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posted by martyb on Friday October 07 2016, @09:52AM   Printer-friendly
from the add-a-farraday-cage,-too dept.

In a tiny private theater in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, filmmaker ­Douglas Trumbull is screening one of his latest creations. At first, the movie looks familiar: it's footage of astronaut Chris Hadfield singing David Bowie's "Space Oddity" in a clip that went viral on YouTube a couple of years ago. But halfway through the song, the film shifts from Hadfield strumming his guitar in the International Space Station to 3-D shots of planets and stars so detailed that I feel as though I'm on the ISS itself, looking through its cupola windows. A huge image of Earth fills my field of view and begins rotating. I'm wearing 3-D glasses, but the picture is far brighter and sharper than is typical in 3-D movies. Next to me, people mumble things like "Completely unreal" and "Awesome."

This is Magi, a system that captures images in 3-D and "4K" ultrahigh resolution and displays the resulting frames at five times the usual rate. Trumbull developed the technology as a way to create movie experiences more immersive than regular 3-D or giant-screen IMAX—and restore the joy of going out to the movies.

[...] The movie industry could use some magic. North American box office receipts have been relatively flat for years. Many consumers prefer the convenience and affordability of watching movies on their TVs and mobile devices, especially since manufacturers keep developing sharper, brighter, more color-accurate screens.

To develop something far better, Trumbull built a studio on his sprawling Berkshires property; hired a multitasking crew that ranges from four to 50 people, depending on the project; and produced a series of demos that tested new cinematic techniques, such as how to combine different frame rates and resolution levels in one movie. On top of all that, he has created a new type of movie theater optimized for showing Magi films.

Presumably, not showing 45 minutes of TV commercials before the feature is not on the list of things that could bring some magic back to the movie industry...


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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday October 07 2016, @03:08PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 07 2016, @03:08PM (#411511) Journal

    You don't get searched before watching the movie.

    Pizza is not the only option. In fact, you have more snack options available than the theater concession stand. If you go for popcorn, it's very cheap. Candy. Soda. Frozen treats of all kinds. Whatever you find at your local grocer.

    If you or any of the people you are watching with decide it's a good time to pause for a "break", that is a flexibility you do not get at the theater.

    Oh, did you miss something? Rewind and catch it again.

    Closed captioning if you need it to catch some difficult to hear dialog.

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  • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday October 07 2016, @03:32PM

    by Thexalon (636) on Friday October 07 2016, @03:32PM (#411518)

    I was trying to emphasize the "Never even have to leave the house" aspect of it when it came to food, but yes, that's all absolutely true.

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    • (Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Friday October 07 2016, @04:28PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 07 2016, @04:28PM (#411531) Journal

      If you don't go to the theater, you are negatively affecting the reproductive opportunities for bed bugs.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 07 2016, @06:52PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 07 2016, @06:52PM (#411573)

    You don't get searched before watching the movie.

    With all the terrorism/mass shooter fearmongering, that might change. They'll look for guns, and while they're doing that, food. Maybe.