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The IMAX (Image Maximum) system has its roots in Canada where
multi-screen films were the hit of the fair. A small group of Canadian
filmmakers Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr decided to
design a new system using a single, powerful projector, rather than the
cumbersome multiple projectors used at that time. The result is the IMAX
motion picture projection system, which would revolutionize the giant-
screen cinema.IMAX delivers just that on a screen four times the size of
conventional movie screens. Multi channel digital sound with excellent
picture quality gives the viewers the feeling of being present in the scene
been shown.
IMAX was premiered at the Fuji Pavilion, EXPO '70 in Osaka, Japan.
The first permanent IMAX projection system was installed at Ontario
Place's Cinesphere in Toronto in 1971. IMAX Dome (OMNIMAX) debuted
at the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theatre in San Diego, CA in 1973.
The difference between the IMAX sound system and the surround
systems in conventional theaters is that the typical IMAX screen is close to
a conventional 4:3 aspect ratio, but much, much bigger. So you have a
great deal of vertical, which gives you the opportunity to do a 'voice-of-God'
loudspeaker. IMAX system power varies depending on the size of the
room, but it is typically in the range of 12,500 watts. The power is not there
for the loudness; it's there for clarity and freedom from distortion. The
enclosures are three-way systems using components custom-designed and
manufactured to specifications and combines four low-frequency
loudspeakers in each cabinet with nested high- and mid-frequency horns.
Using a sub-bass system for the deepest low sounds minimizes phase
coherence problems. In most installations there are eight sub-bass
loudspeakers each with in a 16-cubic-foot enclosure. The enclosures
include a filtering labyrinth that physically traps the higher-frequency
components that can otherwise cause overtones and distortion.
The technology that makes IMAX unique comes into play during the
production process, when film 10 times the size of standard movie images
is loaded into a 52-pound camera. Each IMAX film frame is roughly the size
of a business card. IMAX film cartridges, which weigh nearly five pounds
when fully loaded. Larger film translates into sharper images on the movie
screen, which isn't actually a traditional, flexible screen at all. Instead, 340
perforated aluminum panels have been pieced together like an igloo to
form the projection dome. Nearly a quarter of the dome's inside surface is
actually tiny holes, put there to allow sound to pass through from the 44
speakers concealed behind the panel.
Projector
Film passes behind the lens at the rate of 51/2 feet each second. A
typical 40-minute IMAX movie requires moving more than 3 miles of film
through the projector. The 15,000-watt xenon lamp used to project the
image onto the screen is so bright that, if it were placed on the moon, it
could be seen from Earth. The lamp's surface reaches 1,300 degrees
Fahrenheit, requiring a cooling system to pump five gallons of water and
800 cubic feet of air around the bulb each minute. Unlike typical
commercial movies, the sound for the Hackworth's IMAX films is not
embedded in the film stock. Instead, the digital sound is played from a
compact disc and is synchronized with the images by a special audio
controller.
India’s first IMAX theatre has been set up in Mumbai this year. It has
a dome screen of 30m diameter that offers viewers a real-life experience.
The theatre screened The Blue Planet and The Mysteries of Egypt in the
inaugural shows.