[Steve AWOL]

Well the IMAX for Milton Keynes has been confirmed, hopefully it's a full size screen and not a LieMAX!

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/n...d-austria.html

Milton Keynes will receive a new screen with Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group in the UK, while there will also be three new cinemas in the Netherlands and one in Austria.

This announcement brings the total amount of IMAX screens in Europe to 132.

...Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group will add a new IMAX cinema at its new 11-screen multiplex at The MK Dons Stadium in Milton Keynes. It is scheduled to open in 2014....

[Dean_Tipton]

I see there's a new IMAX opening in Birmingham on Friday at Cineworld on Broad Street. I'm guessing it's a LieMAX though sadly.

[mwardy]

It's very probable that both these new screens will be Liemax--it fits the rollout programme.

Having said that, from my experience they will still be well worth the premium. The extra resolution and a bit more height when it kicks in is impressive, and I would definitely go for the digital IMAX version over a standard screening if there was a choice, and it was a film which justified it.

Proper 15/70 IMAX is a different beast. It's huge and it's analogue, complete with (as I found in Manchester Printworks) a bit of gate weave, flicker and chromatic aberration that reminds you that you are watching a stream of very big celluloid stills being hauled through a projector. It feels like it's only barely under control. And it's absolutely glorious. You are pinned into your seat by the sheer scale and detail it delivers. Like no other film experience I've had.

Just try to sit as far back as possible in a true IMAX theatre and somewhere nearer the middle centre rows in a digital IMAX setup and, for any doubters, you won't be disappointed.

[Steve AWOL]

I can't find any information on the Cineworld website as to the dimensions of their new IMAX screen in Birmingham

However I see that the recently opened IMAX screen at Nottingham Cineworld is 19m (62ft) wide by 9m (30ft) tall according to: BBC News - Work starts to install Nottingham's first Imax

Looks good judging by these photos: Photos: IMAX launch - Nottingham Culture - LeftLion.co.uk

Taking the total number of IMAX screens in the UK to 25: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IMAX_venues#U

I see that the Sheffield IMAX is claiming to be ".At 70ft x 39ft 5in, it is the second biggest digital IMAX screen in the world" - Movie goers are handed chance to be having it large - News - Sheffield Telegraph

It's certainly a fair bit bigger than the Digital IMAX screens at Uxbridge (41ft x 19ft) although still not nearly as big as the traditional IMAX screens at Manchester (86ft x 62ft) and London Waterloo (85ft x 66ft).

[nck-nck]

Real IMAX is incredible. We've only got one of those fake-imax screens in edinburgh, though, so we go through to the one at the glasgow science centre

The 3D system they use for the short documentary films they show is amazing, I wish feature films could use it- normal 3D doesn't do much for me at all. With the made-for-IMAX 3D the glasses are different- bigger and almost wraparound- and it really looks three dimensional, not just like separated- out layers. We went to see a short film about the hubble telescope and it was astonishing.

I would always choose IMAX over a normal screening if it were available. It's actually cheaper to see the hobbit at the glasgow science centre IMAX than at the cineworld here, if you include the cost of hiring the glasses...

[fhs man 2]

I think it is because of the expense of it movies are expensive enough and adding £4.50 - £5 onto the price gets rid of the trade. It is not really viable in the current economic climate.

EDIT - Just realised this thread is from 2007.

[Miss Haversham]

Saw I am Legend at an IMAX in New York - waaaaaay too much for me, though this is probably as much to do with being sat almost in the front row. Funnily enough one of the trailers was for a Rolling Stones concert and the size of the screen and the noise certainly made me feel like I was actually there and was kind of cool.

Watching the actual movie was so overwhelming I had to remove my glasses and watch the majority of the movie without them, for the first time ever, it was 'too much movie' for me

Definitely would recommend the experience, though not from the front row (plus it was stupidly expensive!)

[Moony]

I saw the new StarTrek movie on an IMAX screen - and hated it. It was far too big and the action so fast and blurry - it was hard to see what was going on.

Much better on my 50inch plasma at home.

[Steve AWOL]

Originally Posted by Miss Haversham

Saw I am Legend at an IMAX in New York - waaaaaay too much for me, though this is probably as much to do with being sat almost in the front row. Funnily enough one of the trailers was for a Rolling Stones concert and the size of the screen and the noise certainly made me feel like I was actually there and was kind of cool.

