How IMAX 70MM Film is Projected!

Adam Savage went to IMAX’s LA headquarters to tour their vault of 70mm film prints, embed with technicians splicing reels as tall as a person, and visit the projection booth of their in-house theater where directors come to review and sign off on their vision printed in film’s largest format.

How IMAX 70MM Film is Scanned and Printed!: • How IMAX 70MM Film is Scanned and Printed!

Shot and edited by Joey Fameli Music by Jinglepunks

(Note: This video is not sponsored.)

IMAX 70mm film is widely considered the pinnacle of film projection due to its massive scale and technical specifications. As highlighted in the video (0:17 – 0:45) and confirmed by technical standards, here is what makes it so special:

Massive Image Area: IMAX 70mm uses a unique “15-perforation” (15PF) format. Unlike standard film that runs vertically, this film runs horizontally through the projector. This allows for a frame size that is nearly 10 times larger than standard 35mm film (0:28 – 0:31).
Unmatched Resolution: Due to the sheer size of the negative, IMAX 70mm offers an estimated visual fidelity of up to 18K resolution. This allows the image to be projected onto massive, 90-foot tall screens with exceptional clarity and minimal visible grain, as it requires significantly less magnification than smaller formats.
Immersive Aspect Ratio: It utilizes a taller, near-square 1.43:1 aspect ratio, which is designed to fill large, floor-to-ceiling screens, creating a more immersive, expansive field of view than the traditional widescreen formats.
Physical Craftsmanship: As shown in the video, the sheer scale of the equipment—including reels that weigh hundreds of pounds (13:06) and specialized, bespoke projection booths—reflects the incredible logistical effort required to exhibit these films at such a high quality.

IMAX 70mm film is projected using a massive, horizontally-fed system known as “15/70” (15 perforations per 70mm frame), where film travels sideways at 337 feet per minute. A 15,000W-watt water-cooled lamp, often requiring protective armor for handling, illuminates the 10-times-larger-than-standard frame through a vacuum-sealed, air-cooled gate for incredible, high-resolution brightness. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

How the Projection Process Works

Horizontal “Rolling Loop”: Instead of moving vertically, the film moves horizontally. A special projector mechanism pulls the film over a curved, vacuum-sealed platter to keep it perfectly flat, ensuring edge-to-edge sharpness on screens that can be 90 feet tall.
Massive Film Reels: Because 70mm film runs so fast, a 2-3 hour movie requires a platter (spinning disk) that can be nearly 6 feet in diameter, often weighing over 500 lbs.
The Light Source: The projector uses a 15,000-watt xenon arc lamp. This intense light source is water-cooled and must be precisely aligned by a technician to prevent brightness inconsistencies.
The Projection Path: The film often feeds from a large platter, goes up to the projector, and back down to a take-up platter, moving at 337 feet per minute. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Key 70mm IMAX Technical Facts

Frame Size: Known as 15/70 because each frame covers 15 perforations, creating an image area ten times greater than standard 35mm film.
Why It Looks Better: The vast amount of film passing through the projector provides unparalleled resolution, clarity, and brightness, particularly for 1.43:1 aspect ratio scenes.
Sound: The audio is run on a separate, dedicated sound system (not directly on the film print) to maximize image space.

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