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As spectacular and all encompassing as the Imax experience is, I'm afraid it simply is a representation of the future of the movie industry. There are only certain types of movies that can really take advantage of the Imax experience. Even those select movies can only support a certain percentage of the population. The Imax experience itself is a highly intense journey inside the movie you are watching, an experience that many people's senses simply can not handle properly.

Imax is a wonderful extension of the movie experience. The immersion effect that the audience experiences is second to none and something that everyone should experience. However this is not the type of experience that is well suited for all movies. Certainly your action packed blockbuster movies such as Spiderman, Star Wars and other fast paced style movies that a traditionally the type of movies that you simply must see on the big screen are your best candidates. But is your traditional date night love story something that can really take advantage of the Imax environment? Is it something that should even be presented in Imax? I think not.

To be considered the future of the movie industry, a technology must be something that the movie industry needs in order to continue it's progression. Sound was the future, the Technicolor was the future, and today digital film and projection are the future. While Imax is an incredible breakthrough in how a director can express his creative ideas to the public, it is not the future really. You won't see your massive mega-plexes replaced by Imax screens. You won't see even a small percentage of your top ranked movies produced in Imax. It simply isn't going to happen.

Imax is a niche novelty, much like 3D movies are. A certainly population of movies goers can be served up a very specialized type of movie experience in a very select environment. Imax will not break into the mainstream to replace traditional big screen movies any time in the near, or far future. They will however continue to expand and you will see more movies that are made specifically for Imax, and an increase in traditional movies that can be ported to Imax.

Digital film technology is the wave of the future. This is not a bad thing for Imax, in fact it is quite the opposite. Digitally filmed movies can more easily be ported over to the Imax format today than ever before. Thanks to the technology involved in digital film making, going from the traditional big screen on a digital projector to an Imax theater is quick, inexpensive and far more practical than in the past. Digital film technology may be exactly what Imax needs in order to better capture the movie audience that can best appreciate the specialized format.

Learn more about this author, Joseph Whalen.
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