Who Invented the IMAX?

Completely referred to as Image MAXimum but better known as IMAX, this film format is a projection standard and movie format developed by IMAX Corp. of Canada. It offers a number of advantages including higher picture resolution as well as greater size compared to conventional film systems. The size of the screen usually varies, but the basic measurement for this format is usually 53 feet or 16.1 meters high and 72 feet or 22 meters wide. Aside from these interesting details, there are other nice things to learn about it including who invented the IMAX.

The Invention of the IMAX System
Who invented the IMAX? A number of people developed the IMAX system, namely William C. Shaw, Nicholas Mulders, Roman Kroiter and Graeme Ferguson. Before that, there were numerous attempts to improve the visual impact of movies. The very first one was in 1929, when Fox developed the 70mm format called Fox Grandeur. After that, many efforts soon followed including the VistaVision in 1954 and the CinemaScope in 1953.

Additional Facts and Other Interesting Details
The very first IMAX film was entitled “Tiger Child,” which became part of Expo ’70 that was held in Osaka, Japan. In 1971, the IMAX system was installed permanently at the amusement entertainment park called Ontario Place in Toronto. In the United States, a huge IMAX screen was used at the Expo ’74 in Spokane, Washington. In 1973, a permanent IMAX Dome was installed at the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center within Balboa Park in San Diego California. Meanwhile, a permanent IMAX 3D theater was featured at Expo ’86 held in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Today, there are numerous IMAX systems installed all throughout the world. Some of these include the IMAX Theatre La Geode in France, the SM Mall of Asia IMAX Theatre in the Philippines and the BFI London IMAX in England. In addition, you can also see the Prasads IMAX Theatre in India, the LG IMAX Theatre in Australia as well as the Cinesphere in Canada.

There are several IMAX system variations available, the most common of which are the IMAX Digital, the IMAX HD and IMAX 3D. One of the most impressive varieties is the amazing dome system referred to as OMNIMAX. This particular type of IMAX has many impressive features including the amazing fisheye lenses. Aside from watching movies, these special cinemas can also be used to play exciting and highly competitive computer game tournaments. Furthermore, they can also serve as venue for live music concerts.