Episode VII: The Force Awakens - Discussion * SPOILER THREAD * — Page 18

I'm assuming this is one of the reasons he was cast.  I wonder who/what he'll be playing?  A descendent of Darth Maul?  He looks more like Spider man in that video than a Jedi or Sith.  Should be interesting...

SilverWook said:

Glad to hear Harrison is on the mend. The whole thing was looking kind of bleak just a few weeks ago.

I think that's because the tabloids were reporting a lot of misinformation related to the injury... such as him returning to the U.S. for six months to recover.  Although, his injury was still very serious especially at his age. He's definitely a trooper regardless.

http://twitter.com/bad_robot/status/486628757780721664

Picture of IMAX camera for Episode VII.  I'm not very familiar with filming equipment, so what's the difference between filming in 35mm and filming with an IMAX camera, if there is a difference. I thought this was going to be filmed using a 35mm camera, unless if it can be filmed in both 35mm and IMAX.

Also, is Tatooine seen in the background a miniature and matte painting?  Kind of looks like its on a set and not on location.

The real question, to me, is how they're gonna handle the imax exhibition of the movie.

Imax is expected to start replacing their 15/70 projectors with the 4k+4k laser projectors they've developed, starting here in DC with the smithsonian's three theaters sometime next year. Right now, the two theaters on the mall in downtown DC are 3D-capable but the one out in Chantilly is 2d-only (the digital conversion will make it 3D-capable as well).

I bring all of this up because episode VII will doubtlessly be converted to 3d.

For Star Trek Into Darkness this wasn't a problem, as Paramount sent a single, 15/70 2D print to Chantilly for opening night and a 3D 15/70 to one of the downtown theaters a couple weeks later. For Star Wars, I wonder if I'll even be able to see it in 4k+4k 2D or if 3d will be my only option as far as imax goes.

Looking at the photo in the tweet makes me want to see what that camera is seeing!

What about camera below that was supposedly going to be used to film Episode VII?  Is it going to be shot partially on 35mm and some scenes on IMAX?  Sorry for the questions, but I'm a little confused since it was tweeted months ago that Episode VII was going to be filmed in 35mm and now this IMAX tweet.  Both are official as well.

http://makingstarwars.net/2014/03/wanna-see-one-of-the-custom-cameras-that-will-film-star-wars-episode-vii/

There has yet to be a film that has been shot entirely with IMAX cameras as they are unwieldy and expensive. Only some scenes of the film will be done in IMAX, the rest will be 35mm.

Bigger action set pieces are usually what is shot on IMAX so that when you are in an IMAX theatre, the picture expands and the clarity increases. To my knowledge, no blockbuster movie has been shot entirely on IMAX cameras yet, so I'd doubt they'd shoot the whole movie that way.

Speaking of IMAX, are there literally no 15/70 IMAX theatres at all anymore?

EDIT: I was beat to it I guess.

The digital "liemax" theaters use dual 2k projectors and have a 1.9:1 aspect ratio (real imax is 1.44:1). The biggest of the digital imax screens still aren't as big as the 15/70 screens, even if you're just talking about the width. What Imax did was to take the biggest auditorium at a multiplex and renovate it to make the screen go from wall to wall (which it was almost doing anyway) and floor to ceiling. They also removed the first several rows of seats to make the screen closer to the audience.

I'm not sure how the 2k+2k overlap works for 2d movies, but imax argues that it yields an image greater than 4k. In any event, you're still seeing the dmr'd version of the movie, which is supposed to make everything look better whether it's on actual 15/70 film or dual 2k dlp.

For movies that were shot in actual 65mm imax, like Ghost Protocol, I can only imagine that the effect is greatly diminished in the digital theaters. Smaller screen, lower resolution, cropped aspect ratio, and multiplex seating are all pretty far removed from the genuine article.

Star Trek Into Darkness was the first time a movie had been shot in imax and then converted into 3d. Paramount did this because we're in a post-Avatar movie business now. When Nolan wanted to shoot some of The Dark Knight in Imax back in 2007, that's pretty much all there was aside from 35mm and the equivalent digital projection. 3D hadn't truly "arrived," it was only in a few theaters here and there. Cut to 2012, now there are thousands of 3D theaters and only several hundred imax. Stuff like Ghost Protocol and Dark Knight Rises were now the exception to the rule. The moneymaking potential of 3D now outweighed that of imax.

I never got around to seeing Into Darkness in 15/70 out in Chantilly, although I heard the imax shots were matted to 1.66:1 for some reason. In an interview with the vfx guys they said this was to avoid making the AR switch too jarring for the audience. I can't help but think the real reason had something to do with rendering times and all that, but who knows.

Tobar said:

They call the AMC IMAX screens LieMAX because the screens are so small. I went into one once to see The Dark Knight and the screen was comparable to one you'd find in some people's homes. It was ludicrous.

The new digital projection we have at the 8-story tall IMAX near my house looks brilliant and is still capable of the full IMAX picture format. I think it was the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy that had some scenes in the full format size and it was breathtaking. It's so big the film engulfs you.

Are you sure it's digital? Imax hasn't rolled out the 4k+4k laser tech at any of their 15/70 theaters yet, not to my knowledge.

ETA: Sorry, I misread your post. You meant that your 15/70 theater has both the film projector and the 2k+2k dlp. I've heard this is the case with several of the old, full-sized theaters out there. It allows them to show more stuff, since not every imax release actually gets the 15/70 treatment.

You mentioned it was the only full-sized theater in your state. Out of curiosity, what state are you in? There's a list of all imax theaters (both film and digital) here:

http://www.lfexaminer.com/theaUSA.htm