Watching the actual movie was so overwhelming I had to remove my glasses and watch the majority of the movie without them, for the first time ever, it was 'too much movie' for me

Definitely would recommend the experience, though not from the front row (plus it was stupidly expensive!)

The closest I've sat to the front of an IMAX auditorium was for Superman Returns when I was sat about 6 rows from the front at Waterloo and it was a bit too close to take in the whole screen!

I always book seats in the back 3rd of the rows whenever I visit the IMAX nowadays, I don't know anyone who likes sitting near the front but suppose it would cost too much to build bigger auditoria with the seating slightly further away from the screen.

Originally Posted by Moony

I saw the new StarTrek movie on an IMAX screen - and hated it. It was far too big and the action so fast and blurry - it was hard to see what was going on.

Much better on my 50inch plasma at home.

That it a problem with movies like Star Trek which weren't filmed on IMAX cameras and were instead upscaled with DMR, as blowing up footage intended for a 35mm cinema screen onto a much larger screen is a bit like watching a DVD on a 100inch plasma.

Getting to see footage filmed with IMAX cameras on an IMAX screen, such as in the last 2 Batman films, is an experience that no home cinema can quite match for picture quality though.

[DarthFader]

Is it tried that IMAX is licensed to only one cinema in an area? A member of staff at Southampton Odeon said they had it exclusive for the next ten years.


PJ

[Moony]

Originally Posted by Steve AWOL

That it a problem with movies like Star Trek which weren't filmed on IMAX cameras and were instead upscaled with DMR, as blowing up footage intended for a 35mm cinema screen onto a much larger screen is a bit like watching a DVD on a 100inch plasma.

I guess that's one reason for its unpopularity then. If people get stung by a cheap imitation (like I appear to have been - I dont remember anywhere in the advert for the movie where it said "this isn't really an IMAX film" - and they didnt charge any less for it) - they will be less likely to go back.

[mwardy]

Originally Posted by Steve AWOL

Getting to see footage filmed with IMAX cameras on an IMAX screen, such as in the last 2 Batman films, is an experience that no home cinema can quite match for picture quality though.

Agreed. And when it's on a 15/70 IMAX, *all* home cinemas are left in the dust!

[mwardy]

Originally Posted by Moony

I guess that's one reason for its unpopularity then. If people get stung by a cheap imitation (like I appear to have been - I dont remember anywhere in the advert for the movie where it said "this isn't really an IMAX film" - and they didnt charge any less for it) - they will be less likely to go back.

Yes, this is a real danger. I guess there is effectively shortage of supply at the same time they are building up the (digital) IMAX venues. Or else people will become accustomed to the lesser experience as what IMAX offers and accept it anyway. Which may well be what they are hoping... Still, too soon to be pessimistic yet!

Edit: Saw Skyfall on an IMAX, and decided that while it was OK I'll not be bothering again unless it's filmed properly.

[Steve AWOL]

Originally Posted by Moony

I guess that's one reason for its unpopularity then. If people get stung by a cheap imitation (like I appear to have been - I dont remember anywhere in the advert for the movie where it said "this isn't really an IMAX film" - and they didnt charge any less for it) - they will be less likely to go back.

Well you'll be glad to know that several scenes in the upcoming Star Trek Into The Darkness movie have been filmed with IMAX cameras, so it should be worth paying a little extra to watch in an IMAX theatre.

‘Star Trek’ Sequel Is Being Shot Partially On IMAX | /Film

Hopefully it is only a matter of time before someone can devise a smaller and quieter IMAX camera which will allow film makers to shoot entire feature length movies in native IMAX format.

Originally Posted by mwardy

Agreed. And when it's on a 15/70 IMAX, *all* home cinemas are left in the dust!

Indeed

Although Samsung are trying to narrow the gap with their latest offering but I dread to think how much those Ultra HD (4K) OLED screens would cost!

Samsung's curved OLED TV provides an 'IMAX-like' experience | News | TechRadar

[cunningham1471]

Originally Posted by Moony

I guess that's one reason for its unpopularity then. If people get stung by a cheap imitation (like I appear to have been - I dont remember anywhere in the advert for the movie where it said "this isn't really an IMAX film" - and they didnt charge any less for it) - they will be less likely to go back.

