Evan Jacobs, VP Finishing & Stereo at Marvel Studios, cautioned not to downplay the home entertainment environment too much, noting that it’s now hard to buy a TV that has less than 4K resolution. Aspect ratio can be treated in different ways by different filmmakers. “Some choose to deliver the IMAX version in 1:90 all the way to the end; others switch among different aspect ratios. The canvas is there,” he said.
Markoe said that filmmakers come in very early in the process, “where they can look at previously shot movies to get an idea about how a movie shot this way works. The common misconception is that we take the same movie and put it in IMAX. But it really is a different version of the film.
“The way the process begins is that we bring the filmmaker in and take them through the options,” continued Markoe. “A lot of them have never worked with that box of crayons.
“If it’s of interest to them, then we look at things like the camera, what camera should they use, what lens package should they use. How do they optimize that? The sound is another piece that is done.”
The genesis of finishing an IMAX film in several different ways came about as they were working very hard on the theatrical version — when it came to watching that same version at home, it was a very inconsistent.
“We have a streaming technology side of our business, to help streaming platforms optimize quality,” Vikram Arumilli, senior vice president and general manager, Streaming and Consumer Technology at IMAX, said. “And then our consumer technical side helps companies like Disney+ help deliver a higher quality experience.”
Optimizing for a giant IMAX screen as well as smaller screens can be done after a movie has been shot. A good example of this is remastering concert videos. One soon to be released in IMAX theaters is “Queen Rocks Montreal,” originally shot in 1981.
“The original film was fully restored by the Queen people,” said Joe Rice, senior vice president of Product-Media, Devices & Globalization, Disney Entertainment and ESPN. “In addition to that, we did a lot of image enhancement to make it look good on the IMAX screen. And then the DSX audio was done specifically for IMAX sound systems.”
Markoe said filmmakers get excited about working with IMAX.
