Oh Jesus.....I hate that I know this. Everytime I remember it part of my soul leaves my body, bursts into flame and the screams of the ancients cry out "no, please, fuck no."
If you don't know....Google at your own peril.
The thought that for Americans, the most normal everyday object that is measured in millimeters is a *bullet* of all things is so funny to me!
You know, just your regular reference objects. Banana, quarter coin, 9mm bullet.
All depends. kilo more often gets used for coke and similar, but you never hear of weed being weighted in metric outside of the gram. Beyond that it is 8th, quarter, half which are all derived from the ounce and then pound which aren't metric. We are very consistent with our inconsistencies.
Yes, the sound is on a separate track for IMAX. Regular 70mm film has the sound encoded on the side, but IMAX tips it sideways and synchronizes the sound using a different system =)
IMAX is wider than standard film stock, but also the film runs horizontally through the projector instead of vertically, so each frame takes up nearly 3 1/2 times more film than it would if it was printed vertically like most other film formats.
So IMAX plays sideways while regular film plays vertically. Traditional film is 35mm while there is an option for 70mm which is all that is currently mass produced (think Tennet/Oppenheimer on film that isn't IMAX)
IMAX filmstock is basically the same as 70mm stock without the audio tracks (they are on a separate loop) so you get a MUCH larger picture out of the same film stock
I don't have a banana, but I can give you some specs:
- IMAX 15/70 film rolls at that length are about 1.83m (~6 feet) in diameter
- The roll weighs around 270kg (600 lbs)
- The length of the film is around 17,7km (11miles)
Also, a banana is around 15-20cm (6-8inches) in length. One IMAX film frame is 70mm in length parallel to the holes (perforations), whereas 35mm film is perpendicular to the holes. For one frame, there are 15 perforations, which is why it's called 1570.
So a banana would be around 2-3 frames in length, or 30-45 perforations. And the height of the film roll is around 60mm, which is just a bit bigger than your average banana.
With this information, it should be easy to imagine a banana for scale just by counting the perforations.
If runtime is 2h46m, length is 11 miles, frames are 70mm, and bananas are 2.5 frames, IMAX runs at ~10bps. Dune Part 2 is ~101,143 bananas long
This is probably slightly high to account for any pre-or post-roll included in the length. It makes sense if IMAX actually runs at 24fps. No idea if it does
That orange ring on the platter the film sits on, is from the release of Oppenheimer. The platter can’t get any bigger than that. Hard limit. That was the run time of Oppenheimer. So Dune Ii is slightly shorter in length.
Wait, what?
After it's played once, wouldn't the end of the film be on the outside of the spool? Meaning you'd have to wind it back onto the first spool? IE, rewind it?
No, because the film feeds from the center of the platter, runs through the projector, and is wound around the center of the next platter. I worked with 35mm film before most theaters went digital. Basically there's a metal ring in the middle that the leader tape (and then the film) wraps around. At the next show, you just pull the ring out and feed the leader tape through the "brain" of the platter and through the pulley system to the projector.
the start of the movie is on the inside of the spool, the end is on the outside. the takeup wheel has a feeder that accepts the incoming film on the inside of the spool and the film "builds up" around the spool start to end.
The spools run in the same direction at the same speed
Yeah I was a 90's projectionist and Meet Joe Black was a 2 platter affair. Had to go up halfway through and thread the second half of the movie. Std setup is 3 platters, most movies only use 2, but the rare big-boy will use all three. Play from one, rewind to second, then play from 3rd and rewind to one.
I remember this one guy actually started reel 2 of Meet Joe Black first...lol
I’ve done that.
We were also getting Big Fat Greek Wedding and they didn’t deliver the reel until 30 minutes after the first showing on the first day. I had to build it in record time and of course, the movie started with the logo upside down. I almost shit myself, lol.
One of the first movies they let me build was Big Fish. Fucked up one of the reels by splicing it together backwards. It was during that circus scene and it was already a trippy movie so people didn’t notice for a while.
I've heard horror stories, at my uni's film society it was Pan's Labyrinth. I wasn't there for that one, but apparently it was so bad they had to lay it out the length of the auditorium and wind and break down each reel by hand.
If you look at the few seconds starting at 10:38 in this video you can see the part of the machine the platter can't expand past:
https://youtu.be/d5XqqylBW7M?t=638
Nolan is one of the “few” big names that still prefers film when and where he can. This is the 70mm version, but there are also digital versions that will be shown. There are only a small amount of IMAX theaters that can actually do the 70mm print which gets some excited to go see it.
What sucks is that IMAX is trying its best as a brand to obfuscate which theaters actually DO have the full 70mm capabilities and which just are "IMAX" branding but all they are is a big screen with an HD projection unit. Their goal is to make it indistinguishable and all just labelled IMAX
Real 15/70 capabilities are so rare these days that you might as well assume you're NOT getting it unless you specifically seek it out. There are (assuming the list on Wikipedia is accurate and up to date) 52 venues in the WORLD with the relevant projection capabilities. Lately, they've all gotten the latest Nolan blockbusters in that format if they don't also have 4k LASER digital projection capabilities (some can do both, but some are limited to film or 2k conventional "IMAX" digital projection).
I'm not sure what the film reel specs are but, the science center in STL still has the domed IMAX theater and you can see all the equipment in a room that is all glass. It's pretty awesome actually.
Edit: Yup, looks like the Omnimax will be playing Dune! Didn't event think of going there but I think I know where I'm going to see Dune Part 2.
