The IMAX Experience® is as unique and powerful as the technology behind it. Images of immense size and striking clarity. Sound so clear and deep you can feel it. Giant screens that immerse you in new worlds. And specially designed theatres that transport you there. Only IMAX® state-of-the-art technology creates The IMAX Experience®.
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The word IMAX is short for "Image Maximum". IMAX film is ten times larger than normal film. Normal movie film is the size of a stamp, while the IMAX film is the size of a postcard. The size of IMAX film is so large that one 40-minute film is approximately 3 miles long or 15,840 feet! A single 500-foot roll of IMAX film, which is just enough to capture just 90 seconds of action, weighs five pounds. IMAX film is strong enough to pull a truck. An IMAX 3D camera weighs 240 lbs. The IMAX projector weighs 2,500 lbs. and is the size of a small car. An IMAX bulb has 15,000 watts of power and is so powerful that it can be viewed from the moon with the naked eye. If you were to put a big log directly in front of an IMAX projector, it would spontaneously combust!
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IMAX FILM SIZE IMAX uses 15-perforation, 70mm film to shoot and project images of incredible sharpness. The 15/70 frame is 10 times larger than the 35mm used in regular theatres and three times larger than standard 70mm film used in classic Hollywood epics. This makes it the largest commercial film ever invented.
35mm
72mm
IMAX ®
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IMAX SCREEN SIZE VS. OTHER SCREENS IMAX and IMAX 3D giant flat screens soar up to eight stories high and are designed to encompass your peripheral vision. These screens are painted silver to maximize the amount of light reflected back to the audience. Half the size of a football field and large enough to show a whale life-size, IMAX screens fully immerse you in the scene.
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IMAX CAMERA The IMAX camera is an integral part of The IMAX Experience. They have been to outer space, explored the ocean floor, summited Mt. Everest and traveled the globe. The IMAX camera is specifically designed to shoot 15 perforation, 70 mm film (15/70) - the world's largest film format. Weighing between 42 and 100 pounds, these cameras are extremely versatile and can be used in virtually any environment.
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IMAX PROJECTOR
IMAX, IMAX 3D and IMAX Dome projectors are the most advanced, precise and powerful projectors ever built. The Proprietary IMAX Rolling Loop technology ensures far superior picture and focus steadiness to deliver the largest, sharpest and brightest images imaginable. Light from the 15,000watt lamp of some IMAX projectors is so bright that, if one were operated on the moon, people on Earth could see it with the naked eye.
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IMAX SOUND IMAX uncompressed digital, wrap-around sound is simply unsurpassed in depth and clarity. Our proprietary six-channel, Proportional Point SourceTM Loudspeaker system delivers exacting volume and quality at every seat throughout the theatre. From a small drop of rain to a massive clap of thunder, you'll hear every shade and subtlety, regardless of where you are sitting
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3D IMAX Technology
IMAX 3D technology is the most advanced 3D film technology in the world and is based on human vision. When you look at an object, each of your eyes sees a slightly different view. Through a process called "stereopsis" your brain brings the two views together into a single three dimensional image. The IMAX 3D projector uses Rolling Loop technology to run two separate rolls of film simultaneously past twin projection lenses. To enable the 3D effect, the lenses are carefully aligned to project both left and right eye views onto the giant screen. To see images in 3D, the audience wears either polarized glasses or a headset that includes electronic liquid-crystal shutter (E3D) glasses. While they have different technologies, both types of 3D glasses work with the IMAX 3D projector to provide stunning 3D images. Blockbuster IMAX Theater audiences wear E3D glasses. Two sets of shutters within the 3D projector switch back and forth at 96 times per second, to project alternate left and right eye images on the screen. During the presentation, E3D glasses sense a signal from the projector. In response to this signal, the left and right eye shutters in the glasses alternately open and close in conjunction with the projector shutters to make sure each eye sees the appropriate image, ultimately creating the 3D effect.