Shifting aspect ratios for IMAX, can they not?

[Spike M.]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

The 2.40 version wasn't just a straight centre crop, it was repositioned in certain shots. I saw it in 15/70 as well BTW, but I just don't like the way that Nolan uses IMAX. He shoots his stuff widescreen safe instead of going full tilt and it feels like I'm watching an open matte version rather than something that's genuinely composed for that 1.44 frame. (Same reasoning why I don't like those fixed 1.90 IMAX versions that other movies have gotten.)

Obviously it was repositioned to meet Nolan's final approval, but in general the shot's were visualized, shot, and rendered with 2.40 indicators in the middle of the frame, similar to how television shows still often used monitors with the 1.33 markers. Sure, just doing a straight center crop would render some wonky frames here and there, but in general it wouldn't be too much of a bother. You're playing fast and loose with caring about the framing in the first place.

I'm not sure I understand your open matte line of thinking. You can crop virtually any image to 2.40 and still keep the most important elements in tact. It's sort of arbitrary to designate 2.40 as the fall back ratio. Particularly with Interstellar, where the crop completely undersells the scope of some of the shots. Seeing clips from the crash docking sequence in 2.40 makes me cringe. It's "dead space" that adds size and scope.