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Topic: Spiderman in Imax?

James B. Openshaw
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 106
From: Mt. Pleasant, SC, USA
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 07-27-2004 07:43 PM

Blotches.

Edit: These one frame blotches appear about .5-1 seconds after a splice goes through.

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Will Currie
Film Handler

Posts: 19
From: WINTER PARK, FL, USA
Registered: Jul 2004

posted 07-27-2004 09:14 PM

How do they make prints for DMR films? Is it some kind of laser printing?

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Dick Vaughan
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1032
From: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 07-28-2004 04:57 AM

So they started crap coding IMAX prints now [Confused]

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James B. Openshaw
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 106
From: Mt. Pleasant, SC, USA
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 07-28-2004 08:22 AM

Dick, I doubt that the green misshaped blotches on the screen are CAP code (I'm calling it CAP code at least once to not offend Mr. Pytlak [Smile]

), but I did catch one flash of a series of black patterned dots that could very well be CAP code on the print but I forget exactly where in the movie that I found it.

Will, I don't know the exact details on how IMAX DMR transfers the images from computer to 15/70 but I don't think it was done on laser printing. My guess is that it was processed by DKP70mm in California (or at least the duplicated release prints were) by usual computer-to-film transfer. I'm sure someone else here has more insight.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 07-28-2004 12:44 PM

Facilities at DKP 70mm in Santa Monica, California:

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m4PRN/2000_May_12/62056516/p1/article.jhtml

quote:
IMAX Consolidates Los Angeles Units At New Facility In Santa Monica.
PR Newswire, May 12, 2000

Brentwood Offices and Culver City Post-Production Operations

Move to Expanded Westside Site

SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 12 /PRNewswire/ --

Imax Corporation (Nasdaq: IMAX; Toronto: IMX) has consolidated its Los Angeles operations into new facilities within the westside's media-oriented Lantana Center complex at 3003 Exposition Boulevard. The structure is the new home of various Imax subsidiaries and operating units which had previously been located in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles and in Culver City, as well as several units of the Company that had not before had a West Coast presence.

"This new building brings all of our Los Angeles-based personnel under one roof. It also makes it easier for filmmakers to make large-format movies by having the most modern 15/70 post- production and projection facilities on the planet available to them in a comfortable, modern, convenient setting," said Imax co-CEOs Brad Wechsler and Rich Gelfond. "This is very important to us at a time when we are expanding our presence in the Los Angeles film community."

Designed to reflect Imax's modern and technologically progressive culture, the building contains three IMAX(R) screening rooms -- one of which is a fully-equipped 46-seat state-of-the-art IMAX 3D presentation theatre with E3D headsets and the latest generation, full-sized SONICS sound system. The other screening rooms -- one an IMAX theatre and the other an IMAX 3D SR theatre -- are used primarily for viewing production dailies and for product quality control by the Company's post-production arm, DKP 70MM Inc.

The building also features an 11,000-square-foot temperature and humidity controlled negative and film storage vault, as well as rooms for full negative cutting, film cleaning and photoguarding services. On premises equipment includes a 30-perf optical printer, scanners, two Avid bays, a Steinbeck and 35mm projection equipment for viewing print down dailies. The Santa Monica office of HLW International LLP designed the building and its interior.

Moving from Culver City is David Keighley Productions 70MM Inc., an award-winning post-production image and quality control facility that is responsible for post-production on 80% of today's large-format films. The Brentwood contingent includes Film Production, Film Marketing, Film Operations, Theatre System Marketing and Sponsorships. New to the Los Angeles offices are support personnel representing Human Resources, Information Systems and Finance.

The office will also house representatives of two Imax subsidiaries: Sonics, which develops, manufactures and installs sound systems for giant-screen IMAX theatres worldwide, and Digital Projection International, a leading developer and manufacturer of projectors used in high-end digital image delivery applications.

Imax Corporation's new Los Angeles office is located at 3003 Exposition Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90404. Telephone: 310-255-5500. Fax: 310-255-5501.

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Brian Michael Weidemann
Expert cat molester

Posts: 944
From: Costa Mesa, CA United States
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 07-28-2004 08:53 PM

It seems rather unfair. I've spoken to David Keighley several times, met him a couple ... they're basically right up the street (well, not that close, but quite local nonetheless). Yet we always seem to be the LAST ones to receive prints (along with Ontario and Valencia). Whereas King of Prussia gets theirs a week in advance, we received Harry Potter and Spiderman less than 48 hours respectfully before they opened. A 40 reel movie takes a bit of time to fully assemble and screen (and adding and synching up trailers is even more time!), and we can't do it during a normal business day, unless we cancel shows. This is middle of the night territory, this is.

