INTRODUCTION

IMAX is the largest and most exciting film format in the world. With crystal clear images, ten times larger than traditional cinema format, the IMAX experience draws you in with pictures so real you want to touch them, so powerful you can feel them.

The IMAX experience takes an image rich in clarity and definition, throws it onto the world's biggest screen and wraps the viewer in digital surround sound.

THE DIFFERENCE

Since the earliest days of cinema, film makers have realised that the bigger the image the greater the impact on the viewer.

Imagine the difference between watching a film at home on video and the same film at a normal 35 mm cinema. The film might be the same, but the experience couldn't be more different. Well consider the jump from traditional cinema to IMAX as a similar dramatic leap.

With IMAX 3D we then add, quite literally, a new dimension to the whole electrifying experience.

Using state-of-the-art electronic headsets, complete with infra red sensors to detect the left and right eye images, the IMAX 3D experience has brought 3D enjoyment a long way from the cardboard glasses of the 1950s.

Bigger images. Better sound. Sharper 3D. The IMAX experience is the future of film entertainment.

SIGHT AND SOUND

The screens in IMAX Theatres are the biggest in the world.

Up to eight storeys high, they are ten times larger than a traditional cinema screen and fill the whole field of human vision.

Made of stretched vinyl, coated with a reflective silver paint they are stretched taut over a scaffold frame.

With thousands of small perforations they allow sound from speakers positioned behind the screen to play their key role in the total surround sound system.

Sound is critical to the IMAX experience. The film soundtracks are delivered through a mighty 15,000 watt digital surround sound system manufactured by Sonics Associates Inc, one of the world leaders in sound system design.

The IMAX six channel, high fidelity, motion picture sound system with sub bass plays off three separate CDs each carrying two tracks.

To eliminate variations in volume and sound quality over the theatre seating area the Sonic Proportional Point Source Loudspeaker system, specifically designed for IMAX Theatres, is used to control sound.

PROJECTOR AND SCREEN

To project such large films IMAX have built the most advanced, high precision and powerful projectors.

IMAX films are shot and projected on 15 perforation/70mm film - the largest film format in existence. It is only possible to project these onto the huge screen because of the remarkable high definition and clarity of these film frames.

And it is these huge film frames that are at the heart of the IMAX experience. Three times larger than the traditional 70 mm cinemascope frames they have pushed the quality of motion picture images to new heights (quite literally).

The key to their superior performance and reliability is the unique ''Rolling Loop'' film movement. The Rolling Loop advances the film horizontally in a smooth, wave-like motion. During projection, each frame is positioned on a fixed registration point and the film is held firmly against the rear element of the lens by a vacuum. As a result, the picture and focus steadiness are far above normal standards and provide outstanding image clarity.

The powerful 3D projector uses two 15,000 watt bulbs (the average 35mm projector uses a bulb between 2,000 and 4,000 watts). The huge heat generated requires a dedicated cooling system that pumps 1,600 cubic metres of air and 36 litres of distilled water through the lamp housing every minute to keep the projector cool.

THE THIRD DIMENSION

If your idea of a 3D film is a pair of cheap cardboard glasses with green and red cellophane for lenses it's time to think again.

IMAX 3D is state-of-the-art technology and the electronic, lightweight headsets take the 3D film experience in a whole new direction.

3D technology is based on human vision. It mimics the way we see the real world. When you look at an object each eye sees a slightly different view and our brain fuses these together into a single 3D image.

The two lenses on the IMAX 3D camera roughly match the distance between our eyes and so each lens ''sees'' a slightly different view. The images are photographed onto two separate rolls of film - corresponding to a right eye and left eye image - which run simultaneously through the camera.

These two films are then alternately projected in the theatre. The shutters on the projector alternating between left and right images 96 times per second.

Infra red sensors in the headsets worn by viewers alternately switch off the left and right eye liquid crystal lenses in sync with the images projected, creating the illusion of three dimensions.

If the technology sounds impressive it is the experience which is truly awesome.