IMAX

Sejarah

Keinginan meningkatkan impak visual filem telah mengalami sejarah yang lama. Pada 1929, Fox memperkenalkan Fox Grandeur, format filem 70 mm pertama, but it quickly fell from use. Pada zaman 1950-an, CinemaScope (diperkenalkan pada 1953) dan VistaVision (1954) melebarkan gambar yang dipaparkan dari Filem 35 mm, dan there were multi-projector systems such as Cinerama (1952) for even wider presentations. While impressive, Cinerama tidak senang dipasang, dan the seams between adjacent projected images were difficult to hide.
Sistem IMAX dibangungkan oleh Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, Robert Kerr, dan William C. Shaw.
Semasa Expo 67 di Montreal, Kroitor's In the Labyrinth dan Ferguson's Man dan the Polar Regions both used multi-projector, multi-screen systems. Each encountered a number of technical difficulties that led them to found a company, initially called "Multiscreen", with a primary goal of designing dan developing a simpler approach. The single-projector/single-camera system they eventually settled upon was designed dan built by Shaw, based upon a novel "Rolling Loop" film-transport technology purchased from the Australian inventor Ronald Jones. Later, when it became clear that a single, large-screen image had far more impact than multiple smaller ones, Multiscreen changed its name to IMAX.
Filem IMAX pertama, iaitu Tiger Child, was demonstrated at Expo '70 di Osaka, Japan. The first permanent IMAX system was set up in the Cinesphere at Ontario Place in Toronto in 1971, dan sehingga kini masih beroperasi. Semasa Expo '74 di Spokane, Washington, sebuah skrin IMAX sangat besar berukuran 90 m × 65 m (295 ft × 213 ft) was featured in the US Pavilion (the largest structure in the expo). Kira-kira 5 juta pelawat viewed the screen, which covered a person's total field of vision apabila memandang betul-betul ke hadapan. This easily created a sensation of motion for nearly everyone, dan motion sickness in a few viewers. However, it was only a temporary screen for the six-month duration of the Expo. An IMAX 3D theatre also is in operation near the former Expo 67 site at the "Montreal Science Centre" in the Port of Old Montreal.
The first permanent IMAX Dome installation, the Eugene Heikoff dan Marilyn Jacobs Heikoff Dome Theater at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, opened in San Diego's Balboa Park in 1973. It doubles as a planetarium. The first permanent IMAX 3D theatre was built in Vancouver, British Columbia for Transitions at Expo '86, dan was in use until 30 September 2009. It was located at the tip of Canada Place, a Vancouver landmark.
Format Hiburan IMAX
Penggunaan format IMAX di Amerika Syarikat has traditionally been limited to specialty applications. The expense dan logistics of producing dan presenting IMAX films has dictated a shorter running time compared to conventional movies for most presentations (typically shorter by about 40 minutes). The majority of films in this format tend to be documentaries ideally suited for institutional venues such as museums dan science centers. IMAX cameras have been taken into space aboard the Space Shuttle, to Mount Everest, to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, dan to the Antarctic to film such documentaries. An IMAX documentary about the success of the Mars Exploration Rovers was released in 2006, titled Roving Mars dan used exclusive data from the Rovers.
One of the first attempts at presenting an entertainment film in the IMAX format was The Rolling Stones: Live at the Max (1991), an 85-minute compilation of concert footage filmed in IMAX during the band's 1990 Steel Wheels tour, edited to give the impression of a single concert.
Later in the 1990s, there was increasing interest in broadening the use of IMAX as an entertainment format. More entertainment IMAX short films were created, notably T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (directed by Brett Leonard), which had a successful run in 1998 dan Haunted Castle, released in 2001 (both of these were IMAX 3D films). In 1999, The Old Man dan the Sea became the first fully-animated film to be released on IMAX screens dan proceeded to win an Oscar. The same year, Disney produced Fantasia 2000, the first full-length animated feature released exclusively in the IMAX format (the film would later have a conventional theatrical release). Disney would also release the first 2D live action native IMAX entertainment film, Young Black Stallion, in late 2003.

