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This topic comprises 4 pages: 1 2 3 4
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Topic: TRON: LEGACY in IMAX3D/LIEMAX/15.70mm/RealD/UltraAVX Back2back2back2backt2back
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Frank Angel
Film God
Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 01-31-2011 02:08 PM
quote: Scott Jentsch
if I'm paying money for a movie that has more than one channel of sound, the theater better be delivering it.
this is true, BUT this has always been the burr under the saddle when it comes to conventional, commercial exhibition. There is a pretty wide range of presentation quality and what passes for the theatrical "norm." SMPTE might have standards; the exhibition industry abides by them quite loosely; what is considered acceptable has a very wide variance.
One's expectation may be of a certain size screen, certain minimal sound system configuration and general over-all presentation values, but the customer pretty much is on his own when he walks into any conventional theatre for the first time. You spend your money on a ticket and you pretty much can find a small 50 seat room or a 300 seat room -- no guarantees....no "ingredience list" posted on the label. You make mental notes as to whether or not that particular venue meets your expectations.
If the presentation is grossly below what Joe Moviegoer expects when he walks into a cinema, then he might be able to demand his money back, but this really gets into a very gray area of subjectivity. Rather than start an altercation with management about the fact that their screen isn't as big as one expected and thus warrants a refund, most people will just cross that theatre off their list and never go back. Although I must say, if I walked into a theatre and found they were playing a current film, no matter second or third of fifth run in mono sound, I damn well would demand my money back.
Point is, there will always be a range of screen sizes and other presentation values that one might expect to find in a conventional movie house. The difference with IMAX, of course, is that the expectation for all who have seen IMAX 15/70 for decades is, de facto, a 6 story plus high screen; the disappointment coming into a theatre that has IMAX on the marquee and finding something radically different than that is the big IMAX mistake. They should have differentiated the two "experiences" and made that difference clear from the get-go.
I don't think there would be nearly the brouhaha if IMAX didn't try to tell the public that a 6 story high screen with an Academy-sh aspect ratio is the same as a conventional size screen with a wide screen ar. You are looking at pokadots and the IMAX CEO is telling you with a straight face that you are looking at stripes. The public gets really pissed when they find out they are the recipient of Orwellian Double-Speak, especially when they are asked to pay extra for it.
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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 02-01-2011 03:52 PM
There is no differentiation between a mainstream movie playing in an IMAX Dome (Omnimax) screen, a 15/70 IMAX film screen, and an MPX IMAX Digital screen.
Not many mainstream movies play on IMAX Domes, but it happens. IMAX still does not differentiate between the large IMAX screens and the MPX conversions. At this point, one should assume that an "IMAX Experience" movie will be done with IMAX Digital, but that's not a universal fact yet.
With IMAX, you never know what you're going to get unless you are intimately familiar with the venue in advance. Which brings me to the following:
quote: Frank Angel
One's expectation may be of a certain size screen, certain minimal sound system configuration and general over-all presentation values, but the customer pretty much is on his own when he walks into any conventional theatre for the first time. You spend your money on a ticket and you pretty much can find a small 50 seat room or a 300 seat room -- no guarantees....no "ingredience list" posted on the label. You make mental notes as to whether or not that particular venue meets your expectations.
I agree completely, and it's the reason that I created the Theater Comments feature on The BigScreen Cinema Guide. It gives people a chance to share information about what they're going to get when they go to a particular theater.
We've gotten a good response from those who have left comments. In the past year and a half, I've only had to trash about a dozen comments that were useless or duplications.
I've been contributing as much information as I can. Here are two examples:
- Comments for Marcus Ridge Cinema - New Berlin, WI
- Comments for Showtime Cinema - Franklin, WI
The value of such a feature is completely dependent upon the comments that people submit, though. I welcome the participation of those that are here, as valuable comments set a good example and provide meaningful information to people attending those theaters.
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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover
Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 02-02-2011 02:08 AM
quote: Scott Jentsch
There is no differentiation between a mainstream movie playing in an IMAX Dome (Omnimax) screen, a 15/70 IMAX film screen, and an MPX IMAX Digital screen.
Not many mainstream movies play on IMAX Domes, but it happens. IMAX still does not differentiate between the large IMAX screens and the MPX conversions. At this point, one should assume that an "IMAX Experience" movie will be done with IMAX Digital, but that's not a universal fact yet.
They do. Over at IMAX.com, it says in the theatres section, IMAX 3D Theatres, IMAX Theatres, or IMAX Dome. There are colour coded for differentiation.
Under BLUE coloured IMAX 3D Theatre, it states found in a multiplex and they are either Digital or Film Retrofit 15/70 with sceen sizes 47x24 up to 74x54. (It makes clear these retrofit theatres)
Under Green coloured IMAX Theatre, it states, classic designed theatre in a purpose built building that allows a larger screen size. 15/70 with screen size 51x37 to 117x96.
Then there is Dome
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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 02-03-2011 03:35 PM
Tom,
I stand corrected, as I had not been to IMAX's theater tool since they added those indicators of IMAX 3D, IMAX, and IMAX Dome.
Unfortunately, IMAX's web site doesn't accurately differentiate between an IMAX screen that is MPX vs. the traditionally large screens.
A case in point is Regal Hacienda Crossings Stadium 21 & IMAX in California. The IMAX web site marks it with a blue marker, meaning that it is an "IMAX 3D Theatre" with either digital or film, that has a screen somewhere between 47' x 24' to 74' x 46', but according to LFExaminer, it has a screen measuring 55.8 x 76.4 feet, and as of 2009, it was using a GT film projector. That means (to me) that it is the traditional IMAX screen, but the way that IMAX.com is depicting it, one would think that it is nothing more than a typical MPX screen.
Even the Scotiabank IMAX that you attended, which has a screen on the order of "62.5 feet by 90 feet" is identified on the IMAX site as "IMAX 3D" so once again, there's no useful indication to the customer, except for whether that theater is capable of showing IMAX 3D, which is pretty obvious if you're looking at a movie called "TRON: Legacy An IMAX 3D Experience"
A quick check of other theaters known to be the larger variety are all marked with blue "3D" markers. In fact, there are very few theaters marked with the green icon that would designate a traditional IMAX screen.
And I think that is why people "jump" on IMAX, because IMAX is not differentiating the two types of IMAX Experiences that are possible. A little transparency would have gone a long way, and it would silence the critics, and provide valuable information to their customers. Instead, they continue to stand behind what many feel was a branding mistake, and that's why the wound gets opened up from time to time.
For my part, I dislike seeing mainstream movies blown up on the large IMAX screens, but I do appreciate the extra impact that the sound systems deliver (this is something that way too many theaters skimp on, either because of customer complaints, or because they won't invest in decent sound systems and the calibration thereof). I have been to the Lincolnshire IL IMAX and to the AMC IMAX's both in Milwaukee and Madison WI, and I do not feel compelled to pay the IMAX surcharge for the experience for most movies.
Getting back to your original back-to-back comparisons, that's the best way for someone to assess for themselves the value of each offering. Unfortunately, with all the surcharges, doing so would represent quite a tidy sum!
My impression is that Tron is a fairly dark movie, so I wonder what your impressions would be at those same theaters if they were playing something with brighter content? Plus, if 3D were taken out of the equation, one wonders how the results might change? Lots of variables, indeed!
With IMAX, UltraAVX, ETX, RPX, XD, and the like, it's unfortunate that marketing hype seems to overwhelm the real benefit of providing the best possible experience to the paying customer. It's much easier to advertise "wall to wall screens" than it is to brag about fully calibrated sound systems delivering symphony-quality audio, I guess...
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