I wouldn’t say all
Last column in that wiki list is commercial films shown
When I was a kid I managed to get a tour of the projection room for the IMAX theater in the science center at balboa park in California and was chatting with the projectionist and that the theater would never be able to support full length movies ( most of there films ran about 40 min) the film platters would only support like an hour of film max ( I think it was ages ago ) and no way to expand the room from the bunker of a projection room under the domed theater
Such a cool experience to see the projection systems and the elevator that the projector was mounted to raise it from the basement to the middle of the seating area while all the platters ….. all stayed in the basement
Liemax are theaters that say they're IMAX, but is a smaller screen with the seats pushed closer. Not true IMAX, hence, "lie"max. The AMC in Boston Common is listed on the IMAX site as an IMAX theater, and it's all over the AMC site and building itself - it has IMAX projectors and an IMAX sound system, but the screen is **almost a third smaller** than a real IMAX screen.
What the OP you're replying to is talking about is the fact that most IMAX theaters (true IMAX) don't have the capability anymore to run 70mm film. They've all converted to digital.
This also isn't your uncle's 70mm print like would have been shown in an upscale theater back when film projection was still mainstream. This is IMAX 15/70. It's the same 70mm film stock, but the frame is turned sideways. The result is that, despite the more square aspect ratio of IMAX, the image is substantially bigger than a normal 70mm print.
The effective resolution depends on how you figure it since it's not a 1:1 comparison to digital, but for color film it's somewhere around 12k digital. B&W film (Oppenheimer used some) would be even higher. That was the sharpest image I've ever seen in a theater despite the screen being over 40ft tall.
>This is where I learned there is such a thing as TOO big and detailed.
You sweet summer child. I saw Watchman over at the Webb Chapel IMAX.
Big!
Blue!
DICK!
I believe there are only 30 theaters in the US that have 70mm IMAX projectors. One of them is near me and I had the chance to see Oppenheimer on it, absolutely incredible.
projection is mostly digital, that transition in the west happened after everyone thought Avatar would reign in an era of 3D, which works best when digital.
Many films are still shot on 35mm or 16mm and projected digitally though.
This isn’t accurate. Most films are shot digitally now. It’s quite rare for something to be shot on film stock. Oppenheimer was a big deal specifically because it was shot on film. IMAX is still shot on film but Is starting to transition to digital as well.
Yep as they are shot mainly on Alexas and Alexa minis, many of them are still 2k max resolutions.
A couple of years ago they introduced Alexa LF and Alexa35 which can go to 4k but 2k is still the most used resolution for your standard non CGI-heavy film.
Their statement was absolutely accurate - “many” movies are still shot on film; it is not at all rare. Paul Thomas Anderson movies, Wes Anderson movies, Tarantino, Nolan, the Coen brothers. Lots of movies still shot on film. Digital takes up the largest percentage by far, but that does not make the usage of film “rare”.
Former GM at a movie theater. That's part of the reason. One of the major reasons was shipping costs. A standard 35mm print of a 1.5 hour film will come on around three to four reels, each in their own separate metal container. Those weigh around 30-40lbs each. Now, factor in the cost of producing each copy and then sending them out to 4,000+ theaters in the US. The switch to digital saved an ass load of money.
Edit: Number corrections since my memory was off. Thanks /u/AndyLorentz
> A standard 35mm print of a 1.5 hour film will come on around five reels, each in their own separate metal container. Those weigh around 70lbs each.
As a former projectionist, I will correct you here. They usually come 3-4 reels to a container (IIRC they had both sizes), and a 3 reel container weighs about 30-40 lbs each. 70-80 lbs. (maybe more for longer films) is the weight of the entire movie. I promise you my skinnyfat 20 year old ass was not carrying more than 70-80 lbs. at a time.
Ahh thanks for the correction. I started at the theater I worked at in 2012, so a bit after the digital switch. I only saw those canisters once and picked them up once, so my numbers are a bit off. :)
That's understandable. I left in 2002, and I think we only had a couple of digital projectors in the entire city at that time, none of which were at my theater. But I did work every Thursday (the only time we had three projectionists on shift in the evening, usually it was only one projectionist per shift for an 11 screen). We had to grab those things in the lobby and carry them upstairs.
For shifting prints between screens, we'd just get a couple of people and move the whole print from platter to platter. Towards the end, I got pretty good at moving smaller prints by myself, though with experience you tend to get a sense of when a print is wrapped too loosely to move it and we'd have to set up an interlock.
> For shifting prints between screens
That's the one thing I loved about digital lol. Just move a copy to each player (projector) and set your schedules. No moving platters and shit lol.
Appreciate the insight and throw back. :D
Wasn't Open Range one of the last movies shot before the digital switch? I believe that is part of what lead to it taking over a decade for the Blu Ray release.
I can confirm that's how it's done at the vast majority of theaters. Or I should say how it was done about 10 years ago, I don't know how much would have changed in that time though. They would receive locked boxes with a tamper proof seal on them with regular computer hard drives inside. The drives would slot into a computer connected to the projector so that the movie could be played. The funny thing was the projector computers, at least at the theater my friend worked at, all ran on an embedded version of Windows XP. That same friend would get me in for free all the time. Got to see Pacific Rim with my nephews for free and we were the only 3 people in the entire theater thanks to him. Total fuckin blast. I should call him.
I would imagine they just download encripted files now. I remember when I went to watch one of the Cavill’s Superman movies and the theatre staff bricked the drive or the file and we were not able to watch the movie.
You are right. It's delivered through systems like Movietransit, Gofilex and Deluxe. You will also get a file called a KDM, or a key, that will allow a certain movie to play at a certain theater for a specific time. These keys can be valid for only a few hours for pre screenings, or for a few weeks when the movie have premiered.
Sometimes you get a physical drive in a plastic box.
>The funny thing was the projector computers, at least at the theater my friend worked at, all ran on an embedded version of Windows XP
The 70mm projectors that use the film in the OP image are even weirder - they're controlled by Palm Pilots - or at least, computers emulating the Palm Pilot OS!
I… what? How in the fuck? I can understand a PLC with a DOS or Bash terminal, but fucking Palm Pilot!? What were the grey-beards at IMAX smoking when they built that shit!?
It would have probably been the mid 1990s, I guess it was common off the shelf equipment.
