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Topic: RealD enters into size contest with Imax

Victor Liorentas
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 800
From: london ontario canada
Registered: May 2009

posted 07-05-2013 11:02 AM

YES I agree! It's a big (like Michael Bay is in charge) mess!

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Aaron Garman
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1470
From: Toledo, OH USA
Registered: Mar 2003

posted 07-05-2013 12:24 PM

This is why I wish something akin to THX was still around and relevant: a standard seal of approval that a particular cinema has met certain criteria for showing films in the most optimal way, and without charging a higher than normal ticket price.

Sadly, the only reason these "premium" experiences are selling is because the uninformed populace has bought the marketing BS hook, line, and sinker.

The only premium experience still actually worth an extra price is a 15/70 IMAX presentation of a native 15/70 feature.

It's almost as if the market is ripe for someone to bring order to the chaos. Anyone want to help me fund such an endeavor? [Smile]

AJG

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 07-05-2013 01:53 PM

I'd be in favor of bringing back the THX concept and doing it right -which translates into not certifying a lot of theaters who fall under the bar.

Unfortunately it would take a movie theater circuit going the extra mile to do sound and projection right as well as be willing to hammer that over the heads of their competitors.

It would also demand the general public wise up about these things rather than blindly pay a few dollars of up charge on amenities like great projection and sound quality that should have been included in the standard ticket price.

Basically I don't like these premium priced theaters. Much of what they're selling is not worth the up-charge. And it makes the "standard" theaters seem even more badly designed and maintained.

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Marcel Birgelen
Film God

Posts: 3357
From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2012

posted 07-06-2013 01:12 PM

quote: Frank Angel
The immersive experience as it's call is nothing new (just newly coined nomenclature); it's been around since three panel Cinerama. And you are right Marcel, it really is simply a matter of sitting so the screen fills most of your vision. That has always been the way I watch movies since I first saw THIS IS CINERAMA when I was a kid; THAT was immersive (times 3) and ever since I try to get an approximation of that same effect by sitting where my peripheral vision pretty much included the far right and left sides of the screen...any screen in any theatre. Sit in the back rows and you might as well be watching a 19in TV set in some of these multiplex boxes. And, if I venture out to see a movie in a cinema, I know which houses have decent presentation, a decent size screen and brightness. And I ALWAYS go at the tail-end of a run after the unwashed have lost their fleeting interest in it, and I go on a Monday or Tuesday night for the last show -- then I don't need reserved seats...I pick wherever I want. Other than that, they can have their "experience."

It always amazes me how the back rows of ANY theater are commonly the first ones to fill up... Even in those Digital IMAX houses, people tend to cluster at the back of the theater...

Maybe my vision has not yet deteriorated enough, but the shift to digital has haunted me for quite some time now, since getting close to the screen now usually gives ugliness, unless you're watching at a 4K picture. The 4K actually even helps for 2K content, not seeing this ugly screen door effect actually helps a lot.

quote: Bobby Henderson
It didn't always cost extra to sit in a balcony.

At least in Europe, tiered pricing for seat locations has been around as long as I remember. In Germany, even multiplexes have tiered pricing in almost all theaters. Luckily, you usually pay more for the seats further in the back [Wink]

.

Tiered pricing for *special deluxe screenings* is something relatively new, but is also fast approaching around here. Some are going the IMAX route, others are inventing their own *special bullshit label*.

quote: Bobby Henderson
I'd be in favor of bringing back the THX concept and doing it right -which translates into not certifying a lot of theaters who fall under the bar.

One of the biggest problems of THX was that it always did a bad job at explaining itself. Most people thought (and still think) of it as some kind of sound system, not as a "seal of approval".

But I'm in favor of bringing back some well understood and well-known "seal of approval" that also covers all aspects of Digital Cinema and modern digital sound formats. It's important that it has a catchy name, some cool trailers and a nice logo though. Maybe we should start a new initiative right here? [Razz]

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Claude S. Ayakawa
Film God

Posts: 2738
From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 07-06-2013 02:51 PM

Frank, like you, I also love 3-D and agree with you about it not going away. All the previous 3-D formats died only because movies were shown in 3-D only in specially equipped theatres. Movies can be shown today in the same auditorium in 3-D and 2-D and that is a excellent compromise and good for everyone.

I do not care too much for animated movies as well as the low budget horror and action films released in 3-D and have avoided seeing them but have enjoyed big films like THE LIFE OF PI, HUGO, THE GREAT GATSBY and 2-D films converted into 3-D like JURASSIC PARK and TITANIC. It is unfortunate some recent big budget films like THE MAN OF STEEL and other action hero films did not utilize good post production 3-D conversion making more people dislike the format even more. Despite seeing many poorly post converted 3-D films, I will still continue to choose 3-D if I had a choice with movies offered in both formats because I know some of them will be great.

-Claude

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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003

posted 07-08-2013 12:19 PM

quote: Bobby Henderson
Basically I don't like these premium priced theaters. Much of what they're selling is not worth the up-charge. And it makes the "standard" theaters seem even more badly designed and maintained.

I think what ends up being the case is that the "standard" theaters in the same building as the premium theaters are badly designed and maintained. If the theater can't get the premium theater right, they certainly aren't getting the smaller screens right, because they are chasing the money that the larger screen is attracting.

If they aren't getting the big one right, the small ones are really done wrong, so people are almost forced into choosing the least crappy option.

Excellent moviegoing experiences have to come from the top as part of the company's mission. Individual theaters in a chain of any size only have so much ability to control what is delivered to the audience. Granted, that shouldn't be minimized, as they can do a whole lot to make the best of a theater equipped with mediocre equipment, but if the company doesn't maintain the equipment and the facility through calibration and repairs, their efforts can only go so far.

A theater chain could shake up the business by establishing a set of standards for presentation and customer service that is above and beyond what others provide. Then brag about it to no end, and have the fortitude to keep it up over the long haul.

Independents could do it, too, but its impact would be limited to just their single geographic area. However, they could band together to establish a set of standards, give it a name that can be marketed, and then leverage that against the competition.

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