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

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by CelluloidPal

Which is why I go to the Hyattsville Royale 14. The place is actually pretty nice. The prices are good, even better on Tuesdays ($5.00 tickets) and the mall and many restaurants are across the street so the food options are plentiful.

I'm curious to see how Mazza has changed up recently. Last movie I remember seeing there was the first Iron Man movie.
Georgetown's transformation is like night and day, though.

Mazza Galleria's rent must be really high cause there aren't many stores and in the movie theater itself the two theaters near the back bar are seeing wear and tear - it's looking a tad sad - AMC could really do some upkeep and reno's of the auditoriums - I don't want those stupid recliners but the cup holder holes I can't stand the rims touching my upper arm/wrists.

[fontcow]

Originally Posted by GLaDOS

Anyone ever went to the IMAX theater in AMC White Marsh? I presume it's a digital screen, but just curious as to how tall is it and what's the aspect ratio. Planning to see Dunkirk again with a friend there.

According the LF Examiner's IMAX Theater Map (v7a from 2011), it's 53' x 28', which is not an official IMAX screen as it's 1.85:1, not 1.44:1.

[GLaDOS]

Originally Posted by fontcow

According the LF Examiner's IMAX Theater Map (v7a from 2011), it's 53' x 28', which is not an official IMAX screen as it's 1.85:1, not 1.44:1.

As expected. It's not IMAX 70mm or IMAX Laser 1.44:1, but since my friend insisted on going to a theater with little hassle there's no harm in biting the bullet.

BTW you da real MVP for the map.

[UFAlien]

My local Cinemark is playing the new 4K restoration of Close Encounters of the Third Kind in XD. Gonna check it out on Sunday. I've only seen the movie once, and it was at least ten years ago on an old standard-def CRT, so it'll be almost like seeing it for the first time.

[singhcr]

I went to go see Dunkirk again as it was the last day it would be at my 15/70 IMAX theater. Unfortunately the person I talked to did not tell me that the last few weeks of the movie would be shown digitally (2K projection, ugh) so I was disappointed to miss out on seeing the print again. I got a refund and was about to head home. However, it was far from a wasted trip because I got to see the projection booth instead!

This is the Great Clips IMAX at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, MN, USA.

Here is the projector itself.


Supply and takeup platters. You play off one platter and it comes onto another platter heads out so one does not have to rewind between shows. All you have to do is re-thread.
2

These platters were used when dual-strip 3D 15/70 was a thing, but now they are for storage. The first set of platters shown was to the left of the projector and these are to the right of it.
3

The back of the dual 2K digital projectors. They are in front of the 15/70 projector and can be pushed to the left to allow the film projector to be used. These projectors are all mounted on rails for use or storage. You can see a splicing table in the corner and the rails for projector storage underneath it.
4

Amplifiers for the sound system. This thing rocks. Very impressive sound. Note the "F" and "D" switch for film or digital projection.
5

Wonder Woman was playing digitally in 3D as we were in the booth. With the sound proofing you couldn't hear anything from the auditorium.
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As I was about to leave I saw something odd tucked in the corner- the old magnetic audio tape sound system. Mag stripes were printed onto 35mm film and interlocked (synched) with the 15/70 film. I never got a chance to hear this in action but I bet it was amazing.

7

Strangely it looks like 16mm mag stripe film could be used, as was an option for 25 FPS playback. That's news to me.

8

There were two huge reels of film leaned up against the back wall. It was on a platter so there's no damage to the print itself.

10

What do we have here? It's the 15/70 Rogue One print I saw last winter!

9

On the way out the manager asked if I wanted to take one of the film cans they had lying around. Each can only holds a few minutes of film so there were quite a few. Naturally, I said yes.

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This is the film used to make the theatrical prints according to the data sheet so it makes sense that it arrived in the theater in them. I'm not sure if this was one of the actual Dunkirk cans.

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Looks like the prints came from CFI in Hollywood as I saw this bag inside the can.

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I hope you found this as fun as I did! Those IMAX projectors are fascinating pieces of machinery.

[singhcr]

The other good news I got is that the film print sold very well the entire month it was playing, whereas attendance usually falls off drastically after the second weekend. Once the print was pulled and the showings were digital, the attendance figures died. There were only 5 people at the showing I was trying to attend. It is good to hear that the print was financially successful!