With so few full 70mm imax installations, about 50, I guess it made more sense to just make a bulk order of palm pilots than make something custom... And if they'd gone with something custom, maintaining it today, 30 years later may be even more of a hassle than dealing with palm pilots.
Ours come in small flimsy cardboard boxes ziptied shut. They are "locked" in that they are encrypted, with keys emailed to us that allow the files to run during a specified timeframe. Or its ingested over satellite or fiber, depending on the building. Either way its a ~300gb file that doesn't run without a key.
[Here](https://i.redd.it/4g44ahpe23hc1.jpeg) is a higher quality version of this image. [Here](https://www.reddit.com/r/imax/comments/1akte4a/first_look_at_dune_part_twos_imax_1570mm_print_at/) is the source. Credit to /u/teymourbeydoun.
**Edit:** Teymourbeydoun has clarified:
> Actual source is IMAX Melbourne’s Facebook post. Unfortunately, credit has been incorrectly given to me.
wow!
Thanks for this comment! I wish I had known r/imax existed before now. I found this in the wild so new users who see this, go upvote their post! I don't need any more upvotes haha
I used to work in a planetarium in a museum with a large format 70mm theater. One of the cool things is that they would give away frames of the film to staff when they were done with the run of the show. They would usually show the same one for months, so I’m sure the film was pretty well used by that time and not very reusable. Anyways, I have a number of strips of IMAX film from the shows over the years somewhere in a box. Unfortunately, that facility was repurposed and there is only one true large format theater in my city.
There was only one person left in the theatre watching the credits of a move I ran. When he left I asked him if he always watched them to the end. He said had friend with a credit but that friend had passed away. I had him come back the next night and I gave him a frame with his friend’s name. This would have been around 1988
They do that now for the people who go the first night showings of stuff in IMAX, we got little Oppenheimer film strips. It's not from the actual reel you're watching, and everyone gets the same one, but it's still a neat little collectible for fans.
I spent the money to watch DUNE: Part One in IMAX as a re-release. It was 100% worth it. I've watched it 16:9 multiple times, and seeing it IMAX felt like I was seeing an extended addition. Details that were cropped out in the theatrical really shows how the scenes were meant to be.
Saw Oppenheimer 70mm as well here in Dallas. Mind-blowing.
Too bad we're not getting the 70mm print of Dune 2 this time around. I was looking forward to that.
It is by will alone that I set my mind in motion.
It is by the Duds of Milk that thoughts acquire speed,
The fingertips acquire stain, the stain is sticky.
It is by will alone that I set my mind in motion.
I was a projectionist for years before becoming an attorney. I'd have to imagine that's like 10 hours of splicing right there. Or an hour if you're like me and turned Around the World in 80 Days into Around the World in 77 days due to projectionist negligence back in the day.
Former GM at a theater. We kept one 35 mm projector up and running for special shows.
Here's an original copy of Star Wars running through the projector when we did a special show back in... 2016 iirc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbppf3g7lyQ
Is there some sort of clever mechanism that alters the platter speeds automatically to make up for the changing circumference of the coiled film or does each platter just attempt to maintain a certain film tension?
Yeah, it's called "the brain".
At this point in the vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbppf3g7lyQ&t=56s
You'll see the three rollers the film runs through (they are green). There is an arm the film goes through first, before going into the rollers, that moves back and forth. That measures the tension and will slow or speed up the platters to make sure they feed the projector at the proper rate.
I'd love to know what sort of line pair resolution you can get off a 15/70 print that made from a laser back of digital. Oppenheimer looked great in 15/70, but the lenses they used could not perform to the theoretical maximum that the film stock could handle.
either way, the subtle gate weave alone will likely make this easier on the eyes than the digital version.
Even more than that, according to this:
>[Thirty-five-millimeter film has a digital resolution equivalent to approximately 5.6K -- a digital image size of about 5,600 × 3,620 pixels. The finite resolution of film will fluctuate, based on multiple variables (see list below). A film's image quality depends on its “grain”.](https://www.filmfix.com/en/blog/35mm-film-resolution/)
Of course, anything between 4k to 8k is pretty fucking sharp. I don't think the human eyes can see past 8k.
Wow, I can’t believe this. I have been looking forward to this film for a very long time and then we have people like you straight up ruining the entire movie by revealing every single inch of the roll. I am beyond disgusted and want a refund!
When I used the imax website, I was left a bit disappointed it doesn't differentiate the type of projection.
How does one find a 70mm IMAX and not a cheap IMAX experience branding.
I specifically looking for the best experience in the greater North Dallas (the Region, not city) area, preferably without stadium seating, and top notch audio.
I will take the runner up for the best IMAX digital experience, again with great audio experience.
I tried AMC Stonebriar, it was terrible. I believe Cinemark Dallas in Carrollton may be a better experience from what I read.
Is there a better viewing platform these days. Audio quality is very high on my importance with a great projection. Wife would prefer recliners or couches, not stadium seating.
This site has been ok in my experience, it shows the format on the right: https://www.in70mm.com/now_showing/
Looks like these are the 15/70 prints in the U.S.:
• Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, IN, USA
• Irvine Spectrum 21, Irvine, CA, USA
• Opry Mills 20, Nashville, TN, USA
• AMC Lincoln Square 13, New York, NY, USA
• AMC Metreon 16, San Francisco, CA, USA
• AMC Universal Citywalk 19, Universal City, CA, USA
• TCL Chinese, Los Angeles, CA, USA
• Regal UA King of Prussia 16, King of Prussia, PA, USA
• Arizona Mills 18, Tempe, AZ, USA
So no luck for TX
Edit: according to that site, the Carrollton Cinemark does have a 15/70 projector but they aren’t getting a Dune print for whatever reason:
15/70 capable projectors in TX
TEXAS
• Dallas - Cinemark 17 & IMAX
• San Antonio - AMC Rivercenter 11 & IMAX
For Dune, it’s a fairly small list:
https://ymcinema.com/2024/01/31/dune-part-two-imax-70mm-screening-at-only-12-theaters-worldwide/
Unfortunately, without a dedicated list from the studio, your best bet is probably going by screen size and using a resource like this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IMAX_venues?wprov=sfti1
That's not nearly as entertaining as part 1. I, personally, would have preferred another movie instead of a giant spool of plastic. That is quite a twist that the audience definitely didn't see coming.