Enough with this last minute stuff! [Smile]

I want my prints EARLY, darnit! It's all DKP70mm's fault. (And handling post on 80% of the world's large format product is NO EXCUSE! [Razz]

)

quote: James B. Openshaw
These one frame blotches appear about .5-1 seconds after a splice goes through.

I'm thinking, if these blotches occur in the same spot every reel, it could have been poor technique during the assembly process. For instance, while splicing, a sharp corner of the table could have scraped an area of film several frames away, relative to the splice. That emulsion can scrape away quite easily ... especially if one isn't paying attention to where the film is dangling when splicing or winding up. Just a thought.

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Bob Brown
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 146
From: Grand Rapids, MI
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 07-28-2004 09:26 PM

Brian, Have you asked Keighley if you could be your own currier?

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Brian Michael Weidemann
Expert cat molester

Posts: 944
From: Costa Mesa, CA United States
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 07-28-2004 09:44 PM

No, but that would just be extra work for me, I think. We get our prints sent "Same Day". It's because we're so close that we CAN get our prints same day ... that's the reason we're the last to get 'em. Irvine used to get print #1 or #2 of things. Now we get #49 or #61, or something like that. It makes sense that they'll worry about getting prints across country first and down the street last. I'm just playing up the bitter a bit. [Big Grin]

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James B. Openshaw
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 106
From: Mt. Pleasant, SC, USA
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 07-29-2004 05:32 PM

Brian, first off, I didn't build the print. Second, the way we build the print, the film isn't in a position where it rubs up against any sharp edges of the table when we splice. We build all reels onto 2 60 min. platters and then send them onto the 150 platter.

To clarify, which I apparently didn't do in one of my earlier posts (my apologies for that), I noticed this blotch happened once after that splice I mentioned earlier. I've seen them during other times of the film but I don't know if they followed a splice.

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Will Currie
Film Handler

Posts: 19
From: WINTER PARK, FL, USA
Registered: Jul 2004

posted 08-02-2004 12:19 PM

I've heard from a few people that this weekend had a good amount of sold out shows (NYC for example). Can you guys confirm that attendance seemed better this weekend than last?

Wonder if word of mouth is helping make up for IMAX's lack of PR?

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

Posts: 9532
From: Toronto Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 99

posted 08-02-2004 12:44 PM

Just a small note I have never had an issue with any film that I have recieved from DKP I have always found there work to be top notch now that other post production group is a different story

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Mark Lensenmayer
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1605
From: Upper Arlington, OH
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 08-02-2004 09:24 PM

I saw SPIDERMAN 2 in the local Marcus Imax today. The picture was very crisp and clean. Sound was also very good. There was very little visible grain. Image was very bright and solid.

Not a good day at the Marcus Imax. While walking across the already too dark aisle, the house lights dimmed out (5 minutes before start time). It was impossible to see in the dark, and very uncomfortable, as my wife couldn't see me 2 feet away from her.

ALso, the lamp shut down about 2/3 through the picture. We again sat in the dark for 3-4 minutes, then the house lights came up. After another minute or two, the operator announced that he would try to have the picture fixed in 5 minutes or so. The picture came back one the screen just as predicted and in sync. Nice recovery job by the operator. No passes were offered, nor any management staff apparent in the lobby after the show.

This was a nice experience, but I'm not sure it was worth a $12 ticket.

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Will Currie
Film Handler

Posts: 19
From: WINTER PARK, FL, USA
Registered: Jul 2004

posted 08-03-2004 06:35 AM

Mark,
Sounds like you had a really bad experience there... in the future do you think that you will opt for the DMR showing over the 35mm one?

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Mark Lensenmayer
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1605
From: Upper Arlington, OH
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 08-03-2004 09:14 AM

This was my first bad experience after many, many excellent ones at the Marcus Crosswoods Imax. I think it was just a bad day in the booth. Stuff happens, although there were some pretty unhappy audience members who said they would never come to another Imax presentation.

As a long time Imax fan (back to 1974 or 75 when Imax projector #3 went into Cedar Point amusement park) I plan on seeing whatever films they show there, although I've heard that they are planning on pulling out of the Imax business. The Imax room would work nicely as one of their UltraScreen theatres.

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Dan Suomi
Film Handler

Posts: 53
From: Aurora/Oswego, IL
Registered: Jul 2004

posted 08-03-2004 11:36 AM

I have heard that the Marcus is closing 2 IMAX theatre's. One in Chicago area and the other at Crossroads. I wouldn't be suprised thet they do convert it to an Ultra Screen.

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