How many projectionists does it take to change an IMAX bulb?
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- čas přidán 1. 04. 2015
- A behind the scenes look at how IMAX film projectionists change an old IMAX lamp. Shot at the Hackworth IMAX Dome Theater inside San Jose's Tech Museum. It covers the process of a lamp change and brings you facts about the IMAX system.
Projectionists:
John Angle
Michelle Duncan
Created by John Ruddock.
Shot with two GoPro Hero 3's and the iPhone 5S. - Jak na to + styl
Photonicinduction *heavy breathing*
He's the kinda guy that would make it his life goal to find out if he could see it on the moon from his back garden
Maybe that's where he's gone? The moon!
I just enjoyed watching your "How the IMAX works" video which lead me to this one "How to change an IMAX Lamp" sure brings back lots of memories. As a kid I was a huge fan of the IMAX theater Cinesphere at Ontario Place in Canada and would always ask the projectionist for a tour which they did many times. I'd watch all the documentaries over and over again trying to find the best seat for each one, my favorite was "Hail Columbia - The Space Shuttle" and to be seated way down low in the middle so I could get a view near the bottom of the launch platform and closest to the speakers for lift off.
In later years they started a 70MM film festival and would play Hollywood features on normal Panavison projectors but would always included a teaser reel on the IMAX hardware, seeing them back to back like that was a real treat. Blade Runner was always my anamorphic lens favorite.
When I finished school I got a job working for a company that made high energy test systems mostly for scientific instruments or special projects. The company started in the film business making carbon arc lamps to light sound stages and those that were used in many brands of early projectors. By the 90's the business was mostly scientific systems containing water cooled long arc Xenon lamps from 3,500 to well over 20,000 watts, somewhat similar to the compact arc lamp shown in your projector. Anyway one day my boss gets a call from IMAX, they are already a customer but now they want to buy a system for testing and have it installed in their lab in Mississauga.
Parts arrive and I head off to one of the most beautiful labs I've ever been to. I meet the head of research and we build the test system. The project which I think is alright to talk about now was the 3D projector prototype, they were having problems getting enough light and wanted to see what a big industrial system could do. We coupled our system to what looked like a horizontal film enlarger on wheels and shot a beam of light about 150ft to a target at the end of the lab, that was it my job was done.
The really cool part was I got to work with Bill Shaw one of the founders. Mr. Shaw had no problem getting dirty, crawling around machines or working with his hands and seemed like a genuinely sincere guy, he made the day enjoyable. To cap a great week off that Friday night my wife and I went out to our favorite Chinese food restaurant and while waiting in line Bill Shaw tapped me on the shoulder, he was dining at the same place and asked if we'd like to join his table.
At dinner he gave us his vision of the future of the cinema where he described in great detail how digital versions of the movies would be transmitted via satellite directly from the studios and projectors would work from small, light and trouble free version of the same LEDs that were barely bright enough to cast a shadow in the late 80s or early 90s. At the time I had no doubt what he said was going to come true and sure enough he was right, the guy was always about thirty years ahead of his time.
Also seated at dinner was game show host Alex Trabek but I've forgotten about six or eight other people at the table. Mr. Shaw encouraged everyone at the table to address the group and talk about what they were doing, I thought I'd get a pass but he asked me to speak about an extremely high energy lamp system that didn't use electrodes or glass envelopes but contained the arc in a vortex of gas and of a recent trip I had made to Japan to view a new scientific instrument, both of which I had only mentioned to him in passing during the day. That old guy had a really fine memory.
Since then I've managed to visit many IMAX cinemas around the world and hope to visit yours soon, any chance for a tour? ;)
Brian, really cool story. You've had quite the career. When you come to the SJ IMAX just ask to see the theater manager and depending on how busy the day is they might be able to give you a tour.
I'm ever so slightly disappointed that this wasn't filmed with IMAX cameras.
Two. Two projectionists to change an IMAX bulb.
Damn, you did the math
Only two, hmm
Zero. They aren't projectionists...
Very interesting. We do/enjoy so many thing without having a clue about how it's there.
Reminds me of when I was changing follow spot lamps, same type Xenon lamp except it was only 3500W and air cooled. Had one de-gas on me once which was interesting to say the least!
I love these projection videos!