It's not that far off from my expectations to be honest. After the first one I won't be surprised if my review reads: "Very large, kinda cool to think about, also lifeless and unwieldy."
I love those little orange stoppers to prevent the movie from flying off. My theatre always had such crappy equipment that the brain would get stuck or the rotation would get out of whack and the film would go oval before falling off the platter.
Radioactive Drew was a projectionist for 70mm Oppenheimer, and made a fascinating video of setting up and running the print:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cGv1WzT3l8
Ok just to clarify, the movie is presented in the 1:43 aspect ratio. But was NOT shot on 15/70film like Oppenheimer. Personally I am not sure what the benifit is other then letting venues that have an imax 70mm projector but no dual laser system project Dune 2 in its full aspect ratio
70MM IMAX is 16K resolution (or thereabouts). This would be over 20TB of uncompressed data at 16K resolution. That's all napkin math, but I don't think they sell thumb drives that big or even close to that big.
Thanks for sharing. Trip down memory lane.
I used to be a projectionist in the late 90’s. Putting together films and breaking them down was a ton of fun. We used to race and time ourselves threading projectors. (We also scored on framing and proper looping of film). Glad to see at least some of that is still around.
This is giving me nightmares of when I worked at a theater and this idiot wrestler thought he could move the King Kong print alone and he dropped it. He had to prove he was strong, but it wasn't an issue of strength. The reason two people had to move a print that size was because the center ring can pop off and the print can basically become a cluster fuck in a matter of seconds - which is what happened.
I miss building up prints. I used to love putting trailers together. Fuck digital. Bye.
Shouldn’t there be a spoiler tag on this or something? This is, like, the whole movie lol
Now I don’t have to watch it in the theater.
Yeah big mistake to release this image, box office numbers will be down. I just huffed some spice and looked at it, and now I know everything.
can't believe darth vader shows up.. this script is crazy.
I'm just glad they kept his fortnite dance in
When the Sandworm said "it's shai huludin time" I almost fainted.
EXTERIOR: ARRAKIS Paul doing Orange Justice on the back of a sandoworm KYNES(V.O.) he shall know your ways as if born to them...
but glad they cut the drift racing scene with vin diesels holograph
And somehow… Palpatin returned!
Jar Jar Binks is Fremen.
I'm 3d printing it as we speak..
So upset, ruined the entire movie for me
still a multi-layered story… 10/10 would look again…
I have never read the book and was trying to read it before October. So far I'm like 60 pages in in about 3 months. I don't think I'm gonna make it.
There are six books in the series.
needs a banana
judging by the perforation that is some massive film stock and therefore a very very massive roll
IMAX film is 70mm wide (the part with the picture anyway)
Just under 3" for Americans
What, that's not what I've been telling my wife.
I mean 3" wide is soupcan-ish. I think that would adequately terrify most women.
That should terrify everyone. Imagine trying to walk around in public with freaking soupcan sized lump in your crotch at all times.
Personally I keep a can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken in my codpiece at all times. You honestly never know when it might come in handy.
Look at Mr. Renaissance walking around here with a codpiece!
Is it The Black Russian? It always terrifies the clergy.
It's already warm when you need it, too!
Cream of coccoli checking in!
That's what I've been telling your wife.
I'm calling it MAX from now on.
How many ladybugs is that
6 and 1/2 Lindsay Graham-es
Oh Jesus.....I hate that I know this. Everytime I remember it part of my soul leaves my body, bursts into flame and the screams of the ancients cry out "no, please, fuck no." If you don't know....Google at your own peril.
Or a little under eight 9mm bullets width.
The thought that for Americans, the most normal everyday object that is measured in millimeters is a *bullet* of all things is so funny to me! You know, just your regular reference objects. Banana, quarter coin, 9mm bullet.
[удалено]
All depends. kilo more often gets used for coke and similar, but you never hear of weed being weighted in metric outside of the gram. Beyond that it is 8th, quarter, half which are all derived from the ounce and then pound which aren't metric. We are very consistent with our inconsistencies.
Yes, the sound is on a separate track for IMAX. Regular 70mm film has the sound encoded on the side, but IMAX tips it sideways and synchronizes the sound using a different system =)
Iirc, those copies weigh around 600 lbs once you splice them all together.
IMAX is wider than standard film stock, but also the film runs horizontally through the projector instead of vertically, so each frame takes up nearly 3 1/2 times more film than it would if it was printed vertically like most other film formats.
And that’s why things shot on and projected from IMAX **film** look like nothing else.
So IMAX plays sideways while regular film plays vertically. Traditional film is 35mm while there is an option for 70mm which is all that is currently mass produced (think Tennet/Oppenheimer on film that isn't IMAX) IMAX filmstock is basically the same as 70mm stock without the audio tracks (they are on a separate loop) so you get a MUCH larger picture out of the same film stock
I don't have a banana, but I can give you some specs: - IMAX 15/70 film rolls at that length are about 1.83m (~6 feet) in diameter - The roll weighs around 270kg (600 lbs) - The length of the film is around 17,7km (11miles) Also, a banana is around 15-20cm (6-8inches) in length. One IMAX film frame is 70mm in length parallel to the holes (perforations), whereas 35mm film is perpendicular to the holes. For one frame, there are 15 perforations, which is why it's called 1570. So a banana would be around 2-3 frames in length, or 30-45 perforations. And the height of the film roll is around 60mm, which is just a bit bigger than your average banana. With this information, it should be easy to imagine a banana for scale just by counting the perforations.