Aspek teknikal

Tujuan IMAX is to dramatically increase the resolusi gambar dengan menggunakan bingkai gambar yang lebih besar. To achieve this, 65 mm film stock is run horizontally through the cameras. While traditional 65 mm film has an image area that is 48.5 mm × 22.1 mm (1.91 in × 0.87 in) (for Todd-AO), in IMAX the image is 69.6 mm × 48.5 mm (2.74 in × 1.91 in) tall. In order to expose at standard film speed of 24 frames per second, three times as much film needs to move through the camera each second.
Drawing the large format 70mm print film through the projector was a difficult technical problem to solve; conventional 70 mm systems were not steady enough for the 586× magnification. IMAX projection melibatkan pelbagai inovasi. William Shaw of IMAX adapted an Australian patent for film transport called the "rolling loop" by adding a compressed air "puffer" untuk memecutkan filem, dan put a cylindrical lens in the projector's "aperture block" for the film to be vacuumed up against during projection (called the "field flattener" because it served to flatten the image field), because the film actually touches the "field flattener" lens. The lens itself is twice the height of the film dan is connected to a pneumatic piston so it can be moved up or down while the projector is running. This way, if a piece of dust comes off the film dan sticks to the lens, the projectionist can switch to the clean side of the lens at the push of a button. The lens also has "wiper bars" made of a felt or brush-like material which can wipe the dust off the lens as it moves up or down to keep the show clean. IMAX projectors are pin stabilized, meaning four registration pins engage the perforations at the corners of the projected frame to ensure perfect alignment. Shaw added cam-controlled arms to decelerate each frame to eliminate the microscopic shaking as the frame "settled" onto the registration pins. The projector's shutter is also open for around 20% longer than in conventional equipment dan the light source is brighter. An IMAX projector is therefore a substantial piece of equipment, weighing up to 1.8 t (2.0 short ton) dan towering at over 178 cm (70 in) tall dan 195 cm (77 in) long. The xenon short-arc lamps diperbuat daripada lapisan nipis fused quartz dan mengandungi gas xenon pada tekanan 25 atmosfera (367 psi); because of this, projectionists wajib memakai perisai badan pelindung semasa membersihkan atau mengendalikannya jika lampu pecah (cth, akibat terjatuh ke lantai) kerana serpihan kuartz yang berterbangan mungkin membawa maut apabila disatukan dengan tekanan tinggi gas Xenon dalamnya.
IMAX uses a stronger "ESTAR" (Kodak's trade name for PET film) base. The reason is not for strength, but precision. Developing chemicals do not change the size or shape of Estar, dan IMAX's pin registration (especially the cam mechanism) is intolerant of either sprocket-hole or film-thickness variations. The IMAX format is generically called "15/70" film, the name referring to the 15 sprocket holes per frame of 70 mm stock. The bulk of the film requires large platters rather than conventional film reels. IMAX platters range from 1.2m diameter to 1.83m diameter to accommodate 1 to 2.75 hrs of film. Platters with a 2.5 hour feature film will weigh 250 kg.
In order to use more of the image area, filem IMAX tidak mengandungi soundtrack dalam filem. Sebaliknya, sistem IMAX specifies sebuah sistem bunyi enam saluran filem magnetik 35 mm synchronized to the film. (Sistem "mag-stripe" dahulu ini was commonly used to "dub" or insert studio sound into the mixed soundtrack of conventional films.) By the early 1990s, a separate digital 6-track source was synchronized using a more precise pulse generator as a source for a conventional Kod masa SMPTE synchronization system. This development presaged conventional software. The software works in a similar style as the DDP except that instead of the audio file being based on discs, it is instead played directly off a hard disk drive in the form of a single uncompressed audio file containing the 6 channels which are distributed directly to the amplifiers rather than using a decoding method such as Dolby Digital. Many IMAX theatres place speakers directly behind the screen, as well as distributing the speakers around the theatre to create a three-dimensional effect.
IMAX theatre construction also differs significantly from conventional theaters. The increased resolution allows the audience to be much closer to the screen; typically all rows are within one screen height; conventional theatre seating runs 8 to 12 screen heights. Also, the rows of seats are set at a steep angle (up to 30° in some domed theatres) so that the audience is facing the screen directly.

