IMAX not screening Avatar re-release

[omängum fra'uti]

Come to think of it: Back in the days^TM it wasn't that uncommon for longer films to have dedicated breaks halfway through, (e.g. Ben Hur has a really nice intermission panel, as do a couple of other films from that era). Surely a 10-minute break after two hours would give IMAX staff enough time to load the next reel into the projector.

Yeah, good luck switching IMAX reels in 10 minutes.  Those things are massive.  And keep in mind that's 2x reel switching for 3d.  That's 16 miles of film total, weighing in at 1400lbs.  Some theaters may have platter setups that allow them to easily just feed another film, but not necessarily all of them.

[Kätsyín te Zotxekay Tsyal’itan]

Come to think of it: Back in the days^TM it wasn't that uncommon for longer films to have dedicated breaks halfway through, (e.g. Ben Hur has a really nice intermission panel, as do a couple of other films from that era). Surely a 10-minute break after two hours would give IMAX staff enough time to load the next reel into the projector.

Yeah, good luck switching IMAX reels in 10 minutes.  Those things are massive.  And keep in mind that's 2x reel switching for 3d.  That's 16 miles of film total, weighing in at 1400lbs.  Some theaters may have platter setups that allow them to easily just feed another film, but not necessarily all of them.

Wow, i never realized that they were that big...

[Meuia te Stxeli Tstew'itan]

Yeah, it really is an other world. And it's all going to disappear very soon. Everything replaced by laser projectors and digital storage

[eanayo]

Yeah, good luck switching IMAX reels in 10 minutes.  Those things are massive.  And keep in mind that's 2x reel switching for 3d.  That's 16 miles of film total, weighing in at 1400lbs.  Some theaters may have platter setups that allow them to easily just feed another film, but not necessarily all of them.

Fair enough, so no short bladder voiding break then Bear in mind that my only real-life film projector experience are 8mm home projectors, which I assume are a little bit smaller than your average truckload IMAX projector.
Thanks for clarifying that.

edit: wiki says 250kg at 1.8m diameter for a full reel. So I'd say do it like this: "Invite" ("Anyone wanna see the projection room?") five people from the audience to help lift the platters (Sign at the seats near the projection room: "These seats may only be occupied by able-bodied persons"). Now that would be the real IMAX Experience^TM - including heavy physical labour and the chance for a spinal disc herniation
And now I better go to bed, before I post even more silly stuff...

[Tsa'räni]

I'll be honest, I saw Avatar once in IMAX and once in the Edwards standard theatre (both in 3D) and to be honest I liked the regular theatre better. I don't know if it is universal but the IMAX seats were not as comfortable and so I kept having to shift in my seat while watching, which "pushed me out of the experience" for brief minutes at a time. The regular theatre seats were wider, more comfy, and leaned back, making the experience much more enjoyable. Obviously this has little to do with the movie itself, but more to do with the IMAX environment.

The image quality was about comperable, as was the sound; so overall my experience in the regular theatre was better, considering the money I shelled out for IMAX.

To be honest, I find IMAX to be more hype than substance.

I'm thinking your IMAX probably just sucks.

[Duma Vadamee {Aungia Tsawkeyä}]

I'll be honest, I saw Avatar once in IMAX and once in the Edwards standard theatre (both in 3D) and to be honest I liked the regular theatre better. I don't know if it is universal but the IMAX seats were not as comfortable and so I kept having to shift in my seat while watching, which "pushed me out of the experience" for brief minutes at a time. The regular theatre seats were wider, more comfy, and leaned back, making the experience much more enjoyable. Obviously this has little to do with the movie itself, but more to do with the IMAX environment.

The image quality was about comperable, as was the sound; so overall my experience in the regular theatre was better, considering the money I shelled out for IMAX.

To be honest, I find IMAX to be more hype than substance.