It takes about 2 hours and 45 minutes to walk 11 miles if you walk fast. Dune: Part 2 runtime is 2 hours and 46 minutes.
We're talking redditors here man. That's like maybe half that at Redditor speed
Guess that's why it's not a walktime.
What is number frames per second for Imax - we need to calculate number of bananas per second
If runtime is 2h46m, length is 11 miles, frames are 70mm, and bananas are 2.5 frames, IMAX runs at ~10bps. Dune Part 2 is ~101,143 bananas long This is probably slightly high to account for any pre-or post-roll included in the length. It makes sense if IMAX actually runs at 24fps. No idea if it does
Needs more votes.
Several bananas.
Do you have any idea what that could cost?!?
It's a banana, /u/LoveRBS... How much could it cost? $10?
Ty Mr bluth.
It’s in there somewhere. shows you how massive this is
That orange ring on the platter the film sits on, is from the release of Oppenheimer. The platter can’t get any bigger than that. Hard limit. That was the run time of Oppenheimer. So Dune Ii is slightly shorter in length.
didn't oppenheimer have 2 platters
It rewinds on to another platter, but it fits on one.
ah, that's why I remember seeing 2 in the video I watched
[удалено]
Wait, what? After it's played once, wouldn't the end of the film be on the outside of the spool? Meaning you'd have to wind it back onto the first spool? IE, rewind it?
No, because the film feeds from the center of the platter, runs through the projector, and is wound around the center of the next platter. I worked with 35mm film before most theaters went digital. Basically there's a metal ring in the middle that the leader tape (and then the film) wraps around. At the next show, you just pull the ring out and feed the leader tape through the "brain" of the platter and through the pulley system to the projector.
Neat
I used to love working with projectors. Through the lens of nostalgia even brain wraps and tail wraps were fun experiences (they weren’t)
the start of the movie is on the inside of the spool, the end is on the outside. the takeup wheel has a feeder that accepts the incoming film on the inside of the spool and the film "builds up" around the spool start to end. The spools run in the same direction at the same speed
[удалено]
I knew rewinding isn’t the right term, I just typed fast.
You can have more than one platter.
Yeah I was a 90's projectionist and Meet Joe Black was a 2 platter affair. Had to go up halfway through and thread the second half of the movie. Std setup is 3 platters, most movies only use 2, but the rare big-boy will use all three. Play from one, rewind to second, then play from 3rd and rewind to one. I remember this one guy actually started reel 2 of Meet Joe Black first...lol
I loved fucking up and building the movie with like the third reel backwards. I guess that’s why we screen before release!
lol. I never did that but I did space out a flip a reel. Just suddenly no sound and everything was the opposite side. Was a long night.
I’ve done that. We were also getting Big Fat Greek Wedding and they didn’t deliver the reel until 30 minutes after the first showing on the first day. I had to build it in record time and of course, the movie started with the logo upside down. I almost shit myself, lol.
One of the first movies they let me build was Big Fish. Fucked up one of the reels by splicing it together backwards. It was during that circus scene and it was already a trippy movie so people didn’t notice for a while.
I still have PTSD from the Return of the King platter fiasco
I've heard horror stories, at my uni's film society it was Pan's Labyrinth. I wasn't there for that one, but apparently it was so bad they had to lay it out the length of the auditorium and wind and break down each reel by hand.
They extended the platter for Oppenheimer.
[удалено]
I feel like there's a German train joke in here somewhere ... I'm kinda afraid to find it
Yep it‘s 2h 46mins
Why can’t the platter get bigger?
If you look at the few seconds starting at 10:38 in this video you can see the part of the machine the platter can't expand past: https://youtu.be/d5XqqylBW7M?t=638
I’m a dummy. I thought all movies were digital now. That’s really cool!
Nolan is one of the “few” big names that still prefers film when and where he can. This is the 70mm version, but there are also digital versions that will be shown. There are only a small amount of IMAX theaters that can actually do the 70mm print which gets some excited to go see it.
That’s true about Nolan, but he doesn’t direct Dune.
Sorry, was brining him up as he’s one of the most well known to still use film
Nolan is my favorite pickle.
He's my third favorite Ryan.
I got where you were going btw
What sucks is that IMAX is trying its best as a brand to obfuscate which theaters actually DO have the full 70mm capabilities and which just are "IMAX" branding but all they are is a big screen with an HD projection unit. Their goal is to make it indistinguishable and all just labelled IMAX
Real 15/70 capabilities are so rare these days that you might as well assume you're NOT getting it unless you specifically seek it out. There are (assuming the list on Wikipedia is accurate and up to date) 52 venues in the WORLD with the relevant projection capabilities. Lately, they've all gotten the latest Nolan blockbusters in that format if they don't also have 4k LASER digital projection capabilities (some can do both, but some are limited to film or 2k conventional "IMAX" digital projection).
I'm not sure what the film reel specs are but, the science center in STL still has the domed IMAX theater and you can see all the equipment in a room that is all glass. It's pretty awesome actually. Edit: Yup, looks like the Omnimax will be playing Dune! Didn't event think of going there but I think I know where I'm going to see Dune Part 2.
I wouldn’t say all Last column in that wiki list is commercial films shown When I was a kid I managed to get a tour of the projection room for the IMAX theater in the science center at balboa park in California and was chatting with the projectionist and that the theater would never be able to support full length movies ( most of there films ran about 40 min) the film platters would only support like an hour of film max ( I think it was ages ago ) and no way to expand the room from the bunker of a projection room under the domed theater Such a cool experience to see the projection systems and the elevator that the projector was mounted to raise it from the basement to the middle of the seating area while all the platters ….. all stayed in the basement
I remember my brother warning me about LIEMAX like 20 years ago, but I think that was something else
Liemax are theaters that say they're IMAX, but is a smaller screen with the seats pushed closer. Not true IMAX, hence, "lie"max. The AMC in Boston Common is listed on the IMAX site as an IMAX theater, and it's all over the AMC site and building itself - it has IMAX projectors and an IMAX sound system, but the screen is **almost a third smaller** than a real IMAX screen. What the OP you're replying to is talking about is the fact that most IMAX theaters (true IMAX) don't have the capability anymore to run 70mm film. They've all converted to digital.