[ITDEFX101]

WOW... that was amazing! You Lucky SOB!! I would really love to see even how a digital IMAX screen worked from the projector's point of view.

I really thought with an IMAX film, it would be like a clean room environment to protect the exposed print, but from the photos it's like you can come in wearing street clothes no problem.

[singhcr]

Originally Posted by ITDEFX101

WOW... that was amazing! You Lucky SOB!! I would really love to see even how a digital IMAX screen worked from the projector's point of view.

I really thought with an IMAX film, it would be like a clean room environment to protect the exposed print, but from the photos it's like you can come in wearing street clothes no problem.

Thanks!

Other than keeping the room clean and maintaining the projector (cleaning rollers, the sticky roller that cleans dirt off the print as it passes, etc) maintaining film isn't too hard. You don't even need gloves to thread it as there will be several feet of leader at the head and tail of the print, but if you are going to splice and/or clean film, gloves are a must. I'd think they wore gloves to get the film off the shipping cores and to load it on the platter too.

The film lab where the raw stock is made would definitely be a clean room environment.

I also found this interesting. Turns out modern print film has anti-scratch coatings and such for projection.

https://www.kodak.com/KodakGCG/uploa...383_ti2397.pdf

[GLaDOS]

You lucky son of a...

Man, even though it was photographed digitally, Rogue One must've been a treat to watch in 15/70 (it was shot with the Alexa 65, so I presume IQ must've been amazing). I'm even more jealous you took home a full can yourself.

What theater is this? Considering that they still have a 15/70 projector, I hope the venue gets Laser projectors soon. The Xenon projectors just plain suck compared to Laser and 15/70.

[singhcr]

Thanks! This is at the Apple Valley, MN IMAX. Unfortunately they bought their xenon 2K projectors just recently so I won't be seeing 4K laser anytime soon.

Honestly, Rogue One was a hit and miss type of affair in 15/70. The bright sequences looked pretty good but many of the darker scenes, of which there were a lot, were rather milky looking. But overall I enjoyed it.

[GLaDOS]

Originally Posted by singhcr

Thanks! This is at the Apple Valley, MN IMAX. Unfortunately they bought their xenon 2K projectors just recently so I won't be seeing 4K laser anytime soon.

Honestly, Rogue One was a hit and miss type of affair in 15/70. The bright sequences looked pretty good but the darker scenes, of which there was a lot, were rather milky looking. But overall I enjoyed it.

Well, as long as they get 15/70 prints for movies shot on IMAX film, then I guess it wouldn't be a big deal. But, man, Laser would've been a great opportunity there, especially for a real IMAX venue.

I guess that's sort of expected for a film shot digitally. I saw it in IMAX 3D Laser during opening weekend and the experience was somewhat similar. Cinematography and the space sequences were phenomenal, nonetheless.

[silentbob]

Seeing those beasts up front is something. I remember when Polar Express got its IMAX release. The theater I worked at, rented a bus to see it in a recently converted theater. So they took the screen ceiling to floor and side to side. I was one of two projectionists that went that day and so we were asked if we wanted in the booth to see it. Comparing it the 35mm projectors I ran, the thing is intimidating. They even had a mini forklift to swap prints back then. The 3D setup was a pain in the ass for them to make. They said it took them 14-16 hours to make up that one print. Plus the use to send them the prints in numbered cardboard boxes and not in canisters. The man that trained me on projection almost 15-16 years ago, also help setup the first screen in Toronto at the then Cinesphere. Closed now, but was used to developed the new Laser IMAX projectors. Back then he said for sound they had to go to a local shop and just bought a ton of glass and tube amps for the initial setup. He gave me a small strip from in think Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which I have somewhere in my movie collection.

[singhcr]

Originally Posted by GLaDOS

Well, as long as they get 15/70 prints for movies shot on IMAX film, then I guess it wouldn't be a big deal. But, man, Laser would've been a great opportunity there, especially for a real IMAX venue.

I guess that's sort of expected for a film shot digitally. I saw it in IMAX 3D Laser during opening weekend and the experience was somewhat similar. Cinematography and the space sequences were phenomenal, nonetheless.

True, they will always have film projection for the real IMAX film movies. But the other 99% of the time it would have been nice to have a high quality digital option too.