I'm thinking your IMAX probably just sucks.

probably

[Swoka Ikran]

edit: wiki says 250kg at 1.8m diameter for a full reel. So I'd say do it like this: "Invite" ("Anyone wanna see the projection room?") five people from the audience to help lift the platters (Sign at the seats near the projection room: "These seats may only be occupied by able-bodied persons"). Now that would be the real IMAX Experience^TM - including heavy physical labour and the chance for a spinal disc herniation

LOL

It certainly would be an experience of sorts...and one that might last long beyond the theater in the form of back pain and medical bills.

[Technowraith]

edit: wiki says 250kg at 1.8m diameter for a full reel. So I'd say do it like this: "Invite" ("Anyone wanna see the projection room?") five people from the audience to help lift the platters (Sign at the seats near the projection room: "These seats may only be occupied by able-bodied persons"). Now that would be the real IMAX Experience^TM - including heavy physical labour and the chance for a spinal disc herniation

LOL

It certainly would be an experience of sorts...and one that might last long beyond the theater in the form of back pain and medical bills.

250 kg is close to 600 pounds. And 1.8 meters is about 6 feet tall. While i've never seen an IMAX projector in real life, i can't imagine a film reel being that large. But i don't doubt that for Imax, the platters are indeed that large and heavy. A standard 8mm reel platter is almost 2 feet in diameter. And it weighs just a couple pounds fully loaded. A 6 foot film platter won't be easy to ship, so it's most likely the media comes in in boxes and gets assembled onto the platters. I'd just hate to be the one who spliced the film in the wrong order by mistake. That would be win and fail at the same time. LoL.

[Niwantaw]

jake enters his avatar at the start.... and wakes up with neytiri shaking him

[Swoka Ikran]

I'd just hate to be the one who spliced the film in the wrong order by mistake. That would be win and fail at the same time. LoL.

I bet the movie comes in one piece. But if it doesn't, I can see all sorts of possibilities for the movie...

jake enters his avatar at the start.... and wakes up with neytiri shaking him

That'd be interesting.

Also, Na'vi seen in RDA base kicking out the humans before they ever go to war? Grace seen talking to Selfridge about Jake after she died at the tree of souls?

[omängum fra'uti]

I'd just hate to be the one who spliced the film in the wrong order by mistake. That would be win and fail at the same time. LoL.

I bet the movie comes in one piece. But if it doesn't, I can see all sorts of possibilities for the movie...

No, it does come in parts.  I think it was somewhere in the realm of 5-15 minute segments is what I read.  Even 35mm film is shipped in parts.

[Swoka Ikran]

No, it does come in parts.  I think it was somewhere in the realm of 5-15 minute segments is what I read.  Even 35mm film is shipped in parts.

Learn something new every day I suppose...always thought it came in one piece.

What's the reason for 35mm film being shipped that way? If it only weighs a few pounds for a fully wound reel, it seems kinda silly to make the theater assemble the movie when it could be have been shipped whole.

As for IMAX, it makes sense to send IMAX film that way due to its apparent weight and size.

[Kerame Pxel Nume]

What's the reason for 35mm film being shipped that way? If it only weighs a few pounds for a fully wound reel, it seems kinda silly to make the theater assemble the movie when it could be have been shipped whole.

Simple reason: It wouldn't fit in normal film cassets otherwise. There's a standard format for both cassetes and parcels for postal delivery. A standard reel takes about 45 minutes. Cinemas have to (re-)splice a film copy multiple times anyway, to cut out damaged frames, or similar stuff. A few weeks ago I was in the sneak preview of "The Edge of Darkness" and during the showing the film ripped. The cinema manager came in apologizing, they got it fixed within 10 minutes, in the meantime the reopened the snack bar giving out drinks and ice cream at a slightly reduced price

I think such mishaps belong to the real cinema experience and one should enjoy them, as long as such may still happen.

[Swoka Ikran]

Simple reason: It wouldn't fit in normal film cassets otherwise. There's a standard format for both cassetes and parcels for postal delivery. A standard reel takes about 45 minutes. Cinemas have to (re-)splice a film copy multiple times anyway, to cut out damaged frames, or similar stuff.

