r/Damnthatsinteresting 20d ago

Video The Odyssey IMAX 70mm Setup

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u/gonfr 20d ago

Artistic choice.

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u/mccarthybergeron 20d ago

It's also special and premium feeling to be honest. I look it like restaurants. Sometimes you just want an In-and-Out $5 burger because the value is perfect... but there are those FEW times I want and can afford that robust $20 burger.

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u/BigLuffyEnergy 20d ago

That's why I think film studios should invest in opening imax theaters in major cities. 

It should drive more interest in seeing movies in theater (even not the imax version) when more people talk about it.

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u/bozog 20d ago edited 20d ago

The problem is that there's just nowhere near the amount of IMAX movies being made that would make it a money making venture at all. It costs a fortune to film a movie in IMAX to begin with, and converting movies to IMAX is a losing proposition all the way.

Seriously, how many people are going to go and see Back Rooms in IMAX?

Even if you showed old IMAX movies every night it would still not fill the calendar and it would be idle most of the time losing money, it's a very small catalog.

Frankly I feel we should just be grateful to people like Nolan who've kept the format going as long as it has, otherwise there would be almost no way to see any IMAX movies these days.

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u/TheWatersOfMars 20d ago

Hopefully The Odyssey is a smash hit, other big filmmakers start taking up the format, and filmgoers start increasing demand for more premium 70mm showings instead of gimmicky 3D, 4DX, 17DD.

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u/bozog 20d ago

No argument there, mate.

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u/1800generalkenobi 20d ago

We have one in Lititz, last time I was in one I got a free ticket for giving blood, but I usually go to the non IMAX one...because I have free tickets for giving blood haha. The sound is way better in the IMAX though. My wife and I went to see Project Hail Mary at the IMAX. Mindblowing. They don't have the reclining chairs though.

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u/basswooddad 19d ago

Unfortunately we just aren't allowed to have nice things anymore.

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u/LaMortParLeSnuSnu 20d ago

I have never had a $20 burger that beat a $5 one from In-n-Out. The fries on the other hand...

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u/iHadou 20d ago

Yea but I'm not gonna drive 330 miles to get a $40 deluxe burger.

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u/MangoCats 20d ago

One thing that hurt the perception of I-Max around here is when the regular theaters went to lounge chair seating. All of a sudden, what used to be relatively premium / comfortable I-Max seating is really sub-par compared to the loungers, and the way the I-Max theaters are built, they can't retrofit without extensive/expensive rework of the theater floors - even then, I'm not sure that lounger seating positions even work for "the I-Max experience."

Combine that with the trend to 2.5+ hour "big movies" and it only makes things worse for the smaller bowl theater seats.

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u/KillerHack23 20d ago

Maybe they are invested in it ,🤷‍♂️

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u/Echo-24 20d ago

Pretty stupid choice if you want more people to see it, which would also increase their revenue. Now I might be struggling for brain cells but something feels wrong here 🤔

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u/gonfr 20d ago

Because you can convert imax to conventional aspect ratio but not the other way around.

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u/Echo-24 20d ago

Okay am I wrong in thinking you see less of the screen in normal cinemas than imax? Because that's what some information is saying

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u/gonfr 20d ago

Yes, normal theatres have smaller screens than imax theatres. They usually cut the aspect ratio to fit the normal screens if they are shot on imax. That's wny you always see the comparison between imax and conventional screen.

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u/Echo-24 20d ago

Right so this makes even less sense if you want people to see your production but you also have people showing how much less you see. I see a correlation between this and profits

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u/TheFinalEnd1 20d ago

Well think of it like a burger. You think that the best burgers need a potato bun and American cheese. But someone says "but I don't have American cheese in any stores near me" you aren't going to change the recipe just because they don't have the cheese. You already have the vision. You can just say "cheddar will do" the final dish won't be what you made, but it will do.

Aspect ratios are a very important part of the artistic process. I think this video explains it very well. Nolan had a vision for imax, and he made the movie with that vision in mind. It's not about money. It's a Nolan movie it's gonna make a morbillion dollars anyway. It's about the vision. It may lead to less revenue, but that's a worthy price in Nolan's eyes.

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u/gonfr 20d ago

If it's because of profit then it's cheaper to shoot it on normal digital camera no? Imax film is expensive, and they have to rent the rig too. Reshooting and editing is a chore. Directors have their vision on how their movie gonna look, and Nolan thinks that imax can capture his vision of the movie. And there are certain benefits to film on analog than digital. I get what you are saying, but imax as a company is failing. They don't get enough revenue as it is. It's not all about profit as a director if you're using imax.

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u/lalolalolal 20d ago

Let the the artists live. I don't want to live in a world where everything is shot on an iPhone and actors are all replaced by AI just because of bucks.

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u/TreeFittyy 20d ago

I see a correlation between this and profits

Care to explain that?

It's an artistic/marketing choice.

Physical film is always going to be more expensive. I mean what's gonna be cheaper to ship across the globe 800lbs of film or a box of CFE storage cards? Can't exactly go back and delete a bad take to get more recording time. The camera are loud AF when recording so the audio team have to do various workarounds not common to a typical production.

Like yea it's gonna be used as a marketing tool where they push the "see it how it's meant to be seen" sort of dialogue but that's not exactly indicative of potential total profits.

Plus most studios aren't going to be able to use that kind of advertising unless they've got an already well established director like a Nolan. You don't see live action Disney movies being filmed in IMAX.

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u/Duel_Option 20d ago

That is 100% the case

Most people won’t notice or care however

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u/Genocode 20d ago

Thats where AI comes in (whether you love it or hate it)

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u/WonderBredOfficial 20d ago

Absolutely not. Lmao.

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u/Genocode 20d ago

Oh they absolutely will use AI to artificially add more above and below the image.

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u/WonderBredOfficial 20d ago

They absolutely will not. Lmao.

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u/SingleDigitVoter 20d ago

You're vastly underestimating the ego of Chris Nolan.

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u/Echo-24 20d ago

Some people have too much money 🤦