I don't think it was because it was shot digitally. I've seen plenty of digitally shot movies that have solid blacks. I know projection doesn't always give the best blacks save for Dolby Vision (haven't seen IMAX Laser) but with Rogue One some dark scenes were milky and others, like space scenes, had solid blacks. The BD screenshots don't look that milky either so I am not sure what happened with that print. Some films I see projected have poor blacks (parts of Spartacus in 35mm), some do not (2001 in 70mm). Odd.

[ITDEFX101]

Saw Inhumans tonight. The show looks so so. The actual IMAX.....well..........when ever Manassas Regal Cinemas shows IMAX footage on their digital IMAX screens, the lower part of the screen is left empty. For the rest of the movie it would show in letterbox. For Inhumans it was all displayed in their IMAX Projection, so the lower part was empty (black area). It did not switch between Letter and Imax...at all. Honestly it felt like I was watching a pilot episode projected on to an IMAX screen. Waste of money so save your money. Oh and my theater did NOT have the collectible tickets! Grr!

[GLaDOS]

Originally Posted by ITDEFX101

Saw Inhumans tonight. The show looks so so. The actual IMAX.....well..........when ever Manassas Regal Cinemas shows IMAX footage on their digital IMAX screens, the lower part of the screen is left empty. For the rest of the movie it would show in letterbox. For Inhumans it was all displayed in their IMAX Projection, so the lower part was empty (black area). It did not switch between Letter and Imax...at all. Honestly it felt like I was watching a pilot episode projected on to an IMAX screen. Waste of money so save your money. Oh and my theater did NOT have the collectible tickets! Grr!

The Inhumass pilot (yes, InhumASS) was shot entirely with the Alexa IMAX cameras, so the constant 1.90:1 aspect ratio was to be expected. Honestly, I was disappointed with how the film looked. The low angle shots that are supposedly meant to emphasize scale look awkward, and the rest of the "movie" overall looks bland as shit.

Come on. At its very core, Inhumass is a TV show first. I mean... you seriously think airing a pilot in a movie exhibition for about a month would be a good idea? HBO was at least smart enough to show Game of Thrones for about less than a week for the last two episodes of Season 4.

[Creed]

Originally Posted by GLaDOS

The Inhumass pilot (yes, InhumASS) was shot entirely with the Alexa IMAX cameras, so the constant 1.90:1 aspect ratio was to be expected. Honestly, I was disappointed with how the film looked. The low angle shots that are supposedly meant to emphasize scale look awkward, and the rest of the "movie" overall looks bland as shit.

Come on. At its very core, Inhumass is a TV show first. I mean... you seriously think airing a pilot in a movie exhibition for about a month would be a good idea? HBO was at least smart enough to show Game of Thrones for about less than a week for the last two episodes of Season 4.

Here's the thing, though. At least Game Of Thrones look cinematic and like a movie. Inhumans is a cheap looking show. The makers probably blew the budget using the IMAX cameras for the two episodes.

[Poya]

There are plenty of shows that could work on the big screen. Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, etc. Imhumans ain't any of them. The editing was so broadcast TV, as well.

[GLaDOS]

Originally Posted by creed123

Here's the thing, though. At least Game Of Thrones look cinematic and like a movie. Inhumans is a cheap looking show. The makers probably blew the budget using the IMAX cameras for the two episodes.

Another good point. Shows like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, and even Westworld take advantage of their huge budgets to emulate the scope and feel of movies whilst retaining the episodic nature of TV shows. Inhumass looks like it functions primarily as a TV show only, despite it being filmed with IMAX cameras. Those shows I mentioned look much better than Inhumass, and they weren't even shot on IMAX equipment (Game of Thrones w/ Arri Alexa cameras, and Breaking Bad and Westworld both shot primarily on film).

[Creed]

Originally Posted by GLaDOS

Another good point. Shows like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, and even Westworld take advantage of their huge budgets to emulate the scope and feel of movies whilst retaining the episodic nature of TV shows. Inhumass looks like it functions primarily as a TV show only, despite it being filmed with IMAX cameras. Those shows I mentioned look much better than Inhumass, and they weren't even shot on IMAX equipment (Game of Thrones w/ Arri Alexa cameras, and Breaking Bad and Westworld both shot primarily on film).

True. If only they made Inhumass a movie, which was the original plan or could've been on HBO with a huge budget. I dare say that Gotham looks more cinematic than the show.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by singhcr

I hope you found this as fun as I did! Those IMAX projectors are fascinating pieces of machinery.

Are you kidding?? I'm literally in awe of you right now.