Kubah IMAX / OMNIMAX

Sekitar pengakhiran 1960s, San Diego Hall of Science (sekarang ini dikenali sebagai Reuben H. Fleet Science Center) memulakan pencarian bagi filem format tinggi di Amerika Utara untuk dipaparkan/diprojekkan/diwayangkan di kubah yang dirancang 76 ft (23 m) tilted dome planetarium. Satu daripada front-running formats ialah menggunakan sistem rangka-berkembar iaitu 35 mm sebelum mereka mengenali IMAX. Projektor IMAX tidak sesuai dipasang di kubah itu kerana dalaman kubah itu adanya 12 ft (3.7 m) lampu rumah yang tinggi di atas. However, IMAX Corporation was quick to cooperate dan was willing to redesign its system. IMAX designed an elevator to lift the projector to the center of the dome from the projection booth below. Spectra Physics designed a suitable lamphouse that took smaller lamps (about 18 inches long) dan placed the bulb behind the lens instead of above the projector. In 1970, Ernst Leitz Canada, Ltd. (now ELCAN Optical Technologies) won a contract to develop dan manufacture a fisheye lens projection system optimized to project an image onto a dome instead of a flat screen.
The dome system, which the San Diego Hall of Science called OMNIMAX, uses films shot with a camera equipped with a fisheye lens on the camera that squeezes a highly distorted 180° field of view onto the 65 mm IMAX film. The lens is aligned below the center of the frame dan most of the bottom half of the circular field falls beyond the edge of the film. The part of the field that would fall below the edge of the dome is masked off. When filming, the camera is aimed upward at an angle that matches the tilt of the dome. When projected through a matching fisheye lens onto a dome, the original panoramic view is recreated. OMNIMAX wraps 180° horizontally, 100° above the horizon dan 22° below the horizon for a viewer at the center of the dome. OMNIMAX premiered in 1973 at the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater dan Science Center showing two OMNIMAX features, Voyage to the Outer Planets (produced by Graphic Films) dan Garden Isle (by Roger Tilton Films) on a double bill.
IMAX has since renamed the system IMAX Dome. However, some theaters may continue to call it OMNIMAX.
OMNIMAX theatres are now in place at a number of major North American museums, particularly those with a scientific focus, where the technical aspects of the system may be highlighted as part of the theme interest. The projection room is often windowed to allow public viewing dan accompanied by informational placards like any exhibit. Inside the theatre, the screen may be a permanent fixture, such as at the St. Louis Science Center (which also plays a short educational video about the OMNIMAX system just before the feature film) dan Boston's Museum of Science; or lowered dan raised as needed, such as at the Science Museum of Minnesota (where it shares an auditorium with a standard IMAX screen). Before the feature begins, the screen is backlit to show the speakers dan girders behind the screen. IMAX Dome screens may also be found at several major theme parks. While the majority of OMNIMAX theatres in museums focus on educational dan documentary films, on special occasions, as with the release of Charlie dan the Chocolate Factory at the Oregon Museum of Science dan Industry, major studio releases are also shown. The largest IMAX Dome Theatres in North America are at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ dan the Telus World of Science in Vancouver, BC, both of which have dome screens that are 88 feet in diameter.

