How Is IMAX Different From Regular Cinema Experiences
For this special video made in partnership with IMAX, Tom's Guide visited the IMAX headquarters in Canada to meet with their experts and see first-hand the kind of technology that compelled esteemed filmmakers Christopher Nolan and James Wan to shoot Oppenheimer and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom with IMAX in mind.
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00:00 As TVs continue to get larger, brighter,
00:02 and more impressive every year,
00:04 at Tom's Guide, we're always looking to find you
00:06 the best home entertainment setup for your budget.
00:08 And with all the convenience and comfort you get
00:10 from watching at home,
00:12 you may think that the best viewing experience
00:14 is right from your couch.
00:15 So, what are we missing out on
00:17 by not seeing the latest blockbuster film
00:18 on the big IMAX screen?
00:20 Well, we're in Toronto, Canada, IMAX's headquarters,
00:23 so let's find out.
00:25 As we'll learn, there's a lot of visual, sound,
00:27 and production magic happening in the background,
00:30 which many of us probably don't think about.
00:32 That makes watching movies in an IMAX theater like this
00:35 one of the most exclusive and immersive viewing experiences.
00:38 But maybe even more important,
00:40 we're gonna give you that inside scoop
00:41 on which seat is best in-house.
00:44 Today, I'll be meeting some of the talented individuals
00:46 who form part of the team crafting that IMAX experience.
00:50 So, this is one of our in-house mixing studios.
00:52 So, of course, with movies,
00:54 the first thing that comes to mind is the visuals,
00:55 but a lot of people don't realize
00:56 how much work goes into the actual auditory experience.
01:00 In a lot of ways, audio can be more important
01:02 than the visuals.
01:03 - I couldn't agree more.
01:04 Sound is one of those things
01:05 that's an integral piece of the equation,
01:08 and it's one of those things that,
01:09 unless it's, until it's missing,
01:12 you don't really notice what you're missing.
01:13 - IMAX's sound system is completely different
01:15 than everybody else's.
01:16 When a Hollywood film is getting made,
01:18 they're gonna mix for a bunch of different formats,
01:20 and then they're gonna remix it specifically for IMAX.
01:22 Our speakers actually go down almost a full octave lower
01:26 than everybody else's.
01:28 So, if the mixer chooses to,
01:29 they can add that extra bass in
01:31 to really make you feel it instead of just hearing it.
01:34 When something explodes, you're able to literally feel it
01:39 and feel like you're a part of it.
01:41 - So, really, what comes together
01:42 with the IMAX experience is everything all at once.
01:45 One of the things that we really try and do
01:46 is not break our system down into individual components
01:50 because it's how everything merges together.
01:52 One plus one sometimes doesn't equal two.
01:54 That's really the way I would put things.
01:57 - And, of course, the other major component is the picture.
02:00 David Kempling is the director of camera operations at IMAX,
02:03 and he's going to explain some of the elements
02:05 that go into creating that unique IMAX picture.
02:08 - Where we start with the IMAX camera is the scale.
02:12 If you shoot something with a small format,
02:15 with a little sensor, a piece of film,
02:17 you feel like you're kind of looking
02:18 through a window into a scene,
02:20 but if you shoot it with that larger scale,
02:22 you feel like you're kind of looking over the fence
02:24 into the neighbor's yard, like you're right there.
02:26 And you can combine this with depth of field
02:30 and with the qualities of lenses and with contrast
02:33 and with focus and the great resolution.
02:36 And when you add that to the scale of our screens,
02:39 there's this whole sort of combination of events
02:44 that occurs and you kind of sit there
02:45 and you feel like you're right there.
02:47 We have cameras that are decades old
02:49 and they just run and run and run and run,
02:52 like the school bus that will just not stop.
02:55 We've made films with some of the greatest filmmakers
02:58 in the world.
02:59 You can see that reality of a scene,
03:02 especially at our scale and at our great resolution.
03:05 And there's a quality there that's very visible
03:08 and it becomes part of that entire experience.
03:11 - Over 90% of new films are shot digitally,
03:13 but IMAX cameras use large format 70 millimeter film
03:16 to create astonishing picture resolution.
03:19 - Film is film and digital is digital
03:21 and you can simulate one with the other,
03:23 but I think film will always have that mystique
03:25 because it's very unique as a medium
03:27 and it comes from analog elements.
03:31 It's physical elements.
03:32 All of those elements,
03:34 I think that they create an IMAX experience.
03:37 - Now, even though I was expecting to learn
03:39 all about the different cameras and sound equipment
03:41 needed to create that IMAX experience,
03:43 I wasn't prepared for the next part of my tour.
