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Giant 3-D cinema opens in London

The opening of the £6m IMAX cinema also marks the launch of big format cinema in the UK, with special wide screens that are seven storeys high.

The screen extends beyond the viewer's peripheral vision, giving the audience the impression of being in the middle of the action. It is so big that a whale can appear life-size.

There are already two IMAX cinemas in the UK, in Bradford and Skegness, but this is the first which is 3-D.

Visitors are given special headsets which provide the 3-D sound and image effects.

The cinema is screening Across the Sea of Time, a New York adventure drama that takes the viewer on a roller-coaster ride through the history of the Big Apple. It is also displaying a number of 2-D films, which benefit from the extra large format.

From education to spectacle

The company began in 1967 in Toronto, specialising in using giant-screen film format to show documentaries about space travel, the Grand Canyon and the discovery of the Titanic.

The first 3-D cinema opened in Vancouver in 1986, and the London venue is the 29th of its type.

When Richard Gelfond and Bradley Wechsler bought the company in 1994, they decided to make it more commercial.

Rather than targeting museums and cultural sites, the new owners aimed to provide high-tech entertainment and spectacle.

"People go into the theatre expecting an experience, and the format never disappoints them," says Mr Wechler.

IMAX released its first 3-D dramatic film, Wings of Courage, featuring Val Kilmer and Elizabeth McGovern, in 1995.

Recently they have been developing what they call "crossover films" that can be shown in commercial or museum settings.

Two of these, Cosmic Voyage and Special Effects, were nominated for Oscar documentary awards this year.

How it works

IMAX technology uses the largest commercial film format available - 70mm, 15-perforation - which is three times the size of regular 70mm and ten times the size of conventional 35mm film that is used in most cinemas.

The camera incorporates two rolls of film and two lenses. A huge and clumsy piece of equipment, its standard magazine can only hold three minutes of film, compared with 11 minutes on 35mm film.

The 3-D illusion is created by showing both films simultaneously. The images are of the same scene, but taken at slightly different angles.

The viewers then wear cordless headsets with liquid crystal shutters activated by infrared sensors, that open and close 48 times per second.

As one side closes, the image for the other is projected on screen. This isolates the images so the right eye sees only the right projected image and the left eye sees only the left projected image.

The brain interpret the images as a single picture with added depth.

The headsets are also equipped with built-in speakers for a "surround" experience. They work in conjunction with the cinema's six channel digital sound system, making sounds appear to come from all angles.

Internet Links

Imax
Directory of Imax theatres

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