IMAX 3D

Untuk menghasilkan illusi kedalaman tiga dimensi, proses IMAX 3D menggunakan dua kanta kamera untuk mewakili mata kiri dan kanan. Kedua-dua kanta ini diasingkan dengan jarak antaramata 64 mm (2.5 in), purata jarak antara kedua-dua mata manusia. By recording on two separate rolls of film for the left dan right eyes, dan mempaparkan mereka serentak, penonton experience seeing a 3D image on a 2D screen. Kamera IMAX 3D is cumbersome, dengan berat melebihi 113 kg (249 lb). This makes it difficult to film on-location documentaries.
Terdapat dua cara menghasilkan illusi 3D dalam pawagam. Pertamanya melibatkan pempolarisasi. Semasa penayangan, gambar mata kiri dan kanan linearly polarized as they are projected onto the IMAX screen. By wearing special eyeglasses with lenses polarized in their respective directions to match the projection, each eye can only see the image intended for that eye since the lens's polarization will cancel out the other eye's image.
Cara lain untuk 3D projection involves the use of LCD shutter glasses. The projectors display each frame of film alternately for each eye (while one projector's image is displayed, the other is blocked), pada kadar 48 gambar sesaat. The glasses contain LCD panels that alternately block the light in one eye while allowing the other to see the image. The shutters flash back dan forth in sync with the projector, such that each eye only sees the image intended for it.
Several films produced in the RealD 3D process for release in conventional theatres have also been presented in IMAX 3D, termasuk karya DreamWorks Monsters vs. Aliens, U2 3D, Avatar, dan Toy Story 3.
Sesetengah pawagam IMAX further enhance the illusion of immersion in the movie dengan menggunakan gerakan tempat duduk dan getaran pada titik-titik tertentu dalam filem.

IMAX HD (48 gambar sesaat)

Variations on IMAX included the 48 gambar sesaat IMAX HD process, which sought to reduce strobing dan offer a more high definition image by filming dan projecting at twice the normal film rate.

Sejarah

The IMAX HD system was tested in 1992 at the Canada Pavilion of the Seville Expo '92 with the film Momentum. It was deemed too costly dan abandoned but not before many theatres were retrofitted to project at 48 frames, especially in Canada, in order to play Momentum. In the 1990s theme parks in Thailand, Germany, dan Las Vegas used IMAX HD for their Motion Simulator rides. The Disney parks attraction Soarin' Over California features a modification of both IMAX HD dan IMAX Dome, projecting in 48 frames per second.

Production issues

The doubled IMAX HD frame rate means that each IMAX HD reel lasts half as long, dan the logistical implications of this reach all the way up the film production chain. IMAX production by default is at least 3 to 5 times more expensive against common 35 mm production. The increased production costs make IMAX HD problematic regardless of overall production funding issues, dan the format has not seen significant adoption.

IMAX DMR

In 2002, IMAX dan Universal Studios released a new IMAX-format version of the 1995 film Apollo 13, the first application of IMAX's proprietary DMR (Digital Media Remastering) process, which allows conventional films to be upconverted into IMAX format. This special digital intermediate technology was developed for films shot on 35mm for conventional theaters to be shown in IMAX venues. Other theatrically released films would subsequently be reissued at IMAX venues in versions created using the DMR process. Because of a technical limitation on the size of the film reel, several early DMR releases were edited to conform to a two-hour maximum length. Later releases did not have this limitation; current IMAX platters allow a run time of up to 170 minutes where films could run longer in IMAX Digital venues.
Reviewers have generally praised the results of the DMR blowup process, which are visually dan audibly superior to the same films projected in 35mm. But some filmmakers, such as producer Frank Marshall, point out that DMR blowups are not comparable to films created directly in the 70mm 15 perf IMAX format, dan that directors Ron Howard dan George Lucas expected better. They note that the decline of Cinerama coincided roughly with the supercession of the original process with a simplified, reduced cost, technically inferior version, dan view DMR with alarm. IMAX originally reserved the phrase "the IMAX experience" for true 70mm productions, but now allows its use on DMR productions as well.
Since 2002 many other Hollywood films have been remastered for IMAX. Warner Brothers has especially embraced the format with the two Matrix sequels, dan since 2004 has been releasing its Harry Potter film franchise in IMAX to strong financial success. Also in 2004 the company released the animated movie The Polar Express in IMAX 3D. Express became the most successful movie ever to be released in IMAX theatres, making at least a quarter of the film total worldwide gross of $302 million from less than 100 IMAX screens; because of its success, it has been re-released each holiday season since. In 2005 WB also released Batman Begins simultaneously in conventional theatres dan IMAX, helping the film reach $200M at the domestic box office. In summer 2006 WB released the highly anticipated Superman Returns remastered for IMAX, with some effects scenes transformed into 3D. Spider-Man 3 broke the IMAX gross record in 2007 by a huge margin.
Pada 2008, the Rolling Stones concert film, Shine a Light, directed by Martin Scorsese, was released as an IMAX DMR blowup version.
The July 2008 Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight (partially shot on IMAX – see below) broke box office records for IMAX, taking in about $6.3 million from 94 theaters in the U.S. dan Canada over the opening weekend. The record for an IMAX opening weekend was again broken in May 2009 by Star Trek: The IMAX Experience, which took in $8.3 million. The current IMAX opening weekend record (as of December 2009) is held by Titanic director James Cameron's Avatar which brought in $9.5 million.

