Bringing back the magic to the movies—with disheartened fans
Editor
The advent of 3D filmmaking has become a plague upon my local movie theater.
Maybe it’s because I wear glasses, or splitting my wide-eyed gaze between blurry, dim images causes a migraine, but 3D films are nothing more than cheap thrills, and most real movie buffs have never been into that sort of thing.
There are still the neophytes who claim 3D conversion is saving the industry. More prevalent are the stoners who just thought it was just the headiest to have seen Avatar’s lush world invite their skewed perceptions inward.
I get it, sometimes going to an average or sub-par flick gets boring, morose even. Flying axes, shimmering alien flowers and superheroes throwing their mighty and mythical weapons out at your face won’t very much help the situation either.
So what can? What can bring magic back to the movies?
In a word: imax.
The imax Corporation may be our last gasp at quality films in stunning clarity without the dim imaging and parallax headaches. It also may save the summer box office.
IMAX is an acronym meaning, simply, “maximum image,” according to an article published by The Wall Street Journal. It can be used to define three very important cinematic nouns: the cameras, the film, and the theaters. imax movies are made using high-definition cameras with 70-millimeter film, the largest used for motion pictures.
The cameras are heavy, wonky and extremely loud.
Most imax films are shot in the style of scientific documentaries, with narration over top for this very reason: open-air dialogue is almost impossible to capture using imax.
To date, very few major motion picture releases have filmed using imax cameras and 70-millimeter film. The only movies filmed with the technology this year have been the latest “Mission Impossible” romp, the brand new “Avengers” flick, and the upcoming Batman epic, “The Dark Knight Rises.”
However, it’s the imax theater experience that makes the seeing movies at one so magical. Stadium seating, a state-of-the-art sound system that rivals any normal theater and, of course, the large screen make movies that much bolder and interesting.
These screens are usually in the range of 70 feet by 50 feet, however, the image is usually taller than it is wide; The Henry Ford Museum imax theater is 80 feet by 62 feet.
The large aspect ratio of the screens pull you in and immerse you in the world of the film so much more than 3D post-conversion ever could. You become less focused on what’s shooting at you, and much more on how you are moving with the film. It’s twists and turns become one.
Sounds nice, but how can this save the summer box office?
Simple. Most of the big action flicks hitting theaters within the next month and throughout the summer are paying big bucks to be featured in imax 2D and 3D theaters—it seems with all of its glory, the company couldn’t shy away from the parallax-D either.
Finally, lovers of big grandiose films can actually savor the flavor of the movie they are actually seeing.
It may cost more—a whopping $14 per ticket—but imax practically guarantees a surrealist experience.
And there are no glasses or external devices required. Unless, of course, if you’re into that sort of thing.