03:46 - So we're in our manufacturing facility right now.
03:48 This is our class 10,000 clean room.
03:50 Our system's having a lot of critical optics inside of them.
03:54 As we're putting it together,
03:55 we obviously have to keep the dust
03:56 and keep all the components out of them.
03:58 So inside of here,
03:59 we've got a lot of our critical optical assemblies.
04:02 They're broken up into various stations.
04:03 We've got custom hardware that we've actually designed
04:07 and developed in-house to be able to align
04:09 all these things.
04:10 - Sterile conditions are essential
04:12 and these rooms are designed to make sure
04:13 not a single speck of dust is able to make its way
04:16 into the production process.
04:17 - I would never have guessed that we would need lab coats
04:21 and hair covers and to take our shoes off.
04:24 Just, it's crazy just the amount of cleanliness required
04:28 just to keep that level of...
04:30 - It's kind of like you're working for NASA
04:32 to a certain degree, but you're working for IMAX.
04:34 - In addition to the new films that are being made
04:36 with IMAX in mind throughout the production process,
04:39 older films are also being adapted to the IMAX large screen.
04:42 - So DMR is a digital media remastering.
04:46 And so it was designed as a tool to take content
04:49 and to convert it into our format.
04:51 So the tool was developed as a means to maximize
04:56 image quality where we could with that content.
05:00 There are so many times when we've been in these screenings
05:05 with filmmakers where they are seeing their picture
05:09 for the first time and they're seeing it in a new way.
05:14 And it's exciting.
05:15 - Some of the films that have been remastered
05:17 for IMAX in the last few years include "Jaws"
05:19 and "E.T." to name a few.
05:21 I think it's pretty fair to say
05:23 that this is a very exclusive experience.
05:26 - Yeah, definitely.
05:27 The movies only run for a certain amount of time.
05:29 So sometimes one week, sometimes only two weeks.
05:31 So if you don't see it in that first one or two weeks,
05:33 we're already onto the next movie
05:35 and you've missed your chance to see it in IMAX.
05:36 - What is your favorite seat in the house?
05:39 - So the simple answer is there's no bad seat in IMAX.
05:41 They're all great.
05:43 - Alex Crabb is the manager of theater design at IMAX,
05:46 making sure the experience for everyone watching
05:48 is the best it can be.
05:50 - Part of a designer's job is to ensure
05:52 that every seat in the auditorium is designed
05:56 in a way where we could see with no obstructions,
06:00 you know, the full span of the screen.
06:03 We bring the screen as close as possible
06:05 to fill your peripheral vision
06:08 so that you could look left and right
06:11 and still be engulfed in the movie.
06:14 Every seat is the best seat in the house.
06:16 - Of course, people do have great home theater systems now,
06:19 but they don't have IMAX systems.
06:21 And if they did, their neighbors wouldn't be happy.
06:24 - Does the magic ever wear off?
06:26 - Definitely not.
06:27 Every time I watch one,
06:28 the magic just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
06:31 - We've really been helping filmmakers understand
06:36 that there aren't limits.
06:38 And I think you've seen filmmakers
06:40 that are pushing the IMAX experience
06:42 as far as they possibly can.
06:44 Everything is being optimized for our format,
06:47 which makes it different and special.
06:49 It's not a standard release.
06:51 And everything that goes into it
06:53 was designed and implemented for that experience.
06:58 Everything.
06:59 - There's that chance you feel that
07:00 maybe this will be the best film I've ever seen.
07:02 That, to me, is IMAX.
07:04 (dramatic music)
07:07 (explosion)
07:10 - Well, thanks for the amazing tour.
07:15 I really appreciate it.
07:15 - Not a problem.
07:16 It's been a great time.
07:17 - Thank you.
07:18 So, as you can see,
07:19 an IMAX theater is way more than just a larger screen.
07:23 There's a lot that happens in the background
07:24 that makes this an entirely different production.
07:27 If you're like me,
07:28 you haven't been to a theater in a while.
07:30 Now, as great as it is to watch from home,
07:32 from what I've learned,
07:34 there's a lot I've been missing out on
07:35 by not seeing movies in IMAX.
07:37 You can get the full experience yourself
07:38 at over 180 IMAX screens in AMC theaters,
07:42 just like this one in New York City.
07:44 But what do you think?
07:45 Is watching it in IMAX worth the extra ticket price?
07:48 Let us know in the comments down below
07:49 and share which movie you're most excited to see in IMAX.
07:52 Be sure to follow us on our socials,
07:54 TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter @tomskye.
07:57 This has been Paul,
07:57 and until the next one, I'll catch you later.