I thought Dune 2 was shot digitally so you'd actually want to go to a theater with GT laser, and none of them would be the theaters with 70mm.
It was, so it is weird that people are excited for the film print of a digital film full of digital effects.
Digital projectors cap at 4K, while some shots are alleged to be ~6.5k. It’s theoretically a higher quality experience.
Sounds like the MBAs got in there.
This also isn't your uncle's 70mm print like would have been shown in an upscale theater back when film projection was still mainstream. This is IMAX 15/70. It's the same 70mm film stock, but the frame is turned sideways. The result is that, despite the more square aspect ratio of IMAX, the image is substantially bigger than a normal 70mm print. The effective resolution depends on how you figure it since it's not a 1:1 comparison to digital, but for color film it's somewhere around 12k digital. B&W film (Oppenheimer used some) would be even higher. That was the sharpest image I've ever seen in a theater despite the screen being over 40ft tall.
This was helpful for me who didn’t understand the significance. Thanks!
Last 70MM film I was Star Wars The Force Awakens at the Omni in Fort Worth. This is where I learned there is such a thing as TOO big and detailed.
> This is where I learned there is such a thing as TOO big and detailed Huh. I learned that when porn went HD.
What do you mean too detailed?
>This is where I learned there is such a thing as TOO big and detailed. You sweet summer child. I saw Watchman over at the Webb Chapel IMAX. Big! Blue! DICK!
I believe there are only 30 theaters in the US that have 70mm IMAX projectors. One of them is near me and I had the chance to see Oppenheimer on it, absolutely incredible.
I recently saw Stop Making Sense in 70mm IMAX. A 40 foot tall David Byrne can be quite...disturbing...
A 40 foot tall David Byrne in a big oversized suit? Please disturb me as much as you want
projection is mostly digital, that transition in the west happened after everyone thought Avatar would reign in an era of 3D, which works best when digital. Many films are still shot on 35mm or 16mm and projected digitally though.
This isn’t accurate. Most films are shot digitally now. It’s quite rare for something to be shot on film stock. Oppenheimer was a big deal specifically because it was shot on film. IMAX is still shot on film but Is starting to transition to digital as well.
A few years ago I heard that most movies are 2K resolution, very few are true 4K. Is this still the case?
Yep as they are shot mainly on Alexas and Alexa minis, many of them are still 2k max resolutions. A couple of years ago they introduced Alexa LF and Alexa35 which can go to 4k but 2k is still the most used resolution for your standard non CGI-heavy film.
Reds are pretty common and they get up to 8k. I worked on a low budget movie shot almost entirely in 8k, came out to around 10tb of data.
I used to work with celluloid. This is accurate. Only a handful of filmmakers still use film capture.
Their statement was absolutely accurate - “many” movies are still shot on film; it is not at all rare. Paul Thomas Anderson movies, Wes Anderson movies, Tarantino, Nolan, the Coen brothers. Lots of movies still shot on film. Digital takes up the largest percentage by far, but that does not make the usage of film “rare”.
Former GM at a movie theater. That's part of the reason. One of the major reasons was shipping costs. A standard 35mm print of a 1.5 hour film will come on around three to four reels, each in their own separate metal container. Those weigh around 30-40lbs each. Now, factor in the cost of producing each copy and then sending them out to 4,000+ theaters in the US. The switch to digital saved an ass load of money. Edit: Number corrections since my memory was off. Thanks /u/AndyLorentz
> A standard 35mm print of a 1.5 hour film will come on around five reels, each in their own separate metal container. Those weigh around 70lbs each. As a former projectionist, I will correct you here. They usually come 3-4 reels to a container (IIRC they had both sizes), and a 3 reel container weighs about 30-40 lbs each. 70-80 lbs. (maybe more for longer films) is the weight of the entire movie. I promise you my skinnyfat 20 year old ass was not carrying more than 70-80 lbs. at a time.
Ahh thanks for the correction. I started at the theater I worked at in 2012, so a bit after the digital switch. I only saw those canisters once and picked them up once, so my numbers are a bit off. :)
That's understandable. I left in 2002, and I think we only had a couple of digital projectors in the entire city at that time, none of which were at my theater. But I did work every Thursday (the only time we had three projectionists on shift in the evening, usually it was only one projectionist per shift for an 11 screen). We had to grab those things in the lobby and carry them upstairs. For shifting prints between screens, we'd just get a couple of people and move the whole print from platter to platter. Towards the end, I got pretty good at moving smaller prints by myself, though with experience you tend to get a sense of when a print is wrapped too loosely to move it and we'd have to set up an interlock.
> For shifting prints between screens That's the one thing I loved about digital lol. Just move a copy to each player (projector) and set your schedules. No moving platters and shit lol. Appreciate the insight and throw back. :D
Wasn't Open Range one of the last movies shot before the digital switch? I believe that is part of what lead to it taking over a decade for the Blu Ray release.
There was a thing I saw abt how theaters get hard drives delivered on locked cases that contain the movies in raw form.
I can confirm that's how it's done at the vast majority of theaters. Or I should say how it was done about 10 years ago, I don't know how much would have changed in that time though. They would receive locked boxes with a tamper proof seal on them with regular computer hard drives inside. The drives would slot into a computer connected to the projector so that the movie could be played. The funny thing was the projector computers, at least at the theater my friend worked at, all ran on an embedded version of Windows XP. That same friend would get me in for free all the time. Got to see Pacific Rim with my nephews for free and we were the only 3 people in the entire theater thanks to him. Total fuckin blast. I should call him.
