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

[Dreamliner330]

Originally Posted by Riddhi2011

Saw First Man at a small digital IMAX (1.89:1), yesterday. The film was good and the IMAX sequence, though short, was beautiful, including the full-frame 16mm IMAX shots (1.98:1 in my case). It was quite emotional.

Looking back at it, the IMAX aspect ratio serves a sublime function in the film. The emptiness of the moon and the removal of cinemascope black bars are symbolic of the vast expanse of life. It is symbolic of going beyond our narrow pain (2.39:1) to the vastness of the outside (1.43:1/1.89:1). Armstrong needed the emptiness and the boundlessness of space and the alien terrain to let go of those terrible emotional baggage that was thrust upon him; loss of child, close friends and the like.

This is more of a story of human loss and letting go, rather than of achievement. It has good re-watch value. The music tugs at your heartstrings; especially the soothing vocals. The only thing I disliked was the extremely loud and shaky camera shots during the various flight sequences/tests, etc.

This IMAX theatre's projection is also very poor and I every time I go, I see pixels, blocking from even the centre row. I don't think they are blurring the second DCP file to produce a smooth image.

I still think First Man would have been a much better film with 20-30 minutes of family drama removed. I was far more interested in the opening test flight scene than any amount of domestic moping Gosling could manage. I'll still buy it on 4K.

The very first time I stepped foot in my local AMC LIEMAX I could see pixels and I emailed IMAX about it. They acted like it wasn't possible. I used to sit in the middle for 3D and even further back for 2D but now I just sit close and let it happen.

A couple years ago AMC sold passes for "Space Week". It was an unlimited IMAX pass for week where they played 2 documentaries during the day and 2 movies at night. I was there every single day and played around with seat position.

I was lucky enough to get a free early AM private screening of Gravity in 3D that week with my father and we sat super duper close. I was blown away by the immersion and my father was gushing about how amazing it was and he never comments on that kind of stuff. Best movie experience I've ever had with him.

[Riddhi2011]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner330

The very first time I stepped foot in my local AMC LIEMAX I could see pixels and I emailed IMAX about it. They acted like it wasn't possible. I used to sit in the middle for 3D and even further back for 2D but now I just sit close and let it happen.

Seeing as the quality of our LIEMAX is sub-par, I'll sit further back from now on. Less immersion and a smaller image is tolerable, but seeing pixelated images and blocking artefacts is not.

[UFAlien]

Per ASC First Man was a pretty crazy mix of formats...

Everybody knows mostly it's a mix of Super 16 and Techniscope, with the IMAX moonwalk, but there was second unit and stunt work on Super 35, some of the miniatures were shot on VistaVision, and some of the launch footage is actually NASA stock footage scanned from the original negatives, which were a custom 10-perf 70mm format with a square ratio that was expanded to scope digitally in post-production with CGI!

Also says that while the 16mm and 35mm stuff was scanned at 6K, the DI for non-IMAX footage was all done at 2K.

[Geoff D]

Yeah, that bit about taking the 10-perf NASA negatives and expanding them outwards digitally kinda blew my mind.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Riddhi2011

It is symbolic of going beyond our narrow pain (2.39:1) to the vastness of the outside (1.43:1/1.89:1). Armstrong needed the emptiness and the boundlessness of space and the alien terrain to let go of those terrible emotional baggage that was thrust upon him; loss of child, close friends and the like.

Vast would be more like 2.76/2.89 - 1.43 is a narrow vision.

[Riddhi2011]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Vast would be more like 2.76/2.89 - 1.43 is a narrow vision.

Not for me, no. I like not seeing the vertical space restricted. IMAX was not designed to be narrow. It was designed to be wider than standard scope or even 70mm screens. It is both very wide and very tall. I'm not talking about the smaller digital IMAX venues though.

By the way, folks please do watch 'TUMBBAD' if it's showing in your area. It's one of the most spine-chilling cautionary tale movies I've ever seen. The cinematography is hauntingly rich, music is excellent and the special effects are surprisingly realistic for a feature from India. See it on the biggest screen you can find and sit closer to the screen (trust me), not at the back. I don't know if this was the proper thread to recommend this movie. If it's not, I'll remove mention of it.

[Amar1]

First Dolby Cinema in the UK to open at the Odeon Leicester Square before Christmas.

https://www.odeoncinemasgroup.com/ne...miere-returns/

[xbs2034]

Looks like there will be a lot of splitting of premium screens this week. In addition to the new releases of The Grinch and Overlord, Bohemian Rhapsody will be holding onto some IMAX locations, plus the Bollywood movie The Thugs of Hindostan will be getting a limited IMAX release in the US.

Dolby Cinema also looks like a mix of Grinch, Overlord, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Girl in the Spider's Web at various locations.

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by xbs2034

Looks like there will be a lot of splitting of premium screens this week. In addition to the new releases of The Grinch and Overlord, Bohemian Rhapsody will be holding onto some IMAX locations, plus the Bollywood movie The Thugs of Hindostan will be getting a limited IMAX release in the US.

Dolby Cinema also looks like a mix of Grinch, Overlord, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Girl in the Spider's Web at various locations.

Unfortunately, we won't get Overlord in Dolby Cinema down here.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by Amar1

First Dolby Cinema in the UK to open at the Odeon Leicester Square before Christmas.

https://www.odeoncinemasgroup.com/ne...miere-returns/

that's looks sleek with that 'blue' lighting.