Well, that explains that. I just figured they could two big reels in a cardboard box and mail it. Didn't know there was a standard for film cassette mail. Also, never knew they had to fix the films occasionally.

A few weeks ago I was in the sneak preview of "The Edge of Darkness" and during the showing the film ripped. The cinema manager came in apologizing, they got it fixed within 10 minutes, in the meantime the reopened the snack bar giving out drinks and ice cream at a slightly reduced price

I think such mishaps belong to the real cinema experience and one should enjoy them, as long as such may still happen.

Never been to a dud showing of any movie myself. My sister OTOH went to a dud showing...her only attempt to see Avatar...in IMAX. She said the projector died while Sully's brother was being cremated. They gave everyone a free ticket coupon and told them to leave.

To date, she still has not seen Avatar, and occasionally tells me (when I'm talking about Avatar) to "just get over it." If I get my BD/DVD on Monday, I'm gonna have to force her to watch it with me.

[Niwantaw]

Simple reason: It wouldn't fit in normal film cassets otherwise. There's a standard format for both cassetes and parcels for postal delivery. A standard reel takes about 45 minutes. Cinemas have to (re-)splice a film copy multiple times anyway, to cut out damaged frames, or similar stuff.

Well, that explains that. I just figured they could two big reels in a cardboard box and mail it. Didn't know there was a standard for film cassette mail. Also, never knew they had to fix the films occasionally.

A few weeks ago I was in the sneak preview of "The Edge of Darkness" and during the showing the film ripped. The cinema manager came in apologizing, they got it fixed within 10 minutes, in the meantime the reopened the snack bar giving out drinks and ice cream at a slightly reduced price

I think such mishaps belong to the real cinema experience and one should enjoy them, as long as such may still happen.

Never been to a dud showing of any movie myself. My sister OTOH went to a dud showing...her only attempt to see Avatar...in IMAX. She said the projector died while Sully's brother was being cremated. They gave everyone a free ticket coupon and told them to leave.

To date, she still has not seen Avatar, and occasionally tells me (when I'm talking about Avatar) to "just get over it." If I get my BD/DVD on Monday, I'm gonna have to force her to watch it with me.

how to force sister to watch film:

You will need:
rope.
more rope
chair
television

method
tie her to the chair and place television in front of her
play film.

[omängum fra'uti]

Simple reason: It wouldn't fit in normal film cassets otherwise. There's a standard format for both cassetes and parcels for postal delivery. A standard reel takes about 45 minutes. Cinemas have to (re-)splice a film copy multiple times anyway, to cut out damaged frames, or similar stuff.

Well, that explains that. I just figured they could two big reels in a cardboard box and mail it. Didn't know there was a standard for film cassette mail. Also, never knew they had to fix the films occasionally.

I used to work in a theater.  Grunt work like concessions and picking up trash between showings.  When theaters emptied before the credits finished we'd get a head start on cleaning.  Once the film jammed midway through the credits and I got to see the frame melting on screen.  Those projector lamps are HOT, and if the film stops moving, at all, Bad Things happen.  So splicing films is a very common occurrence in theaters.  Those prints get abused pretty heavily.

[Swoka Ikran]

I used to work in a theater.  Grunt work like concessions and picking up trash between showings.  When theaters emptied before the credits finished we'd get a head start on cleaning.  Once the film jammed midway through the credits and I got to see the frame melting on screen.  Those projector lamps are HOT, and if the film stops moving, at all, Bad Things happen.  So splicing films is a very common occurrence in theaters.  Those prints get abused pretty heavily.

Sounds like they do. I'm surprised they haven't developed a reinforced, heat resistant film yet...if they know the films take that kind of abuse, you'd think they'd find a way to fix it.

method
tie her to the chair and place television in front of her
play film.

I asked her after I posted and she said she'll watch it some weekend with me (she's always busy, she has a full time job).