I've had 500 and 1500 watt bulbs explode on me at theaters and sound stages. Could not imagine what it would be like for that big boy to go boom.
i also love how the gear is visible to the public! such cool stuff. i figured Imax 15/70 had a damn good reason to stay with digital. sad to see a lot of them switching over or not doing some kind of dual system. if i had unlimited money i would probably go with some complex projector slide so you could switch out 70mm with laser in a matter of minutes.
IMAX actually did exactly that!
> Mainly because [Digital IMAX] facilitates inexpensive distribution of IMAX features, the company announced in February 2012 that they were re-renovating specially selected locations around the world to present both 70 mm analog as well as digital presentations. To do so, IMAX developed a rail system that moves the projectors in and out to accommodate either a full-frame film print or a digital-only release. These theaters were prepared in time for the release of The Dark Knight Rises in July 2012.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX#Digital_projection_2
This brings back memories, changed many xenon lamps when in the bizz. Good video
Breaks my heart that more IMAX theaters are going digital.
Wait so what are the actual disadvantages of going digital?
@@abhijith6589 They are not at the same resolution as true IMAX film. 3-4 years ago I got to tour a modern theater chain with and engineering group and the lead projectionist for the entire chain of theaters was present. He said they would need to be able to project at the minimum 16K to match the resolution of IMAX film. Most theaters are projecting films at 2k in a Windows Media Codec. I didn't think to ask him what codec or if the file is proprietary. So in that aspect you're not seeing full resolution.
@@tsarbomba1 Damn💀. But what about the new 4k laser projection? Does that thin the gap a little? Also I think with the constant innovation in technology the gap between these can be closed or overtaken.
@@abhijith6589 The Projectionist said they would eventually get there. At the time it was not available. The other issue is can you imagine the size of a 16k full resolution file. I believe he said most movies were under 3 gigs at 2K resolution. It's entirely possible that's changed. I have a friend who edits down theatrical releases for Broadcast and it's not unusual for a full rez file from the studios to be 180 gigs. They edit down content as well as cut out anything needed out of a 5.1 mix. They did a re-edit for "The Godfather" and he told me that part of the agreement is Francis Ford Coppola has to watch and approve the edit.
I really do miss the look of film. We've gained so much with digital, but I miss the artistic quality of film.
@@tsarbomba1 Yeah I defo hear that. I was watching videos on projectionists changing and maintaining old imax projectors and even 35mms. Its such asmr to watch those. You feel like you are intimately involved with the process. Even as a youngster I will miss those. I kinda wanted to see that process in person at least once before everything becomes digital
Truly incredible imax technology...
Fantastic Video. Lets hope 15/70 comes back more and more!
But now it's a laser projector! Which looks absolutely stunning, by the way..
Good job ruuhhhhd! Great video!
It's such a shame that the IMAX theater in Vancouver Convention Centre here in Canada was closed, an unacceptable shame. All that's left is the Colossus in Langley & that shows Hollywood movies only, Vancouver needs at least one science based theater, I hope that IMAX comes back especially since it's a Canadian invention.
Halocopter117 well here is the science world omnimax
The Colossus is playing Dunkirk right now and they have a 70mm print. Also, there's still the Omnimax at Science World that's still open.
Come down to Washington I’m sure you’ll be fine crossing the border
Cool man, thnx for sharing this on reddit!
No lie - when I was a protectionist, this was one of my favorite tasks to do. Going Hurt Locker on a bulb.
Thanks for this I'm preparing for Dunkirk hahaha.
Cool!
Craaaaaaaaazzzzzyyyy stuff, awesome facts, now I want to get a miniature version of it for my car's headlights!!!!
You can. eBay search HID headlights.
@@samschannel531 I have HIDs. Worlds better than the old halogen style
Body and face protection and then thin latex gloves with unprotected wrists?? How did the water cooling work?
Very cool - that size and process looks very similar to the expensive CRT tubes we used in planetarium projectors before video technology replaced them. May I ask the source of the music - something you composed or a licensed piece?
How much power and what lamps you need in nowadays digital projectors? They will illiminate the same size screen so I imagine you need the same amount of lumens? Or a bit less due to not having the temporal black time during a frane change?
Remarkable.
Does the bulb have a burn in time?
Bang goes the IMAX lightbulb.
Surprisingly, these techs do not seem to be using the recommended Kevlar coats that extend below the knees. Should this bulb explode, they are holding it NEXT TO THEIR GONADS...not where I would want shards of quartz glass to be flying at explosive force and speed! We use full Kevlar coats to protect EVERYTHING that you don't want sliced by an exploding bulb, and that is when we are just changing 4Kw bulbs. I would think these behemoths would require even more protection.
