The movie poster of the upcoming Jordan Peele’s NOPE, reveals an interesting phrase — “Shot With IMAX Film Cameras”, as opposed to Top Gun: Maverick’s poster — “Filmed For IMAX”. What’re the differences? Read on.

NOPE: “Shot with IMAX film cameras”

NOPE is an upcoming American science fiction horror film written, directed, and produced by Jordan Peele. The film is scheduled to be released on July 22, 2022, by Universal Pictures. NOPE was shot by cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema using Kodak film, including 65mm film in IMAX format. It’s well known that Hoytema specializes in 65mm film cameras, and as Christopher Nolan’s cinematic partner, he earned some decent running time shooting on them. On the movie poster, it’s clearly mentioned that NOPE was “Shot With IMAX Film Cameras”. Watch the trailer below:

Old generation IMAXs

Although we hoped that Peele has shot NOPE on the next generation of IMAX cameras, according to the BTS footage he hasn’t, as we identified the MSM 9802 in the production. However, IMAX has confirmed that Peele was involved in the 2-years development phase of the next generation of IMAX cameras. This new generation will be characterized by quieter and friendlier machines. Furthermore, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was also shot on the same cameras, and by the same cinematographer. Moreover, Nolan which is an ‘IMAX expert’, is also involved in building the next 65mm beasts. BTW, in an interview with Screen International in Cannes last month, IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond stated that in Oppenheimer, Nolan has utilized the cameras in “new, novel ways”. For instance, it’s the first film to shoot sections in IMAX black and white analog photography. Oppenheimer is scheduled to be released in the United States on July 21, 2023, by Universal Pictures.

Top Gun: Maverick: Filmed For IMAX

We’ve written tons of articles about the making of Top Gun: Maverick. Although the filmmakers who made it stated that the movie was shot on IMAX cameras, it’s not completely accurate. TG was shot on the Sony VENICE, which is an IMAX certified. The VENICE belongs to a list of elite high-end cinema cameras that were approved by IMAX to be able to shoot for an IMAX theater. The cameras which were certified are ALEXA LF, MINI LF, 65, Panavision DXL2,  RED Ranger MONSTRO, and Sony VENICE. For that IMAX owns a program called “Film in IMAX” which defines the cinema cameras that are able to shoot for its theaters, as long as the production is being supervised by IMAX which determines the protocols, best practices, and methodologies for shooting the format.

Filmed For Vs. Shot With

In the real world, there’s a small number of ‘real’ IMAX cameras. The reason that IMAX initiated the “Filmed in IMAX” program is to allow more productions to fill IMAX theaters and thus elevate profit. IMAX wants to expand its machines, hence, it certifies more highly capable cameras. Also, this is the main reason for developing four new 65mm cameras and expanding the fleet even further. Till now, when examining the films made for IMAX theaters, we reveal a very small portion of IMAX 65mm film cameras being used in productions. For instance, explore the camera chart below of the leading 2021 films screened on IMAX. The 9802 is at the end of the list, and at the top, you can find the ALEXA Mini which is not even an IMAX certified. The chart clearly demonstrates and justifies the logic behind developing more 65mm monsters. BTW, as a tribute to the mighty 65mm format, we’ve created the Y.M.CINEMA 65 which is a perfect gift for cinephiles — explore it on our website.

Closing thoughts

To sum it up, here’re the definitions: ‘Shot With IMAX’ means that the movie was filmed with IMAX 65mm cameras, whereas ‘Filmed For IMAX’ indicates that the production used digital cinema cameras that were certified by IMAX (large sensor top-notch cinema cameras). Which is better? Well, we think that the answer to that is unambiguous. Of course, 65mm produces more rich and pleasing imagery. However, it’s significantly more expensive and complicated to shoot with those cameras, although it’s totally worth the hassle. Nolan would confirm that 🙂

• Y.M.CINEMA 65 – A Gift for Filmmakers