The Largest IMAX 3D Cinema Is Somewhere in the Balkan Peninsula

Cinema today is a far cry from what it used to be during the late 19th century. The advancement of technology has caused it to change drastically in the past hundred years that it could no longer be recognized when it was still simple and uncomplicated. On the other hand, films have transitioned from being a basic innovation that people used to indulge in from time to time to becoming one of the essential means of communication. Movies used to be displayed in dark cinemas that only have one screen where the black and white images are shown would flicker. Today, the once-meager film industry has grown into a multi-million business that gives the consumers a flamboyant viewing experience. IMAX film is one example. Image Maximum, or more commonly known as IMAX, is one of the improvements in the film industry. It has also changed how consumers view the idea of watching films in cinemas rather than at home. With IMAX, movies now have higher resolution and are projected on massive screens. This is possible because the films used for IMAX measure at 65 millimeters and then they are placed horizontally in a camera in order to create an image measure at 69.6 millimeters wide ant 48.5 millimeters tall. This is considerably larger than the normal size of 48.5 millimeters wide and 22.1 millimeters tall.

The films are not the only ones that were upgraded in order to make that IMAX experience possible. The cameras used for filming the movies were also enhanced, increasing the speed of how the films are running. The upgraded camera exposes the films at 24 frames per second. This innovation creates extremely clear motion pictures. The experience is completed by a sound system with six channels that produces awesome audio. Components in Creating That Incredible IMAX Experience

IMAX is not just about having a gargantuan screen and an excellent sound system. If that is the case, anyone can feel the IMAX experience at the comfort of their homes. There are a number of factors that constitute the IMAX experience. The format of the film must be large as mentioned before. The large format allows the moving pictures to have higher resolutions and is much clearer of about five times than ordinary films. The sounds in the movies are not incorporated into the films, just like what is being done in traditional films. In IMAX, the audio of the film is operated under the Digital Theater Audio Control (DTAC) System, and is a single file that is uncompressed. The audio files are connected straight to amplifiers, unlike others that use a decoder. The projection system used in IMAX is customized in order to allow the film to run at 24 frames per second. The cinema is built in such a way that the screen fills the viewers entire vision. IMAX is very costly to produce and install which is why modifications have been made to this particular technology ever since it was first used. What the company did was to create a technology that would allow ordinary films to be converted into IMAX films. Such technology is called Digital Re-Mastering (DRM). The first time it was used was back in 2002 in converting the movie Apollo 13 into IMAX compatible. Matrix Revolutions and Matrix Reloaded followed soon after in 2003.
IMAX is a film format created by IMAX Corporation, a Canadian company. It was developed by four people, namely, William C. Shaw, Robert Kerr, Roman Kroitor and Graeme Ferguson. The first IMAX film made an appearance in 1970 at the expo in Osaka, Japan. Currently, 157 countries account for the 837 IMAX theaters all over the world. One of the most unbelievable IMAX cinemas in the world can be found in, believe it or not, the Balkans. The largest IMAX 3D cinema can be found in Bulgarias Mall of Sofia located in the countrys capital. The cinema was inaugurated last July 13, 2006, just a couple of days after the mall officially opened. The cinema complex is currently operated by Cinema City Bulgaria which is under Cinema City International.

The Cinema City International (CCI) is a Netherlands-based company founded in 1929 by Moshe Greidlinger. It first started as a family business in Mandatory Palestine. In 1935, the company opened the Armon Cinema which is a large building with an art-Deco faade that is comprised of 1800 seats. It operates numerous cinema complexes all over Eastern and Central Europe. The company is currently operating 99 cinema complexes that comprise of 966 screens. These multiplexes are scattered in seven countries located in the aforementioned areas of Europe.

The company also operates in Israel, but is registered under different names. The Cinema City Internationals main business focus is theater operations. They get the majority of their revenues from ticket sales, putting up of concession stands inside the multiplexes and selling of snacks and drinks, and also selling spots for advertisements. The Dutch company is one of the leading cinema operators across Europe.

Back in 2000, CCI entered into a contract with the IMAX Company. This agreement gave the Dutch company the exclusive rights to operate IMAX theaters in various countries such as Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. The multiplex located in Mall of Sofia has 13 halls. The start of the multiplexs operations was officially launched by Larry OReilly, the Executive Vice President for Theater Development of IMAX, and Mooky Grediner, CCIs Executive Director. This cinema is the seventh IMAX theater CCI is operating all over the world and first one equipped with IMAX technology in the country. The screen is 18 meters in height and 24 meters in width. The flat screen has edges that are curved slightly. This allows the screen to expand further than the viewers peripheral vision, allowing the image to fill the peoples visions. The screen is a whopping 4.5 thousand times more massive than the standard television screen.

The cinema was designed to mimic the structure of an amphitheater and seats more than 400 people. The structure allows viewers to have the perfect view of the screen wherever they may be seated. The six-channel sound system enhances is specifically designed for the multiplex, and requires a power of 14,000 kilowatts.

The IMAX theater started operating a month after its inauguration. The first two movies it featured was T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous and Into the Deep. The Dutch company CCI has further plans to put up other cinema complexes outside the vicinity of Sofia in the next couple of years. The company built its second multiplex in a mall located in Plovdiv last March 2009. It has 11 halls. The following year in November, CCI opened a multiplex comprising of 7 halls in Stara Zagora. After a month, it started operating an IMAX theater in the Rousse region of Bulgaria. Currently, the Dutch company has a plan to put up 36 multiplexes that comprises of about 380 screens.
Ever since its introduction to the public a couple of decades ago, IMAX technology has changed how consumers see cinema complexes. Nowadays, they do not perceive the purchase of movie tickets as just a means to see a particular movie, but they identify it as a means to see the movie in IMAX. Buyers no longer buy movie tickets to see the movie, but they buy the IMAX experience. Bulgaria considers their large IMAX 3D multiplex in Sofia as a tourist attraction. For more information on Bulgaria, please visit : www.britsinbulgaria.info