I also see they are using what looks like latex gloves. We use metal mesh gloves. Latex, while it will protect the quartz envelope from finger oil which can cause serious distorting of the bulb structure and early failure, even a bulb explosion, that latex will NOT protect those fingers from getting sliced off if an explosion occurs. I am paranoid even when changing a smaller bulb for standard 70mm projectors; I probably would wear a bomb suit if I had to change a 15Kw IMAX bulb.
Good call, Tyler. This is a very dangerous task. The projectionists were using all the safety gear that was provided at the time. I know that if they could have picked their protection they would have asked for the metal mesh gloves and heavier coats. This theater has since converted to digital so they don't have to do this anymore.
cool, I'm curious how much does the bulb cost ?
About 6k a bulb.
Ours was $5600. Depends on who you buy from I guess.
that's not as bad as i though ,, still expensive though
John B. Some bulb manufacturers like Christie will give you credit for the old bulb based on how many hours the bulb has on it. If the bulb fails within the MTBF (usually 1500 hours) then they'll either give you more of a discount on a new bulb or a free replacement if you argue with them long enough.
At least this was the case with our 4 kW long arc bulbs in 35mm projectors.
But those face masks and full cover are no joke. We've had bulbs explode before and fused quartz ended up lodged in the walls and ceiling tiles before.
John B. Ushio 15k bulbs are 5500 that includes tax, ordered one last week, we only get about 800hrs on them, striking the lamps take their toll so each powe rup is about an hour of the bulbs life
"This bulb was used to illuminate the Space Shuttle launch pad"
Yeah like I figured, it's Rocket Science 😂😂😂
I seriously wonder if NASA couldnt have just not used regular floodlighting. Im sure this particular bulb is insanely expensive.
@@full-metal_jacob5858 6k for this powerful xenon lamp.
Well, the projector was built and installed in 1998. I don't think ETI LED chips were available and/or cheap back then. Plus, think of how much it would cost to convert the inside of the projector from using a lamp to LED's. Way too much.
+High Orbit Media For projection you need an extremely bright point source of light. LEDs emit light in a plane rather than a point, and the brightest is about 6000 lumens. IMAX bulbs emit 600,000 lumens from a single point, the tip of the cathode.
Adam Ahmed Not just the tip, the entire arc length.
the IMAX laser digital is simply awesome go see one you will enjoy it 3D is spectacular also.
Yeah, but in terms of resolution it's a far cry from true IMAX. It's 4K, while IMAX film is about 12K-16K. A digital system needs to be at least 8K to truly be considered IMAX, as that's the minimum resolution for a viewer seated at a distance of half the diagonal screen size to not be able to distinguish the individual pixels.
Is there video of the bulb being destroyed?
2:51 that's the connector for the light bulb, standard 3 pin pc fan.
bam its done
How much does a new bulb cost?
So you would need about 2 to 3 bulbs a year?
Yeah, about that.
And it's a trickiest job!
What is the supply voltage? that thing must take some serious cable to power it surely
Roughly 37.5v DC, at 400 amps. Needs a high voltage pulse of ~50KV to get it lit.
3:08 I wonder who is it at the photo in the down-left corner
How do you know when the bulb needs to be change? Is there some kind of meter that tells you that the bulb needs to be replaced?
When you reach a certain number of ignition strikes you must order a replacement. It's usually around 1,000 times. The system tracks this so you can see where you're at.
What movie were they screening? The Hurt Locker? 😂😂
I like how the new bulb came with a slightly broken tamiya connector
I guess they just used the old one ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
From what i've heard even this amount of protection is quite inadequate for this task if something went wrong 😁
Totally true.
Damn you know that bulb is expensive!
GOOD WRK J
Wow. Awesome! Can a bulb explode during a movie? If so, would it damage the film or the projector?
A bulb can explode, yes. But as you can see, the housing around it protects all the movie parts of the projector. In the event of a bulb outage, the projector would emergency stop, which is really scary to hear as a projectionist when you're sitting there looking at your phone.
@@HighOrbitMediaVideos So a film melt as seen in "Cinema Paradiso" isnt possible? That was a scary scene.
This is really neat and I enjoyed watching this. These Xenon bulbs are absurdly dangerous and energy hogs that waste most of their output as heat energy.
