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