IMAX Sydney

[pin142 805]

Can't see Dreamworld going back to IMAX due to cost. It is a shame Brisbane is the only east coast city without an IMAX (still counting Sydney even though theirs is closed while they make the building housing it even more ugly). Think South Bank is at the point now that IMAX would survive there. The only issue now is people are used to the stupidly cheap pricing offered at South Bank and wouldn't consider paying the approx $30 per ticket of an IMAX session if they ever did restore the IMAX theatre to how it should be.

[rappa 2,552]

Thing is DW could actually convert that cinema to IMAX Digital given it's a smaller size screen. Apart from licensing that's a lot cheaper to run.

 

Nothing will ever replace the amazingness that 'was' Sydney's IMAX 70mm in 2D on the worlds biggest screen. I feel like that's a dying thing and question if Sydney will even re-open at that size.

[jjuttp 319]

Considering the amount of things they want to put into the the ribbon when it reopens, including 2 IMAX screens and offices and whatnot, id think its a safe bet to say no, it wont be the same size.

[pin142 805]

Sydney IMAX was amazing and worth the trip from Brisbane to experience. Heard it will still be the worlds largest just slightly smaller and no more 70mm, it is going to be IMAX Laser. Seems most of the film cinemas are going to laser projection. Melbourne has the only proper IMAX in Australia at the moment (digital doesn't count) with their laser system at the museum.

[pushbutton 972]

7 hours ago, pin142 said:

Sydney IMAX was amazing and worth the trip from Brisbane to experience. Heard it will still be the worlds largest just slightly smaller and no more 70mm, it is going to be IMAX Laser. Seems most of the film cinemas are going to laser projection. Melbourne has the only proper IMAX in Australia at the moment (digital doesn't count) with their laser system at the museum.

Why doesn't digital count?

[Slick 2,425]

Traditional IMAX is shot on 70mm, 15 perf film that is so large they ditch the audio track on the negative and throw it through the camera with air blasters, the result of which though is a picture that's considered the holy grail of cinema - the perspective, the resolution, not to mention the crazy audio setups they put into theatres was nothing short of incredible.

The problem with such a huge negative was that it was insanely expensive to print film for theatric releases. To bridge the gap, IMAX started introducing a replacement digital system, which was pretty damn bad. Think two, 2K projectors creating a dithered image versus the equivalent of a 12K image. It's just not the same. Their new, laser based 4K dithering system is a lot better, but still a huge cry from the original GT 70mm projectors they used in places like Sydney.

TLDR, IMAX film was massive. Huge. Inspiring. But it was expensive, and all the things that made IMAX film so good still haven't been faithfully recreated yet.

[iwerks 856]

Perth had Omni and, for a short time, IMAX. The Omni theatre is digital now and nothing like the brightness of the original films. I heard the films were so expensive that they were bought and resold by the cinemas themselves.

The Omni cinema at Singapore's Science Centre is 4K and is a lot brighter than Perth's Omni, which is now run by Scitech. However, Scitech does have a great planetarium program.

[rappa 2,552]

Yeah also IMAX digital is not capable of producing an image the size of the Sydney screen. Even IMAX 70mm 3D could only do 2/3 of that screen because the light from the projector had to be split to two lenses and was further reduced by the polarising system (although IMAX used active LCD shuttered lenses which helped a lot here).

A 'boring' IMAX 2D feature was an awe inspiring site to behold in the Sydney cinema. Even the projector was an amazing piece of technology and a behemoth, using 2 15000w lamps and a water cooling system.

Sadly declining public interest and huge operating costs will likely see that as a dead system and one of those cases where technology will actually go backwards before it catches up.

 

Also splitting this thread as it's gone WAY off topic.

[AlexB 5,522]

This got me thinking of the Edge cinema at Katoomba. Seems they've rebranded as 'united' cinemas, and they still have their IMAX screen, but doesn't appear they do any larger format movies - it's just a run of the mill cinema that happens to have a huge screen (they refer to it as their large 'Imax style' screen.