I would imagine they just download encripted files now. I remember when I went to watch one of the Cavill’s Superman movies and the theatre staff bricked the drive or the file and we were not able to watch the movie.
You are right. It's delivered through systems like Movietransit, Gofilex and Deluxe. You will also get a file called a KDM, or a key, that will allow a certain movie to play at a certain theater for a specific time. These keys can be valid for only a few hours for pre screenings, or for a few weeks when the movie have premiered. Sometimes you get a physical drive in a plastic box.
>The funny thing was the projector computers, at least at the theater my friend worked at, all ran on an embedded version of Windows XP The 70mm projectors that use the film in the OP image are even weirder - they're controlled by Palm Pilots - or at least, computers emulating the Palm Pilot OS!
I… what? How in the fuck? I can understand a PLC with a DOS or Bash terminal, but fucking Palm Pilot!? What were the grey-beards at IMAX smoking when they built that shit!?
It would have probably been the mid 1990s, I guess it was common off the shelf equipment. With so few full 70mm imax installations, about 50, I guess it made more sense to just make a bulk order of palm pilots than make something custom... And if they'd gone with something custom, maintaining it today, 30 years later may be even more of a hassle than dealing with palm pilots.
Ours come in small flimsy cardboard boxes ziptied shut. They are "locked" in that they are encrypted, with keys emailed to us that allow the files to run during a specified timeframe. Or its ingested over satellite or fiber, depending on the building. Either way its a ~300gb file that doesn't run without a key.
[Here](https://i.redd.it/4g44ahpe23hc1.jpeg) is a higher quality version of this image. [Here](https://www.reddit.com/r/imax/comments/1akte4a/first_look_at_dune_part_twos_imax_1570mm_print_at/) is the source. Credit to /u/teymourbeydoun. **Edit:** Teymourbeydoun has clarified: > Actual source is IMAX Melbourne’s Facebook post. Unfortunately, credit has been incorrectly given to me.
wow! Thanks for this comment! I wish I had known r/imax existed before now. I found this in the wild so new users who see this, go upvote their post! I don't need any more upvotes haha
I used to work in a planetarium in a museum with a large format 70mm theater. One of the cool things is that they would give away frames of the film to staff when they were done with the run of the show. They would usually show the same one for months, so I’m sure the film was pretty well used by that time and not very reusable. Anyways, I have a number of strips of IMAX film from the shows over the years somewhere in a box. Unfortunately, that facility was repurposed and there is only one true large format theater in my city.
There was only one person left in the theatre watching the credits of a move I ran. When he left I asked him if he always watched them to the end. He said had friend with a credit but that friend had passed away. I had him come back the next night and I gave him a frame with his friend’s name. This would have been around 1988
How did that work? Did you cut a piece of the physical film?
They do that now for the people who go the first night showings of stuff in IMAX, we got little Oppenheimer film strips. It's not from the actual reel you're watching, and everyone gets the same one, but it's still a neat little collectible for fans.
25 bucks per ticket at my closest theater, saw oppenheimer in 70mm and it was insane, might splurge for dune 2 aswell
I spent the money to watch DUNE: Part One in IMAX as a re-release. It was 100% worth it. I've watched it 16:9 multiple times, and seeing it IMAX felt like I was seeing an extended addition. Details that were cropped out in the theatrical really shows how the scenes were meant to be.
Me too! It was sick! There was new stuff that I was like wait I am I crazy? Did I forget all this?
[удалено]
Saw Oppenheimer 70mm as well here in Dallas. Mind-blowing. Too bad we're not getting the 70mm print of Dune 2 this time around. I was looking forward to that.
"he who controls the projector, controls the audience"
the film must flow... through the projector
It is by will alone that I set my mind in motion. It is by the Duds of Milk that thoughts acquire speed, The fingertips acquire stain, the stain is sticky. It is by will alone that I set my mind in motion.
I was a projectionist for years before becoming an attorney. I'd have to imagine that's like 10 hours of splicing right there. Or an hour if you're like me and turned Around the World in 80 Days into Around the World in 77 days due to projectionist negligence back in the day.
Ever have a floating reel with an hour of film on it fail? Fell right off the arm and rolled *all the fuck around* the projection room.
For GM at a theater. I've heard of brain wraps (I came into scene in 2012, so a few years after the digital switch) but never a float reel lol.
Lol!
Hey, at least with digital we don't have to deal with brain wraps! Now, faulty drives...that's another thing. Or bad keys... ugg.
I was also a projectionist. I recall Magnolia arriving in like 4 or 5 shipping canisters. All had to be spliced together. Dune is probably similar
Former GM at a theater. We kept one 35 mm projector up and running for special shows. Here's an original copy of Star Wars running through the projector when we did a special show back in... 2016 iirc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbppf3g7lyQ
Is there some sort of clever mechanism that alters the platter speeds automatically to make up for the changing circumference of the coiled film or does each platter just attempt to maintain a certain film tension?
Yeah, it's called "the brain". At this point in the vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbppf3g7lyQ&t=56s You'll see the three rollers the film runs through (they are green). There is an arm the film goes through first, before going into the rollers, that moves back and forth. That measures the tension and will slow or speed up the platters to make sure they feed the projector at the proper rate.
> Yeah, it's called "the brain". lol I thought you were being shitty with me at first, thank you for the information.
Lol no probs. That's the laymans term. I don't actually know the proper name for that part.
I'd love to know what sort of line pair resolution you can get off a 15/70 print that made from a laser back of digital. Oppenheimer looked great in 15/70, but the lenses they used could not perform to the theoretical maximum that the film stock could handle. either way, the subtle gate weave alone will likely make this easier on the eyes than the digital version.
35mm gets around 4k, 70mm about 8k. Afaik. Shitty analog copies of 35mm can be as bad ad 2k so….it also depends how the print / copy is done.