We are living in the era of light emitting diodes that are superbright, energy efficient, low temperature, with high color rendering indexes. Is there an LED bulb that can fit into these sockets and get the job done?
Wait, why not use lasers as a light source instead of xenon lamps they last longer & they're brighter so why not?
nice lightbulb for in to my bike
Its smaller than I imagined considering power it consumes
Interesting video but why is it categorized as Sports?
Because in Bulbgaria light bulb changing is a sport. Just kidding, I don't even know how that happened. I'll change it.
Anyone have any information on what the lumens output is?
+RaisonStrain About 600,000
Looks like the bulb itself is air cooled and only the two electrodes of the bulb are watercooled internally. I saw a laser which has its laser crystal and bulb inside a glass tube, so they are surrounded by cooled water ;)
I want one
you know there just going out back after this and smashing that bulb in the back lot ..
These things go off like a hand grenade, even with that protection you really don't want to be anywhere near it when they fail
one place I was at there was still bits of the outer shell of the glass stuck higher up the wall on the plasterboard and ceiling tiles (well ones that was not blow to pieces from the impact) , they dropped it on the floor when they was moving it to the protective box (quite sure who ever dropped it they won't drop another one ever again)
So, when you guys destroy the old bulb, do you take it outside and smash it on the ground?
I'm pretty sure that would blow up in their face if they were to throw it on the ground. Plus, the chemicals in the bulb, the glass, and the elements would probably not be good to expose your self to.
The power electrodes are slowly eroded by the electric arc, but the xenon gas, the quartz glass, and the metal can be recycled.
@@specialedition3585 Um yeah. Some Xenon (which is already contained in our air to some extent) is clearly a big hazard. Wake up, it's a noble gas. It would only be dangerous in large quantities in enclosed spaces, if it displaced all the oxygen. Otherwise it doesn't have any effect on human bodies. Compare it to people inhaling helium from balloons to get a "Mickey mouse" voice. Unless you breathe nothing else for a while it has no effect on your body except for the purely mechanical change of your voice.
Tungsten is also not a problem, especially since it is there as some solid parts. (Inhaling tungsten dust is probably not the best idea as with most dust...) It is clearly safe to the touch (watch out for sharp edges there that could cut your hands, but that's common sense) as it is also used as the tip of drills for example. And (quartz) glass on its own... I think I don't need to explain.
The danger in these things (when turned off and cold) is a purely mechanical one. The pressure inside the lamp in cold state is about 8 bar / 116 PSI. If the quartz glass is damaged to a point where it can no longer withstand the pressure, it will disentegrate violently, sending glass shrapnel all over the place. Those shards can go straight through most human tissue... ;-) So only the firt half of your statement is quite true, the thing starting at the "Plus" not so much. I'd have the quantity of xenon and the (unpressurized) parts of such a lamp in my house at any time. They are not harmful if stripped of the mechanical energy contained in the pressure inside.
I'd imagine they have a method of controlled pressure venting (just like old CRTs used to have a point where they could be punctured to vent them and get rid of the vacuum inside), after which you could basically smash the glass bulb to pieces and collect the parts + the tungsten for recycling..
@@Colaholiker Xenon is also used for anaesthesia, but rarely, because it's so rare and expensive, but it works better than any other gas, with less side effects.
why not shoot it in imax?
its crazy to see the bulb is water cooled by itself but the bulb puts out that much light energy everything else needs air cooling so it doesnt melt to the ground
so basically this is the most expensive waterheater. am I getting this right?
so did the bulb explode in someone's face once then?
More than once.
why not use ETI LED chips they are very bright ? like 200 of them in a good projector
they are now imax laser no more xenon lamps
When we're dealing with projectors we care not just about total lumens (but that too of course) but about brightness which is candelas per square meter, or lumens per solid angle per square meter. Thing is: brightness of the light ray cannot increase as it travels from light source and goes through some optics. It may only decrease, or (in case of ideal optic with no losses) stay the same. Xenon high pressure lamps are still world leaders in terms of brightness, which makes them best candidates for projection lamps. This lamp seems so big, but the size of the area which actually emit light is surprisingly small: it's near 1 mm length in home projectors, but I'm pretty sure it's of comparable size even in these 15 kW lamps. And all the projection system would work as it should only with light source that small. Try to replace it with 200 LEDs, you'll never concentrate a light from them onto film and then onto screen, it would illuminate all the inner workings of projector, but only a very small part would go exactly where it should go!
