the definition of IMAX

IMAX is a motion picture film format and projection standard created by the Canadian IMAX Corporation. The Company’s activities include the design, leasing, marketing, maintenance and operation of IMAX film and digital theatre systems as well as the development, production, post production and distribution of IMAX motion pictures.

IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than most conventional film systems. A standard IMAX screen is 22 × 16.1 m (72 × 52.8 ft), but can be larger. IMAX theatres are described as either "Classic Design," (Purpose-built structures designed to house an IMAX theatre) or "Multiplex Design." (Existing multiplex auditoriums that have been retrofitted with IMAX technology). The world's largest cinema screen (and IMAX screen) is in the LG IMAX theatre in Sydney, New South Wales and also in Hyderabad, India at Prasads IMAX theater . It is approximately 8 stories high, with dimensions of 35.73 × 29.42 m (117.2 × 96.5 ft) and covers an area of more than 1,015 m² (10,930 sq ft).

IMAX is the most widely used system for special-venue film presentations. As of December 2009^[update], there were more than 400 IMAX theatres in over 40 countries. IMAX Corporation has released four projector types that use its 15-perforation, 70mm film format: GT (Grand Theatre), GT 3D (dual rotor), SR (Small Rotor), and MPX, which was designed to be retrofitted in existing multiplex theatres. In July 2008, the company introduced a digital projection system, which it has not given a distinct name or brand, designed for multiplex theatres with screens no wider than 21.3 m (70 ft). All IMAX projectors, except the standard GT system, can project 3D images.

Most IMAX theatres have flat, rectangular screens, but IMAX Dome theatres, formerly branded as OMNIMAX, use a GT projector with a fish-eye lens to project an image on a tilted hemispheric dome screen. Imax also has a special simulator technique which uses seat movement/vibration at specific points in the film.

History of IMAX

The desire to increase the visual impact of film has a long history. In 1929, Fox introduced Fox Grandeur, the first 70 mm movie format, but it quickly fell from use. In the 1950s, CinemaScope (introduced in 1953) and VistaVision (1954) widened the image projected from 35 mm film, and there were multi-projector systems such as Cinerama (1952) for even wider presentations. While impressive, Cinerama was difficult to set up, and the seams between adjacent projected images were difficult to hide.

The IMAX system was developed by Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, Robert Kerr, and William C. Shaw.

During Expo 67 in Montreal, Kroitor's In the Labyrinth and Ferguson's Man and the Polar Regions both used multi-projector, multi-screen systems. Each encountered a number of technical difficulties that led them to found a company, initially called "Multiscreen", with a primary goal of designing and developing a simpler approach. The single-projector/single-camera system they eventually settled upon was designed and built by Shaw, based upon a novel "Rolling Loop" film-transport technology purchased from the Australian inventor Ronald Jones. Later, when it became clear that a single, large-screen image had far more impact than multiple smaller ones, Multiscreen changed its name to IMAX.

Tiger Child, the first IMAX film, was demonstrated at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. The first permanent IMAX system was set up in the Cinesphere at Ontario Place in Toronto in 1971, and is still in operation. During Expo '74 in Spokane, Washington, a very large IMAX screen that measured 90 × 65 m (300 × 213 ft) was featured in the US Pavilion (the largest structure in the expo). About 5 million visitors viewed the screen, which covered a person's total field of vision when looking directly forward. This easily created a sensation of motion for nearly everyone, and motion sickness in a few viewers. However, it was only a temporary screen for the six-month duration of the Expo. An IMAX 3D theatre also is in operation near the former Expo 67 site at the "Montreal Science Centre" in the Port of Old Montreal.

The first permanent IMAX Dome installation, the Eugene Heikoff and Marilyn Jacobs Heikoff Dome Theater at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, opened in San Diego's Balboa Park in 1973. It doubles as a planetarium. The first permanent IMAX 3D theatre was built in Vancouver, British Columbia for Transitions at Expo '86, and was in use until 30 September 2009. It was located at the tip of Canada Place, a Vancouver landmark.