It was the first IMAX movie I saw - part of a school excursion to Katoomba, where they were showing 'Wild Australia - The Edge'

[Theme Park 38]

On 15/11/2017 at 12:56 AM, pin142 said:

Think South Bank is at the point now that IMAX would survive there. The only issue now is people are used to the stupidly cheap pricing offered at South Bank.

I think we could go one step above and say an Imax Dome could survive in south bank (If an Imax dome can survive in Saudi Arabia, Alabama, Iowa and Detroit it can survive in Brisbane)

[jjuttp 319]

I would love to see a massive IMAX Dome. Considering the immersiveness and whatnot, if a film can be built around that it would be nothing short of amazing. Even the significantly smaller Star Wars Battle Pod arcade game that uses a dome screen does a damn good job of throwing you into your environment whether it be Endor or Takodana.

 

My only quip with laser projection IMAX is the change of glasses. Instead of the massive polarised glasses where you could sit at the front and still watch the entire film without moving your head, you now have smaller lens Active Shutter which is a different kettle of fish. But instead of the minimal movement i had in Fury Road and Age of Extinction (both of which were front row at Sydney), i was having to move my head to actually look around the screen to see things during Force Awakens (5 rows back).

[rappa 2,552]

This doesn't make much sense... for one the large headsets were active (this means the lenses turn on and off to give you left/right eye image). Where as smaller glasses tend to be polarised (the way the lens is constructed you only see one half of the image all the time except every second frame is black effectively and it's all the time)...

 

Why would the method of 3D change your field of vision causing you to have to move your head?

[Wil_i_am_not 176]

I've done the IMAX Dome in Alabama and IMO, it wasn't anything that special. Thing is about the Dome (from what I can remember) is it's not curved a whole lot (as you have to be able to sit and actually watch the movie somehow), and the screen isn't huge either. Didn't really find it as immersive as the one in Sydney.

[pin142 805]

11 hours ago, pushbutton said:

Why doesn't digital count?

Been summed up by others but a visual example of why digital doesn't count compared to GT

Edited November 28, 2017 by pin142

[jjuttp 319]

2 hours ago, djrappa said:

This doesn't make much sense... for one the large headsets were active (this means the lenses turn on and off to give you left/right eye image). Where as smaller glasses tend to be polarised (the way the lens is constructed you only see one half of the image all the time except every second frame is black effectively and it's all the time)...

 

Why would the method of 3D change your field of vision causing you to have to move your head?

Sydney used the large ones akin to DW cinema and the Roxy. Large and polarised. Meanwhile when i visited the Melbourne one, it was the same smaller Active Shutter that's used at places like Reading Cinemas or on 3D tv's manufactured by anyone but LG.

 

Polarised Vs Active Shutter

[westical 618]

South Bank still haven't taken down their IMAX signs so that'll save them time for when they bring it back.

[Slick 2,425]

1 hour ago, westical said:

South Bank still haven't taken down their IMAX signs so that'll save them time for when they bring it back.

I spoke to the owner - turns out IMAX were going to charge him close to 20k to have them removed, TLDR, he told them to get stuffed, so the signs remain turned off.

[rappa 2,552]

17 hours ago, jjuttp said:

Sydney used the large ones akin to DW cinema and the Roxy. Large and polarised. Meanwhile when i visited the Melbourne one, it was the same smaller Active Shutter that's used at places like Reading Cinemas or on 3D tv's manufactured by anyone but LG.

 

Polarised Vs Active Shutter

The large headsets at Sydney were indeed active shutter. The IR transmitters for them were high up at the left and right extremes of the screen. 

 

But my question remains, how does the system of 3D imaging in use affect your field of vision?

[westical 618]

21 hours ago, Roachie said:

I spoke to the owner - turns out IMAX were going to charge him close to 20k to have them removed, TLDR, he told them to get stuffed, so the signs remain turned off.

Tubes have long deteriorated now anyway. 

[jjuttp 319]

Here is a photo on the IMAX Sydney website that shows the glasses that i always had but in white as opposed to blue. The FOV is changed because the lenses got smaller. Instead of the big lenses letting in more of the picture, the little ones let in less. It's the cinema equivalent of squinting