Need IMAX Shooting Info.
 

Not sure if this is the right place for it, but I need some info on shooting for IMAX.

It's just for an advertisement to be run in an IMAX theatre, so RED ? HDCAM SR ? XDCAM HD ? or maybe HDV be ok ??

Any suggestions ?

Thanks
Steve.

IMHO, anything that's just "OK" won't be good enough for IMAX. That screen is so big and so close that any image imperfection or softness is going to be glaringly apparent to the audience. Go for the sharpest, crispest image you can possibly afford to get and pay minute attention to focus. "Good enough" won't be.

Moved from Taking Care of Business to HD and UHD ( 2K+ ) Digital Cinema.

Title changed from I'll Stick it Here! to Need IMAX Shooting Info.

For the record, Imax proper (not just the digital projections in an Imax theatre which is what I think you're talking about) is 70mm film which has nearly 10 TIMES the surface area of 35mm film.

If it's a digital screening in an Imax theatre, I worked on a piece in DVCam that was projected in an Imax theatre. I won't comment on the end result.

Thanks Chris, for moving the thread to the right area.

Steve and Shaun thanks for the info. Yes i'm assuming it will be a digital projection of some sort. I don't think the client will be willing to spend money on an IMAX shoot. I've done a Hi8 to 35mm for cinema once before (long time ago) and the result was reasonable. Until I get all the details and budget from the client, I guess it's just a guessing game at this stage.

If the budget is tight I would seriously consider something like an XDCAM EX recording on to a NanoFlash. SD will look very soft, HD has to be the minimum.

As well, since we are assuming it's a digital projection, find out what they are feeding the projector with. Is it an HD tape format VTR or is it a media streaming appliance/computer? The end delivery will HELP to define what you can/should source and deliver on.

If I'm reading between the lines correctly, this is a promo/commercial that would run before IMAX film presentations, much as digital programming precedes movies and trailers at my local multiplex. They will likely have a set delivery format specification.

On the other hand, if it is an IMAX rental for a corporate screening, you'll have the opportunity to bring in your own playback device and you'll need to find out what the projector can accept as input.

It is my understanding that Imax resolves at about 5k.

Thanks Alister, Dave and Shaun. I got the specs today from one of the advertising production companies, and all they need is basically a .mov animation file (lossless), 1920x1080 (square pixels), 24 or 25 fps, RGB (Millions of colours) with audio as PCM 48Khz 16 bit. and thats it. So guess you can shoot on anything HD. Easy Peasy.