Sub-Zero

Sorry for any misunderstanding with my last thread, as I really am not asking about the next Batman movie. Instead, I want to know if people would actually like an all Imax movie, and how the transition to traditional movie theaters (as well as Blu-ray and DVD) would work. The thing I find most amusing about Imax is that its aspect ratio is very close to traditional 1.33:1 television screens, and yet, there has been a huge push for consumers to adopt widescreen televisions, which has been quite successful. But if Imax movies (filmed with Imax cameras in the standard Imax aspect ratio) become very successful, what happens to the films that are shot in Imax when they are shown on standard movie screens and on DVD and Blu-ray?

Blu Man

For Blu Ray the image is cropped into a 16:9 frame. For regular theaters it would be cropped to either a 2.40:1 or 1.85:1/1.78:1 frame depending upon the director.

RocShemp

IMAX documentaries get cropped all the time to 1.78:1 with little to no fuss so I'm sure an all IMAX movie would be cropped on BD/DVD as well.

Sub-Zero

I figured something like that would happen, Blu Man. But wouldn't that mean that now movies are again being cropped, this time from a more full-screen format to a widescreen? Just thought that would be odd after all the push to have films released in their original aspect ratio.

RocShemp

A few DP's and directors (Christopher Nolan for one) feel that your eyes don't naturally go to the top of the 1.45:1 IMAX frame so they usually leave that area bare and compose the shots as if it's intended to be matted to 1.78:1/1.85:1 so it's a bit of a grey area.

I think it should be decided upon a case by case basis. However, I do see your point.

Sub-Zero

I hope that directors would make their films with the idea that the film will be matted to a more standard aspect ratio. I just think that with the push to widescreen having films that are filmed in a more full-screen format seems like it would be step back, in my humble opinion.

Giles

granted that VV/65mm aspect ratio is generally 2.20:1 I thought we would have seen a slight shifting aspect ratio in the IMAX version of 'Inception'.

As far as I am concerned, I simply can't stand 2.35 films on IMAX screens what a waste of screen space for their to be black borders over and under the image.

I was a little shocked and dismayed that 'Avatar' on the IMAX screen over at Natural History (Smithsonian) black borders surrounded the film, not filled the entire screen.

Sub-Zero

^How would you feel if there was an all Imax movie that you then had to watch with bars on the sides of the picture on a regular movie screen, and on Blu-ray/DVD?