IMAX CEO, Rich Gelfond said to Deadline that the company is working to make IMAX cameras more user-friendly. Does this mean that the giant and intimidating box will be renovated and modernized?

More user-friendly IMAX?

The IMAX cameras are tough, and that’s from a user experience point of view. Shooting on an IMAX demands knowledge, skills, and a specialized IMAX technician on-set. There’s no room for mistake as that precious gold massive film stock runs through it (approximately $1,000 for 3 minutes of shooting at 24FPS). Furthermore, those cameras are noisy, eliminating the possibility of utilizing them in dialog scenes. Thus, making these cameras more suitable and user-friendly might be a smart approach. In an interview with Deadline, IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond said that IMAX is working to make its cameras more user-friendly. However, he didn’t elaborate further, but between the lines, we can assume that this is the time to renovate those beasts.

Black Widow on 1.9:1

Black Widow was produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is intended to be the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Cate Shortland and stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff (the Black Widow). IMAX stated that Black Widow will debut with 22 minutes of select scenes in an expanded aspect ratio (1.90:1 – up to 26% more) exclusively in IMAX. The movie is the first new Marvel Studios theatrical release since 2019. “Marvel and IMAX have done this before on a number of films. We have a really great partnership and we think we each complement each other’s brand. We try to do something for the fans to celebrate the relationship” said Gelfond to Deadline. Furthermore, Gelfond elaborated that the enhanced visuals are built into the Marvel production process. “They usually make up about 30 to 45 minutes of films that aren’t shot with IMAX cameras – which most are not”, he adds.

Wasn’t shot on IMAX

In continues to our previous paragraph, we can take this movie as a case study, like any other movie. For instance, IMAX cameras were not used to shoot Black Widow. According to IMDB Tech Spec (which aren’t 100% accurate), the cameras used are Panavision Millennium DXL2, Phantom Flex4K, and Sony VENICE. I won’t be so sure how much of this is true, but let’s suppose it is. The codecs were AXS-R7 (Sony), CineMag (Phantom), and R3D (DXL2). All these cameras (excluding the Phantom Flex4K) are IMAX certified, which means, they’re part of the Filmed in IMAX program launched in September 2020. The Filmed in IMAX program certifies the ARRI ALEXA LF and MINI LF, Panavision Millennium DXL2, RED RANGER MONSTRO, and Sony’s VENICE cameras along with the ARRI ALEXA 65 IMAX camera previously announced with ARRI Rental. As part of the program, IMAX will also certify independent camera rental houses that can supply certified cameras worldwide, starting with Panavision, ARRI, and Keslow Camera. IMAX will select only a limited number of films to participate in the program each year. Given that fact, it’s much easier to enhance the visuals to fit the IMAX screen. Nevertheless, it doesn’t eliminate the need of modernizing the IMAX cameras themselves.

Black Widow is scheduled to be released in the United States on July 9, 2021, simultaneously in theaters and through Disney+ with Premier Access. It will be the first film in Phase Four of the MCU and was delayed three times from an original May 2020 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch the trailer below:

Product List

Here’re the products mentioned in the article, and the links to purchase them from authorized dealers. 

• ARRI ALEXA Mini LF | BUY on B&H
• RED Ranger Monstro 8K VV | BUY on B&H
• ARRI ALEXA LF | BUY on B&H
• Sony VENICE 6K | BUY on B&H