Conference bookie::movies

    Hi, Blair
        Where is Omnimax?  I think it must use a lot of money (a lot..) to
    create Park same as in Screen.  And if it can be. I think it will be
    the greatest project of the world to do that.  Could you reply me what
    is the Omnimax.
                           Bye
                           Panuchat s.

    Omnimax is a form of movies. It combines a 180 degree screen with chair
    motions. The setup is usually seen at museums and observitories. The 
    films are usually some form of nature film. The virtual reality show
    in boston a few months ago had a version of robocop.
                          Jeff Peters    

  Bad acting in 180 degrees doesn't sound much better than bad acting on a
regular wide screen. I hope if they do it, they leave off the sound track.

  George

       
    
         Omnimax, as well as Imax, is a technology developed in Toronto.
    It uses 50mm film and the projector is on a hydraulic lift.  It
    projects the image not from the rear of the theatre, but from 
    the middle of the theatre and up through the floor.
    
         The Imax screen is a 20-30 foot high parabolic screen and looks
    much the same as any normal flat screen except larger.  The Omnimax,
    however, is very different.  The screen looks just like a huge
    satellite dish which is suspended above the audience.
    
         When watching films with this technology, it seems as if you
    are actually there.  I'm not kidding.  This stuff is so real, 
    before the movie you are warned if you become motion-sick, you
    should just close your eyes and the sickness should fade away.
    
         I've seen several films such as Titanica, Blue Planet, 
    Fires of Kuwait, and the Rolling Stones.  
    
         I've seen Jurassic Park in a normal theatre and I was impressed
    by the special effects which were larger than life.  This is why I
    am interested in the hope of seeing it again in Omnimax.
    
    Blair

    .2> Omnimax is a form of movies. It combines a 180 degree screen 
      > with chair motions.
        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    
    Not all of 'em--the Omni at the Museum of Science in Boston has 
    fixed chairs.  (The virtual reality show must have been held elsewhere; 
    a traveling Omni?!)
    
    Leslie

One of the things I like about the Omnimax theater (or the one at the Museum
of Science in Boston, anyways) is that, if you're sitting in the right spot,
the other seats are behind your peripheral vision ... so you can get really
lost in the movie %^} with no reference points other than what you're seeing
on the screen.

I saw a movie there once, consisting of footage shot from the space shuttle
... it was quite amazing.  

Missed seeing the Rolling Stones movie, though.  :^(

- DC

    .6> footage shot from the space shuttle... it was quite amazing.
    
    "The Blue Planet" - yes, it WAS amazing.  That experience has to be the
    closest thing to being on board!  And the sound system is fabulous.
    
    Leslie

    
    
        So, has anyone heard anything about J.P. being placed on Omnimax?
    I hear they're not going to film a whole new movie but simply transfer
    it to 50mm film.
    
        Any release dates?
    
    Blair

    
    I was under the impression that a film had to be filmed in 
    IMAX format to avoid distortion when it is projected on
    the IMAX screen.

    
    
       I spoke to one of the scientists,(a geologist) who went down 
    in one of the Russian subs to film Titanica.  They wanted to film 
    the movie in Omnimax, but couldn't because the camera was physically
    too large and would take up too much valuable space inside the 
    submersible.  This movie was then filmed in Imax.
    
       Whenever you see images from the space shuttle, it is usually filmed
    on an Imax camera.  Again, I believe they use Imax in the cockpit
    for the exact same reason.
    
       Not sure how they would perform the transfer from normal film
    to Omnimax.  It does sound like they would have to actually film
    it again to achieve the effect.
    
    Blair

    RE: .10  by 58379::STOODLEY 
    
    >I spoke to one of the scientists,(a geologist) who went down in one of
    >the Russian subs to film Titanica.  
    
    Titanica?  Russian subs?  What are you talking about?
    

    
    
         There is an Omnimax film called Titanica.  Two Russian-built
    submarines decended to the wreck of the Titanic a few years back
    I can't remember exactly when.  The Titanic (or what's left of it)
    is located approx. 200 nautical miles south west of Newfoundland.
    The depth is approx. 4 miles straight down.  These scientists 
    went down to completely map the ocean floor which contains the 
    wreckage.  Every part of the expedition was filmed in Imax.
    
         The gentleman which I spoke to was part of this expedition.
    His main goal as a Geologist was to retreive a core sample of the
    ocean floor at that depth and to bring it to the surface to analyze it.
    
         During the film, you could see how the Titanic is positioned on 
    the ocean floor and exactly how much damage is done.  The bow to the 
    bridge is still intact.  Everything else is scattered in bits and
    pieces approximately 3kms across the ocean floor.  They explained why
    this happened:  As the Titanic was sinking, it was taking on water
    from the bow because of the gargantuan tear caused by the iceberg.
    It sank very fast for its size which caused it to go down with large
    air pockets from mid - rear.  Survivors from the wreckage spoke of
    hearing loud low explosions from the sinking ship as they watched the
    lights sink beneath the waves.  These sounds were comming from
    the ship IMPLODING from the incredible pressure it was under.
    
        The Russian Subs were able to withstand the pressures at this depth
    because the main bubble which housed the scientists was made completely
    of titanium.
    
        If you ever get a chance to see this movie, see it because it is 
    as if you are sitting on the bow of the Titanic.  The clarity and 
    realism of this film is beyond belief.
    
        If you are wondering if they found any skeletons down there......
    they didn't.  Apparently, the calcium rich bone doesn't last very long
    down there.  It dissolves very quickly.  Also, anything made of wood
    will be quickly eaten away by the little critters.  They found what
    looked to be crates of wine however, the wood was gone but the bottles
    as well as the nails to hold the crates together were still there.
    
    I hope this explains a little about what I was referring to.
    
    Blair

    RE: .12  by 58379::STOODLEY 
    
    "Titanica"
    
    >I hope this explains a little about what I was referring to.
    
    Thanks, Blair, I'd only heard of the Ballard expedition and the French
    looters.  I'd be very interested in seeing this.  I hope it comes to
    the Boston Museum of Science Omnimax theater some time.
    

There are a few technical inaccuracies in some of the descriptions above,
but rather than go into them here, I'll just point to topic 229 as the
Omnimax/Imax topic.

- tom]

PS (I had to):  It's 70mm film, on edge, and I've never been in either 
an Omnimax or an IMax that had (intentionally) moving seats (and I've 
been in nearly a dozen of them).

    Cincinnati's Omnimax has fixed seats, and the Air Force Museum at
    Wright Patterson AFB (Dayton) has an Imax (fixed seats).
    
    I did get motion sick during "Ring of Fire", and I guess I missed
    Titanica, because I really wanted to see it...  bummer.

    
    
        Find your nearest Imax cinema to see if they still have 
    Titanica.
    

Most of the Imax films I've seen were photographed with the medium in mind.
They capitalized on panoramic views, open space, and wide angles/fields
of vision. I would think that most movies shot for the conventional flat
screen (including Jurassic Park) with indoor shots, facial closeups, etc.
would be unfit for the wide film/parabolic screen presentation. The
constant jumping back and forth from stuff fit for the medium to stuff
unfit for the medium would grow tedious and frustrating.

-Jack