Dark Knight Rises IMAX on a Dome? No!!!

When Is IMAX a buzzkill?

This post generates this post:

http://collider.com/dark-knight-rises-imax-theaters/180944/

I've heard buzz about people who, wanting to get the most immersive movie going experience, are laying down their money for tickets to an IMAX theater to see Batman: Dark Knight Rises. There have even been specific reviews for the IMAX version, such as this New York Times article. Big-screen IMAX is certainly a thrilling experience.  I once saw a NASA Shuttle mission lift-off on IMAX that literally moved me to tears.

But not all IMAX are equal, and not all IMAX films are created for all IMAX theaters.  The distinction is especially acute when you consider the "dome" IMAX theaters.  To the point: Before you buy movie tickets for the San Jose Tech Museum, browse this thread:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-hackworth-imax-dome-theater-san-jose
 

Note there are "1-star" and "5-star" reviews. And not just the usual Yelp 'haters' nor trolls. The difference between the experiences can almost always be attributed to the specific film they went to see. Sadly, this correlates inversely to their expecations of said experience.

Few seem to touch on or know the difference about these IMAX theaters, and their expectations are out of sorts and they are frequently disappointed in the movie, but it is usually not the fault of the film (whether you like the story of latest Dark Knight or not withstanding).  The fault lies with the distributor to use an inappropriate projection system used for the film. More cynically, the true root of the problem is distributors trying to draw an audience wanting to get the most out of a special film experience which is the problem.

All IMAX is not IMAX is not OMNIMAX.

It can be confusing when trying to find out if seeing an IMAX movie at the Hackworth Dome is going to be really great or really horrible.  Usually this is because people around the web are talking about something very different, about types of IMAX that don’t even involve a dome. Notice, for example, even in this posting from Chris Nolan fans where they don’t talk about the difference between dome and flat screens, but if you were thinking “True” IMAX was the Domed version, it could be misleading. Here, as in most all of the posts I've read around the web, they’re not talking about dome vs. flat, they’re talking about BIG IMAX and “semi-IMAX”.

It could very well that most people don’t know about domed IMAX theaters, because they’re actually pretty rare.

So what’s the difference and why does it make a difference?

First let me tell you I have some background in this.  I was an associate of the American’s Cinematographers Society (ASC) when I was in film school back in the 1970s and early 80s. Studying film formats and production techniques was part of the curriculum.  And yeah, it goes back that far.  The original was  “OMNIMAX”. It was the dome version; the flat version actually came later. The company (Canadian) branched out to flat screens, called them “IMAX”, then renamed the domed ones for brand identity.  They are NOT the same, and the only reason they’re showing regular release Hollywood movies on the dome is because (I suppose) people mistakenly think it will be a better experience than seeing it on a regular flat screen. It really isn’t, it’s much worse.  It is sad that the dome theaters [nearly always at museums] do this for the money, but that’s another issue.

Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX#IMAX_variations

“...uses films shot with a camera equipped with a fisheye lens on the camera

that squeezes a highly distorted 180° field of view onto the 65 mm IMAX film.”

Now, read this about the IMAX flat screens: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX#Theatre   (same page, pgf above).

To see a movie in the Dome (which is what is at the Tech Museum), the movie must be shot (as said above) with special “Dome” or “Fisheye” lenses and can’t be shown on a regular screen.  It would literally appear as a circle on the square screen. The reverse, with the flat IMAX (big) image being shown on the dome happens, because the projection equipment is compatible and the theaters can make some more money, especially on big box office hits. But it is a HORRIBLE experience.   Imagine shooting a video projector picture on the inside of half of a Yoga balance ball.  The edges would be all distorted. if you were sitting close to the middle, you would have to look side to side to see what was happening.  Close-ups would look grossly distorted.  Horizontal lines bend.

Here are some professionals talking about dome vs. flat projections.

I can tell you from personal exposure, that it is an unhappy experience that will give you a headache and literally ruins a good movie. Now, I can also tell you that I saw Avatar and Tron 2 on the (semi-) IMAX at AMC Vallco (both happened to be in 3D) and they were great experiences. I also saw movie of a Space Shuttle launch on a large (“true”) IMAX screen at Cape Canaveral and also at Paramount Great America in Santa Clara. They were great.   I’ve seen dome movies at the Tech, the “Climbing Mount Everest” and “The Great Barrier Reef” and they were AMAZINGLY good.  Like, after seeing the Everest movie I thought, “Okay, cross that off the bucket list, I don’t have to climb Everest now!”

Sincerely,  I want everyone to have a good time.  I’ve seen the Dark Knight Rises, and can well imagine what it will look like on the dome. The outdoor sequences overlooking the  city or flying will be interesting on the dome, but all the sequences with dialog, with a couple of people on the screen, up close, will look only bizarre and cartoonish.

So you don’t think it’s just me, here’s a reddit post. Talking about (though missing the dome/flat IMAX distinction) the same thing.

Almost everything you read on the web is contrasting the "semi-", “fake” or “upgraded” flat-screen IMAX theaters (also called “LieMax”) to real *but also flat*  screen true IMAX screens.   The Dublin Regal Cinemas,  Lowes Metreon in San Francisco Yerba Buena park, and one more in Fresno  are the only true IMAX flat-screens around the Bay Area. 

That said, the “IMAX” (lie-max, whatever) screens at Mercado and Vallco are pretty good, at least as entertaining as the Century 21’s big/wide screen, and a lot better than many of the smaller “shoebox” theaters.  That said, if you sit close, they’re all pretty much the same.  Holding my iPad on my lap with a HiDef movie is about the same as watching it on a 46” screen in Blu-Ray on the other side of the room. 

Of course, in the theater the sound is better (is it?) but that's another post.

And then there's the issue of shooting in IMAX, producing an IMAX print or digital distribution, and what does that mean, really.  Look at the link that opened this blog entry, and see that "over one hour of The Dark Knight Rises was shot with an IMAX camera".  Soooo... when you mix/match IMAX with 35mm...what? You downsample the IMAX? You upsample the 35mm? You can switch scenes and see an immediate change in resolution, depth of color?  Well, perhaps.  It gets complicated, too much so to conflate it all with the dome issue, which is really the point of this.