Light bulb??...It's a XENON LAMP. A bulb is something you put in your garden!!
Im surprised imax hasnt moved to leds. Way cheaper, brighter, last longer and cooler. Win win win and win.
The industry moving to laser illumination from xenon.
Have you ever had one of those lamps explode while in operation or from careless handling of one? I would imagine it would be like a quartz grenade if one were to explode.
No, that's never happened to us. But you're right, it would be a quite an explosion.
Yes in a normal xenon housing, the sound is deafening, & very frightening, you pick up the glass for days
Thought I was in a spaceship
So, has anyone tried to grow under this light?
JeramyReid it would fry everything
@@xeonthemechdragon not with proper distancing.
If you’ve ever heard one implode, you know, and possibly can’t hear
They are pressurized, so they don't implode. they EXplode....
All that work for only 1200 hours?
Lasts just under 5 months though. Think 8 hour days, not 24.
Thats not as bad, but still seems steep. If you purchase anything else for 5500+ dollars id hope it last longer lol.
thats why tickes are pricey takes money to support this venu
Joe Matteo it's impressive that this theater offers 17 dollar tickets and 15 for child/senior/students (as of Dunkirk)
This is what IMAX use?
Should normally wear leather gauntlets as well if that bulb blows your hands are the closest thing to it and the glass could slit your wrists.
Xenon lamps worry me; I don’t even like handling small 1,600 W ones. I’d rather run carbon arcs any day, carbons don’t explode.
Just watching this, knowing hos easy it is to destroy a bulb like that, gives me anxiety.
i mean i don't know if they're easy to destroy as they put across or if it's just H&S on overdrive, we all know what that's like (surprised they're not wearing hard hats and hi-vis tbh), but they have a reported mean time between failure of about 2 months, at about $6K a bulb, so they're expensive and already don't last as long as you'd think so i think being very careful with them is definitely a good way to go to get the most out of these bulbs... if they were susceptible to blowing up often at all i would definitely be covering my wrists while handling this, don't want to get a chunk of glass in there
@Mass Debater Shut the fuck up
@@Nitrxgen I've worked with recycling and one of my tasks was to take care of highly explodable lamps, gas filled xenon lamps for example. And no matter how careful you are they are incredibly easy to destroy as they can explode even if you handle them with care.
Anxiety is for the weak
@@24ecko Wow, you are a moron. Do you even know what anxiety actually is?
Did you see when she touched the bulb? Omg🤦🏻♂️
Have you ever heard of or seen someone changing a lamp without wearing the gear?
I have not. But it would be a pretty bad idea.
Required PPE...Leather apron, check. Face shield, check. Take my wrists and hands but what ever you do, don't mess up my money maker.
Hey shit happens, at least they took proper safety precautions and the bulb is cool enough to manually handle.
+maddoxjsph exactly, I regularly change xenon lamps and those gloves they have are totally unsafe. Those lamps will knock you over when they go, so that flimsy material is no protection whatsoever.
the gear is not safe at all it would not even protect you from a 2k lamp explosion
What happens if a light dies during a show?
We almost never let a bulb go so long that we have to worry about it dying during a show. However, it will shut off if there's any problem with the projector which has happened several times. Theater just goes dark and the sound slowly stops. It's unsettling. Then you have to get on the mic and immediately tell everyone what's going on. Sucks.
@@HighOrbitMediaVideos So an IMAX projector isnt allowed to be left uncontrolled? May the projectionist leave the room during the show?
@@wuslon Technically they need to stay in the booth, but it's such a rare event that you can afford to leave the room when you need to.
Why does the old bulb have to be desroyed ?
safety issue they can explode on there own you just can't throw them in the trash some one could get very hurt or dead!that is a very thick quarts glass envelope it is in.
When they explode they do so quite violently. Quartz glass embedded into wall. That why also they wear protection.
TLDW : Two
Guy: Is it in yet?
Woman: almost, keep going.
Guy: how about now?
Woman: yeah right there, that's it.
"It will later be destroyed"
More like sold on eBay to photonicinduction
LOL!!!
Why do I feel like I am watching two techs replace a fuel rod in a nuclear reactor!?
I see it takes 2 proyectionists
Bugs me it keeps getting called a "bulb" its a lamp. Bulbs do in fact grow in the ground ;)
Only 24 fps???