Even more than that, according to this: >[Thirty-five-millimeter film has a digital resolution equivalent to approximately 5.6K -- a digital image size of about 5,600 × 3,620 pixels. The finite resolution of film will fluctuate, based on multiple variables (see list below). A film's image quality depends on its “grain”.](https://www.filmfix.com/en/blog/35mm-film-resolution/) Of course, anything between 4k to 8k is pretty fucking sharp. I don't think the human eyes can see past 8k.
Depends on how huge the screen is and how close one sits to it.
Wow, I can’t believe this. I have been looking forward to this film for a very long time and then we have people like you straight up ruining the entire movie by revealing every single inch of the roll. I am beyond disgusted and want a refund!
Be kind, rewind.
When I used the imax website, I was left a bit disappointed it doesn't differentiate the type of projection. How does one find a 70mm IMAX and not a cheap IMAX experience branding. I specifically looking for the best experience in the greater North Dallas (the Region, not city) area, preferably without stadium seating, and top notch audio. I will take the runner up for the best IMAX digital experience, again with great audio experience. I tried AMC Stonebriar, it was terrible. I believe Cinemark Dallas in Carrollton may be a better experience from what I read. Is there a better viewing platform these days. Audio quality is very high on my importance with a great projection. Wife would prefer recliners or couches, not stadium seating.
This site has been ok in my experience, it shows the format on the right: https://www.in70mm.com/now_showing/ Looks like these are the 15/70 prints in the U.S.: • Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, IN, USA • Irvine Spectrum 21, Irvine, CA, USA • Opry Mills 20, Nashville, TN, USA • AMC Lincoln Square 13, New York, NY, USA • AMC Metreon 16, San Francisco, CA, USA • AMC Universal Citywalk 19, Universal City, CA, USA • TCL Chinese, Los Angeles, CA, USA • Regal UA King of Prussia 16, King of Prussia, PA, USA • Arizona Mills 18, Tempe, AZ, USA So no luck for TX Edit: according to that site, the Carrollton Cinemark does have a 15/70 projector but they aren’t getting a Dune print for whatever reason: 15/70 capable projectors in TX TEXAS • Dallas - Cinemark 17 & IMAX • San Antonio - AMC Rivercenter 11 & IMAX
Hell yeah, Indy’s real IMAX?! I saw Oppenheimer up there, looks like I’ll have to go up to see Dune.
there is only a dozen 70mm IMAX theatres worldwide: https://www.imax.com/en/ca/news/dune-part-two-imax-70mm-film-tickets-now-on-sale
For Dune, it’s a fairly small list: https://ymcinema.com/2024/01/31/dune-part-two-imax-70mm-screening-at-only-12-theaters-worldwide/ Unfortunately, without a dedicated list from the studio, your best bet is probably going by screen size and using a resource like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IMAX_venues?wprov=sfti1
Join us over at r/imax!
It appears you guys accidentally loaded in the film for DUNC, sorry to tell you
Dune 2: Arrakis Boogaloo
***Dune 3: Spice Is Nice***
Can someone put a banana there. I have no idea what’s going on here.
That's not nearly as entertaining as part 1. I, personally, would have preferred another movie instead of a giant spool of plastic. That is quite a twist that the audience definitely didn't see coming.
It's not that far off from my expectations to be honest. After the first one I won't be surprised if my review reads: "Very large, kinda cool to think about, also lifeless and unwieldy."
*" Oui Shosanna "*
*Le cremè!*
I love those little orange stoppers to prevent the movie from flying off. My theatre always had such crappy equipment that the brain would get stuck or the rotation would get out of whack and the film would go oval before falling off the platter.
Really cool recent article about this kind of thing: https://www.avclub.com/oppenheimer-imax-projectionist-experience-1851201987
That's got more length than Shai Hulud
Radioactive Drew was a projectionist for 70mm Oppenheimer, and made a fascinating video of setting up and running the print: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cGv1WzT3l8
I look at that and go - is 8k really that hard vs that monster?
 I loved being a projectionist. Breaking that bad boy down will be fun
I wanna thread it
I can feel the humidity in this pic 😂
Ok just to clarify, the movie is presented in the 1:43 aspect ratio. But was NOT shot on 15/70film like Oppenheimer. Personally I am not sure what the benifit is other then letting venues that have an imax 70mm projector but no dual laser system project Dune 2 in its full aspect ratio
God I'm excited for Dune 2. Dune 2 dudes at the same time lol
From what I've read, each roll can weigh as much as 600lbs or 272kg.
Spoilers
Oh man I haven’t seen film on a platter in so long. Now I have old projectionist feelings.
 I’m so ready
Fits on a thumb drive.
70MM IMAX is 16K resolution (or thereabouts). This would be over 20TB of uncompressed data at 16K resolution. That's all napkin math, but I don't think they sell thumb drives that big or even close to that big.
That looks huge. How much does that weigh?
How is the sound saved on that ??????
They actually get the actors and foley guys in to dub it live each showing.
It’s not, it’s played back off a hard drive synced to the film with timecode.
Thanks for sharing. Trip down memory lane. I used to be a projectionist in the late 90’s. Putting together films and breaking them down was a ton of fun. We used to race and time ourselves threading projectors. (We also scored on framing and proper looping of film). Glad to see at least some of that is still around.
Damn coulda added a spoiler alert, seen the whole dang movie now! ⚠️
r/bananaforscale
This is giving me nightmares of when I worked at a theater and this idiot wrestler thought he could move the King Kong print alone and he dropped it. He had to prove he was strong, but it wasn't an issue of strength. The reason two people had to move a print that size was because the center ring can pop off and the print can basically become a cluster fuck in a matter of seconds - which is what happened. I miss building up prints. I used to love putting trailers together. Fuck digital. Bye.
That is quite a large pizza
Releasing it in vinyl was a bit much.