Feature films partially shot on IMAX cameras

The most recent film shot in 70mm was Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996 film). Since then, some recent features have utilized IMAX for selected scenes. These films have been released theatrically both in 35mm dan in IMAX.
The Dark Knight featured six sequences (a total of 30 minutes) shot using 15/70mm IMAX. According to the movie's press notes, this was the "first time ever that a major feature film has been even partially shot using IMAX cameras".
Michael Bay's 2009 film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen also had some scenes shot in IMAX. The slightly longer version playing in IMAX theatres included about nine minutes of footage shot using IMAX cameras.
Director John Woo has announced he will be using IMAX cameras to film his upcoming film Flying Tigers, saying “It has always been a dream of mine to explore shooting with IMAX cameras dan to work in the IMAX format, dan the strong visual element of this film is incredibly well-suited to the tastes of cinemagoers today [...] Using IMAX for Flying Tigers would create a new experience for the audience, dan I think it would be another breakthrough for Chinese movies.”

IMAX Digital Theatre System

A digital version of IMAX started rolling out in 2008. The new system is a projection standard only. Digital IMAX systems can show either 2D or 3D content in DCI or IMAX digital format (which in itself is a superset of DCI). The digital system alleviates the need for film reels dan facilitates inexpensive distribution of IMAX features.
Despite those advantages, one big disadvantage is the resolution of the picture, which is much lower than the resolution of the normal IMAX film, estimated to be about 12000 × 8700 theoretical pixels or 6120 × 4500 actually discernible pixels. The screens used by IMAX multiplex locations range in size from 47' x 24' to 74' x 46' dan those in classic IMAX locations range from 51' x 37' to 117' x 96'. The digital installations have drawn some confusion based on poor consumer differentiation to the traditional 15/70 IMAX.
IMAX digital currently uses two 2K-resolution Christie projectors with Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing technology alongside parts of IMAX's proprietary technologies. The two 2K images are projected over each other, producing an image that is potentially of a slightly higher resolution than common 2K digital cinema. Originally, IMAX had been considering using two Sony 4K projectors. Some reviewers note that this approach may not produce image quality higher than using one 4K projector, which are available for some non-IMAX theaters, including AMC's own.

Kamera digital IMAX 3D

Pada awal Januari 2010, IMAX mengumumkan bahawa ia sedang membangunkan sebuah kamera digital 3D dan menjangka prototaip pertamanya sedia pada awal 2010 dengan matlamat pelancaran rasmi pada tahun 2011.
Benefits of the IMAX 3D digital camera include proprietary, differentiated content for the IMAX theatre network; increased content for the Company's planned joint venture 3D TV Network; dan lower production costs, due to the elimination of expensive film stock.

Kecemerlangan Teknikal

In 1996 IMAX was awarded the only Oscar given for Scientific dan Technical Achievement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts dan Sciences. The award cites IMAX's innovations in creating dan developing a method of filming dan exhibiting large-format, wide-angle motion pictures.

Konsert dan Gaming Tournaments

In July 2005 the BFI IMAX Cinema in London became the first to host live music concerts, using a digital non-IMAX projector. IMAX theatre owners increasingly look to use the venue at varying times for alternatives to films.
The Science Museum London dan BFI IMAX Cinema have also hosted computer game tournaments using digital projectors on the large IMAX screen. Other IMAX Theatres have also followed suit with game tournaments on their screens as well.