Jeeeesus what on earth means thoses lbs, F , gallons and so (European's confusion intensifies)
I want that bulb in my toilet... Cuase mine is quite dim...
Lamp not bulb.
Cant you just buy a replacement bulb at Walmart?
The council of smart niggas frowns uppon ur poor functioning brain
Why doesn't the film degrade from such high temperatures?
The film is moving so fast through the projector it doesn't have time, however it would only take a few seconds to burn through should it be stopped in the light path.
Sorta surprised that they use used bulbs for IMAX projectors. Even more surprised that a used bulb with a Space Shuttle history would be destroyed, given that the Space Shuttle is now history. I think I'd put that one away as a bit of history.
Several things wrong here..the chrome leather jacket should be done up at the neck. Latex gloves arent good enough chrome leather gloves....safety glasses under the face shield i didnt see the mirrors blown off then cleaned. Replacing the orings and checking for leaks before closing up is a good idea...glass doesnt show up on an xray and a dropped bulb can explode at he factory we had flak jackets available for bulb changes...do mess around with safety. Safety equipment looks good on everyone.
Yes, those things you noted are important. The projectionists do clean the mirrors and O rings, but, for the sake of my viewers I kept this video nice and short and only showed the bulb being changed out. This took almost an hour to shoot so I cut out a lot of the fluff. Also the 2 projectionists that changed it in the video have more than 20 years experience doing this so they know what they're doing. And I did some research and found that safety equipment does not look good on everyone.
Thats a lamp not a bulb...bulbs go in ground to grow flowers
A lamp is the whole lighting system the bulb is just part of the lamp that emits light.
LAMP NOT BULB
It’s not a bulb it’s a LAMP!!!! 😑
A lamp is any device that produces light -- it's a generic word. A kerosene burring device is a kerosene lamp; likewise a bulb is a light emitting device that is also a lamp -- one that usually has a filament encased in a glass envelope. It is bulb and a lamp -- either one is correct -- one is generic, the other is more specific.
projectionists , wtf
The dome isn't a true IMAX theater. It's a dome. It distorts the picture, and is a shameful presentation :P
Crissa Kentavr Well, the definition of "true IMAX theater" is: uses actual 70mm film. This is what the Hackworth IMAX Dome Theater does. We use actual film making us a true IMAX. Any digital IMAX you see is NOT true because of the lack of film. With Dome theaters however, yes, there can be distortion because it is a curved screen. So it matters where you sit. If you're someone who likes to sit in the first chair off the stairs, yeah, it's not gonna be the best. Sit in the middle next time. Another thing that makes the Dome Theater experience amazing is the sound. It surrounds the theater so it hits ever seat perfectly. We've played The Dark Knight Rises, Jurassic Park, Iron Man 3, and many more that just blow people away. I'm sorry your experience wasn't great. Where did you go?
John Ruddock Dome theaters need films for the dome! Planetarium films. Regular films are distorted. And the audio is good - but also needs the right spot... Dolby Atmos kicks its tail, tho. And yes, I have been to the dome theater at the Tech Museum in San Jose - first regular film I watched there was Fantasia 2000. I love theaters, and have been in every dome theater up the coast, the SJTech is my least favorite I even went to the 360 IMAX that was at Expo 86. That was a kick!
Regular films are distorted because guess what... they're not filmed with real IMAX film. That's not the Dome theater's fault. Most filmmakers shy away from using 70mm despite it still boasting better clarity than digital. What's your idea about how to get rid of distortion? It's a CURVED screen. Everything will distort. I'm curious to know why you believe the SJ Dome is your least favorite of the domes. What experience there made you say, "Nope."?
John Ruddock You're playing a rectangle on a sphere. That's where the problem comes from.
So ALL domes are a big let down for you. That's too bad. As I've seen over 50 movies on a dome screen, I can tell you where it's best to sit, and it's in the middle. You have to be in the middle. Also, make sure before you go that you're seeing a film that was shot in IMAX film. Most films we play were completely shot in actual IMAX which is what that theater is for and they look great. Hollywood films like Interstellar, Dark Knight, Star Trek, might have as much as an hour of real IMAX so they're not MADE for a Dome theater. But IMAX does produce films entirely in 70mm and they're fantastic on the curved screen.
Great. Now get fucking metric.
IMAX is trash......
And so are you