In the 1960s, Toronto based IMAX Corporation patented a large screen film process also known as the 15 perforation 70mm process. In the early 1990s, when their patented system fell into the public domain, there were less than 100 IMAX screens worldwide. In the last three years (since IMAX became a publicly traded company), the company has enjoyed unprecedented growth. Today, there are over 180 IMAX theaters in operation with a backlog of more than 85 venues to be installed in the coming months.
While iWERKS Entertainment is the
only competitor to IMAX in the 15/70 arena, the company has installed only
a handful of theaters to date. There is nonetheless, a substantial network
of 8 perf. 70mm theaters and 10 perf. 70mm theaters.
MegaSystem, a new supplier of 2-D and 3-D 870 hardware, installed its first large format theaters in 1998.
Historically, about 80% of the theaters were sold to museums while only 20% were sold to commercial operators (theme parks, multiplexes, etc.). Today, the trend is shifting greatly in favor of commercial operators. A number of multiplex operators have announced multiple theater deals.
The most important development in the industry in recent years is the introduction and the commercialization of 3D (stereoscopic) 15/70 projection systems. Most of the new systems sold today are 3D theaters.
The Large Format Films
In the first 25 years of the large format film industry, a total of 125 films have been produced, or an average of five new titles per year. Recently, the supply of films has grown steadily to about eight new titles per year. Except for a handful of special projects, the majority of films produced to date fall into three main categories: space films, wildlife/nature documentaries and destination films.
nWave Pictures' Foray into 15/70 Productions
Having released three 15/70 films in less than two years (Thrill Ride, Encounter In The Third Dimension, Alien Adventure), nWave Pictures has positioned itself as a major new player in the industry. Thrill Ride was a trendsetting film recognized by the industry as one of the most technologically innovative
projects produced to date.
With Thrill Ride, nWave Pictures set a new standard in the production techniques used to produce large screen formats. Over half of Thrill Ride was created digitally; either computer generated animation or digitally recorded and/or manipulated images. Thrill Ride contained a total of five groundbreaking shots produced with a high resolution digital camera.
With Encounter and Alien Adventure, nWave Pictures pushed the envelope of large format 3-D production even further by creating or manipulating these films entirely on computer.
None of the other large 15/70 production companies and independent producers have the full range of digital capabilities found in-house at nWave Pictures.