IMAX, it means "IMAGE MAXIMUM." It was designed for a large aspect ratio exhibition, to differentiate it from regular scope or flat cinemas. The IMAX owners have completely forgotten that and have chosen to dilute the brand, to make more money while offering eager customers a lesser experience.

I have no intention of wasting my hard-earned money to watch a scope film with black bars on top and bottom on an IMAX screen that doesn't even try to take advantage of the said format. It's just a ruse to make more money. One day people will realise this and start ditching IMAX.

The problem is with the way these movies are being advertised. Using The Last Jedi for example, there was all this talk about having scenes shot inclusively in IMAX....yet the final projected image was scoped in on IMAX SCREENS!
No explanation what so ever of why certain "IMAX" Movies go 1.9 and other "IMAX" movies stick to scope throughout the entire film. To be honest, I think the IMAX web site, when they do release an image comparing the two formats of an upcoming film, then we know it is going to be presented properly in IMAX. When the site doesn't release an image, then that might be a clue as to it being Scoped on an IMAX Screen.

I am fairly sure that Avengers will be presented in 1.9 3d throughout the entire film like the last Maze Runner was in 1.9 2d. This was proven with the recent trailer. So for now it's safe to say that Avengers will be worth seeing in IMAX, but I am sure that Solo will be scoped during it's IMAX run. No clue about JW:FK It will be a dammed shame if it is scoped.

[Riddhi2011]

JA Bayona has never composed his movies in anything other than scope aspect ratio. So, 2.39:1 is the comfort zone for him and his cinematographer Óscar Faura. It'd be surprising if they do decide to use the IMAX aspect ratio. But seeing as Bayona announced on Twitter that they are using 2.39:1 for JW2 and that scope makes dinos "look even better," I don't know if they will do the opposite by removing the black bars for an immersive full-screen IMAX experience.

[Riddhi2011]

Dear, dear, Dunkirk IMAX 15/70 at IMAX Wadala, Mumbai is houseful (only one special screening, presented by Nolan himself). Missed it!
But I did get a ticket for Interstellar in 35mm, which Nolan will also be presenting. So, it's not a bad deal. 'Interstellar' and TDK are my favourite Nolan films anyway.
I'll chime in on the whole 'reframing the future of film' event in Mumbai, here.
Quite excited!

EDIT: For Dunkirk 15/70, it turns out a handful of tickets which were still available were grossly overpriced at USD 27.67 to USD 30.74 to the unbelievable USD 92.22. This is just too much for middle class cine-goers in India. All the seats were sold out, nonetheless.
I guess the price is justified for the distributors because this is just one screening for which they had to ship an entire IMAX film print + equip an IMAX digital theatre with a 15/70 projector to screen the film. That's a lot of expense for one show at a far away country.

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by ITDEFX101

Just got back an hour ago from RP1..............NO AR CHANGES in the IMAX version!!! That's 3 for three these past three movies!!!

I might skip the IMAX version and find a really good 3D screen at a convenient time for me due to its running time.
I can't go to the one near my home because I seriously doubt that they'll run it correctly. (I had a back and forth with the manager there after requesting a refund for a different movie because they didn't mask it right.)

[ITDEFX101]

Originally Posted by CelluloidPal

I might skip the IMAX version and find a really good 3D screen at a convenient time for me due to its running time.
I can't go to the one near my home because I seriously doubt that they'll run it correctly. (I had a back and forth with the manager there after requesting a refund for a different movie because they didn't mask it right.)

How do you prove that, without taking a picture of the screen? Last thing I want is a manager to ban me from my local theater :O

I have had to have a manager come out and look for himself/herself when the image was presented in pillbox mode. She couldn't figure out why this was happening and then after a few movies in that very same theater screen I realize that the set up is stuck for that screen. I am like dude wtf? Instead of fixing it, they just give me a readmit pass.

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by ITDEFX101

How do you prove that, without taking a picture of the screen? Last thing I want is a manager to ban me from my local theater :O

I have had to have a manager come out and look for himself/herself when the image was presented in pillbox mode. She couldn't figure out why this was happening and then after a few movies in that very same theater screen I realize that the set up is stuck for that screen. I am like dude wtf? Instead of fixing it, they just give me a readmit pass.

I've been to other theaters that actually presented the movie correctly so I tend to seek those out as my source.

[ITDEFX101]

Originally Posted by CelluloidPal

I've been to other theaters that actually presented the movie correctly so I tend to seek those out as my source.

But it's not like you grab a manager, take out measuring tape and use it to visually tell them it's being presented incorrectly right?

[CelluloidPal]

Just saw Ready Player One and it said that it was optimized for IMAX theaters and yet it's not using the full IMAX screen.

[xbs2034]

Originally Posted by CelluloidPal

Just saw Ready Player One and it said that it was optimized for IMAX theaters and yet it's not using the full IMAX screen.

Optimized just means the DMR and IMAX sound mix. What they'll usually say if it uses an expanded aspect ratio is specially formatted for IMAX

[ITDEFX101]

Originally Posted by xbs2034

Optimized just means the DMR and IMAX sound mix. What they'll usually say if it uses an expanded aspect ratio is specially formatted for IMAX

I thought RP1 had a very strong sound mix compared to Pacific Rim Uprising....which was weaker than the first PR movie...seriously???

[xbs2034]

Originally Posted by ITDEFX101

I thought RP1 had a very strong sound mix compared to Pacific Rim Uprising....which was weaker than the first PR movie...seriously???

Well Uprising had the advantage that I saw it in IMAX 12 Channel sound system vs the old (but still good IMO) IMAX sound system with RPO.

But you're right, RPO was a much consistently stronger mix, the deep bass and overhead effects only really seemed to be used in the third act of Uprising.