[ManBeast]

Originally Posted by Amar1

First Dolby Cinema in the UK to open at the Odeon Leicester Square before Christmas.

https://www.odeoncinemasgroup.com/ne...miere-returns/

Looks nice but I heard it won't be a true Dolby Cinema as Dolby can't completely design the auditorium they way they want.

Definitely going to be worth a trip to London to checkout.!

[benji888578]

Interesting, but, it may be better than what I went to this week.

I went to my first "GPX" screening (Bohemian Rhapsody), local cinema upgraded biggest screen with Dolby Atmos some months ago, however, before the film they had a Dolby clip, (ugh, way too long, make it 30 secs. or less Dolby), claiming Dolby cinema. While it did seem to have decent color and dynamic range, black was definitely not black, ...I do not know what projectors they installed. Still, the sound was very good, nice and loud, (unlike many regular screens I've been to), but, not being an effects film, I still need to try it out for immersion, however, I typically go to IMAX for effects films, (local IMAX across the street may be 2012 digital 1.89, but, it is a 4 story tall screen, IMAX designed auditorium and always calibrated). (I do not think it was 4K, but, many films are distributed to cinemas only in 2K, which may be the case here.)

[benji888578]

Quick question: there used to be a site that showed what kind of DCPs were being distributed to the cinemas, I think I found it here in these forums a few years ago, but, I think access is now denied to public, anyone know where one can get this information?

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by benji888578

Quick question: there used to be a site that showed what kind of DCPs were being distributed to the cinemas, I think I found it here in these forums a few years ago, but, I think access is now denied to public, anyone know where one can get this information?

https://cinema.dcinema.com/default.aspx

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by ManBeast

Looks nice but I heard it won't be a true Dolby Cinema as Dolby can't completely design the auditorium they way they want.

Definitely going to be worth a trip to London to checkout.!

fine by me, I'm not a fan of what they've done with the AMC theaters - the seats in particular.

[Amar1]

Originally Posted by ManBeast

Looks nice but I heard it won't be a true Dolby Cinema as Dolby can't completely design the auditorium they way they want.

Definitely going to be worth a trip to London to checkout.!

Do you have a source for that? I guess it's because the building is listed? If true it's disappointing that Dolby are already making these compromises. Learning from IMAX in how to mislead consumers and dilute your brand?

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by Amar1

Do you have a source for that? I guess it's because the building is listed? If true it's disappointing that Dolby are already making these compromises. Learning from IMAX in how to mislead consumers and dilute your brand?

that's bullshit - all a Dolby Cinema auditorium needs is laser projection and Atmos sound, everything else is pants.

in my opinion more auditoriums looking like Dolby's corporate screen is a GOOD thing

[Amar1]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

that's bullshit - all a Dolby Cinema auditorium needs is laser projection and Atmos sound, everything else is pants.

in my opinion more auditoriums looking like Dolby's corporate screen is a GOOD thing

I think we will have to reserve judgement until:

1. We find out it's true that Dolby were not in full control of the auditorium.
2. What compromises Dolby had to made if the above was true.
3. The most important thing: until customers experience it for themselves.

Yes as you said it may end up being minor things and may not make a difference.

But it could be things like lack of control of ambient lighting e.g. a big fire exit sign reflecting onto the screen. Which nobody wants.

[ManBeast]

Originally Posted by Amar1

Do you have a source for that? I guess it's because the building is listed? If true it's disappointing that Dolby are already making these compromises. Learning from IMAX in how to mislead consumers and dilute your brand?

No source. I heard it from someone who works in the industry (who also used to work in LSQ).

One thing is for sure...it won't look like the auditorium in the photos Dubstar posted. I think it would be like the Dolby screens AMC have, where Dolby allow them to put their touch on it with the different seats etc. The one in Leicester Square should have the entrance corridor - the one I visited in New York didn't have that.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by ManBeast

No source. I heard it from someone who works in the industry (who also used to work in LSQ).

One thing is for sure...it won't look like the auditorium in the photos Dubstar posted. I think it would be like the Dolby screens AMC have, where Dolby allow them to put their touch on it with the different seats etc. The one in Leicester Square should have the entrance corridor - the one I visited in New York didn't have that.

well AMC Tyson's doesn't have one of the entrance corridor's either - so it's not like all the Dolby Cinema auditoriums are all the same.

What others including myself have noted and have a certain disdain over in what Dolby has done with their AMC auditoriums include several issues:

- the screen is dropped down far too low to the ground - any ancillary light, like the one's illuminating the floor bounces straight on back onto the screen.

- the seats should let you decide if you want the 'rumble' effect or not.

- the walls separating the rows reduces one ability to hear the back surround sound cues. Auditorium layout such as the corporate screen or any theater that has no walls between the seat rows is acoustically far superior.

- for how much the installs are in the first place, you'd think that Dolby could make motorized screens to accommodate flat and scope movies - Arclight does this with their speciality 'Widescreen' screens

- Dolby / AMC needs better tech sound guys, the sound at Tyson's is so hit or miss and they seem not to hear the problems I'm hearing - for a screen that used to be an ETX screen that had an excellent Atmos system, the changes done created new problems that weren't there in the first place - the calibration/acoustics went from great to just average.