I think it's more likely that in general people aren't that techy and aren't easily impressed.
I was talking to the staff at Cineworld in the O2 in London. They were saying that after the initial response of this is new, the vibrating D-Box isn't selling like it was. Most people think it's not that great and certainly not worth the extra money. Yes some people go for it, but most people when asked if they want it say no. They are more interested in the film than the box of tricks.

In my opinion IMAX whether true IMAX or fake IMAX is for many people just another gimmick and people aren't impressed by gimmicks. They can't make an average or good film anything more than what it is.

[mwardy]

Originally Posted by cunningham1471

I think it's more likely that in general people aren't that techy and aren't easily impressed.
[...]

In my opinion IMAX whether true IMAX or fake IMAX is for many people just another gimmick and people aren't impressed by gimmicks. They can't make an average or good film anything more than what it is.

Well, to me a true IMAX sequence that opens out to 1.4:1 on a giant screen is far from a gimmick (unlike buzzing seats, which surely are) and more like a transcendent, quasi-religious experience! I agree it can't make bad film good, but I think you are underplaying its sensory impact as an extra dimension when the film *is* good. You don't have to be techy to appreciate this--in fact I can't see how you could miss it as it's so huge in every sense.

[Steve AWOL]

Vibrating seats are undoubtedly just a gimmick (liker smell-o-vision ) that most cinema goers would not bother paying extra for but higher quality footage (such as IMAX) projected onto bigger screens is surely a natural evolution for movies. Just as how the general public are purchasing ever larger televisions on which to watch HDTV content (provided by Sky / Virgin / Freeview / Blu-Ray / Netflix etc) as they can see with their own eyes that it looks better.

Christopher Nolan, Brad Bird and JJ Abrams are big fans of the IMAX format and (unlike most film makers) actually use IMAX cameras for the best possible image quality.

Christopher Nolan Talks IMAX, 3D & CGI in Movies

...I think IMAX is the best film format that was ever invented. It’s the gold standard and what any other technology has to match up to, but none have, in my opinion...

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Sequel Filming Scenes With IMAX Cameras - CinemaBlend.com

"We were so thrilled with the creative results of shooting IMAX for Mission: Impossible that we jumped at the chance to use the format for Star Trek," Abrams said. "All expectations were exceeded -- the action and resolution is insane at this scale. We cannot wait for audiences to see the crew of the Enterprise in a way they never have before."

Brad Bird MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 4 GHOST PROTOCOL Interview | Collider

The IMAX sequences were probably the only ones where I really had to have adequate time to really plan meticulously because they’re big cameras, they’re noisy and they’re cumbersome. But, the image quality you get from them is unparalleled, so I think it was worth the trouble.

Hopefully these movie making pioneers can help improve the IMAX cameras (or an equivalent technology) so that they can be used to film entire feature length movies and raise the standard for cinema just as 35mm did over a century ago. As with television technology coming on leaps and bounds in recent years, the movie industry needs to up their game so that going to the cinema has that 'wow factor' it once had when the public only had small SD televisions at home.

[stripedcat]

I saw 'Skyfall' in the BFI Waterloo IMAX a while back. Unfortunately, I had a front row seat - and the image just appeared to be too 'in your face'.

I did go back for a second time, this time at the back in one of the 'Premier seats'. Much better experience. You get to appreciate the big image taking up your peripheral vision more. The IMAX in London always seems pretty busy.

I do plan on viewing the new Star Trek film there.

I suppose that it is a good technology for cinema, in that it gets people out to them. It seems better than 3D to me. No light loss and with non 3D stuff you don't wear glasses. It does help to highlight the difference between viewing a film at home and at the cinema. It is all about the experience.

[stripedcat]

A quick question, do people prefer the dome shaped IMAX cinemas or the flat screened ones?

[Daedroth]

I went to see Skyfall in the new Cineworld Birmingham IMAX, and frankly I didn't think it was worth the extra money. The screen and picture quality wasn't that much better from my perspective. I have an unlimited card and still had to pay extra.

[Steve AWOL]

Originally Posted by stripedcat

A quick question, do people prefer the dome shaped IMAX cinemas or the flat screened ones?

I've only been to a dome shaped IMAX once at a theme park many years ago and whilst it was good fun I don't think that I could watch an entire feature length movie like that!

[Jonwo]

I've seen quite a few films at the BFI IMAX, something like TDKR and Mission Impossible with actual filmed with IMAX cameras scenes are more impressive but some films like Tron Legacy converted some scenes to IMAX and it was just as good,