IMAX Corporation: Difference between revisions

'''IMAX Corporation''' is a Canadian theater company which designs and manufactures IMAX cameras and projection systems as well as film development, production, post production and distribution to IMAX affiliated theaters worldwide. It was founded in 1968 as a result of Expo 67 in Montreal. It holds operations in Toronto, as well as New York and Los Angeles. They didn't use a animated logo until the 1980s.

'''Visuals:''' There is a moving starfield for a few seconds before a light tunnel appears in the distance and engulfs the screen. The light tunnel changes colors and shapes throughout this part of the logo, a la the 1970s ''Doctor Who'' titles or the famous "Stargate" sequence from ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' (coincidentally, the studio behind this logo was also the design consultant of that film). We eventually move even faster through the tunnel as light trails quickly zoom past us, with some forming "X" shapes. There is then a flash, which replaces the tunnel with an extreme close-up of a blue outline of the IMAX logo, which zooms away from us with a light trail. When the IMAX logo is at a comfortable distance, the light trail disappears into the logo, which turns dark blue/purple.

'''Trivia:''' The tunnel was a template to dome cinemas in buildings such as the St. Louis Science Center.

'''Variant:''' A similar logo was made for "Omnimax" theaters, featuring different shapes and patterns in the stargate tunnel. The IMAX logo at the end is replaced by the "Omnimax" respectively as well.

'''Audio:''' Various humming sounds and eerie bell sounds that fit the mood of space are heard at the start, and a weird sound effect reminiscent of a jet engine starting up and taking off while inside the tunnel. The music and sound effects get more intense as the camera moves faster through the tunnel, along with whooshes that accompany the light trails and flash. When the IMAX logo is on screen, a futuristic organ-like chord reminiscent of the THX Deep Note is heard.

'''Availability:''' Most likely seen in the 1980s in IMAX Dome, or "Omnimax", theaters. It is unlikely this was shown in normal theaters. The Omnimax variant is considered lost, although it was partially resurfaced in an [[Omnimax Theater|Illinois theater]] with a different logo design.

'''Availability:''' Seen on IMAX screens between 1993 and 2004, and also preserved on DVD and Blu-ray releases of IMAX productions, as well as the IMAX version of Apollo 13. The animated variant was spotted on Mission to Mir (1997).  

* On DMR releases, the text after we see the 1 says "DIGITALLY TRANSFORMED" before flipping out and disappearing to make room for "THE ULTIMATE MOVIE EXPERIENCE". The logo's running time is also slightly longer to accomodate this. At digital locations, instead of turning off like a TV, the whole thing fades to a black screen featuring the DLP logo.  

'''Visuals:''' The sequence begins at a three-dimension grid of spheres, spinning around the space, as a voice instructs to prepare for the "IMAX Theater Optimization Cross-Check". At the conclusion of this voiceover, the spheres turn past 180 degrees and end on a slope. After a quick fade, the sequence ends up at another grid, and zoom out of the space to discover a rectangle of spheres. After this, the vertical axis expands by a fair bit; and then flips on its side and expands its size, to reflect IMAX's large screen (a female voice comes in mentioning the screen has been maximized). Another quick fade happens, and we see a wavy pattern form from a flash. After the male voiceover returns to "power up" the projectors, another flash happens that wipes away the wavy patterns. We then see a teal landscape of waves form, almost akin to a virtual desert. After falling into one of these waves, it dissolves away and we then see a spiral of spheres converging into a cylinder. After a short piano theme and another voiceover mentioning IMAX's sound system, the spheres break from the cylindrical formation and return to the spiral. The camera looks upward and we can see the spiral pattern in its entirety, with the female voiceover mentioning the sounds had been perfected. Initially, we rise slowly, but after the female voiceover finishes; the movement quickly accelerate, and streaks of light come into the frame while the male voiceover comes in to "prepare the audience for maximum impact". Shortly after this voiceover finishes, another flash happens, and the spheres dissolve into the same wavy patterns as before. The screen then cuts away to another wavy landscape full of spheres, although not quite as detailed. Finally, after the male voice mentions "the world's most immersive movie experience begins...", the IMAX logo dissolves in. After a couple of seconds, the announcer finishes his sentence with "...now." Right as he completes the sentence, one final flash with a sphere around it hits the screen, before fading out.

'''Variant:''' In the IMAX AMC variant, there is more red, due to the partnership with [[AMC Theatres]].

'''Visuals:''' Same as the 3rd logo, but the blue CGI environment looks more enhanced and appears to be in space. The first three words, shown against the film backdrop, now read "{{font|impact|PREPARE}}... {{font|impact|TO}}... {{font|impact|BELIEVE}}" in Impact font. The phrases in the countdown now read "MIND-BLOWING IMAGES", "EARTH SHATTERING SOUND", and "THE ULTIMATE MOVIE EXPERIENCE", respectively. Also, the words and numbers are now silver instead of a metallic blue, and the phrase from the DMR variant of the previous logo, "DIGITALLY TRANSFORMED... THE ULTIMATE MOVIE EXPERIENCE", now reads "WATCH A MOVIE... OR BE PART OF ONE" and is now shown before native IMAX productions as well. The text appears over a moving blue starfield. As the ring passes over the IMAX logo, a silver line with the text "{{font|Impact|- IS BELIEVING -}}" underneath it are wiped in below the logo. The whole thing then fades out, leaving a thin, blue silhouette of one of the rings that shines as it moves off-screen and a flash in the middle of the screen.

'''Visuals:''' On a black background, there is the IMAX logo, the first half lit in blue, and the other half dim. The full logo starts to light up after a few seconds, retaining a blue glow around it. The sequence starts to zoom in to the logo. While that happens, the logo transforms from a glossy texture to a futuristic city skyline. A full view of the city is later shown as we appear to be entering a very high-tech tunnel. A diamond suddenly pops up and shoots out purple-blue-green color. We then see a video reel that is meant to look like a film strip (a la [[Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment]]) of a racing automobile speeding across a track. The screen pans around the race car in driver's view, putting 2 more racing cars in view. It then starts to travel at lightspeed, teleporting us to a blue background with what seems to be blurred circles forming a circle as the screen zooms through it. Audio visualization waves pop up from the left and right of the screen. The waves later fade out and fade back in as one wave, shown at the center of the screen, then later the bottom. Mini-explosions occur, causing the scene to change. There is a pin falling to what seems to be sand (or dirt) specks. The pin bounces and shines. Change of scene: On a very starry night, there is a plane starting to take off. The plane starts to leave wavy streaks behind it, later to become a solid to form the IMAX logo. After a few seconds, the screen zooms past the logo.

'''Visuals:''' Various crystals are shown as the text "CRYSTAL CLEAR IMAGES" appears on screen. We then see a spiky, metallic layer pulse with what is presumably the intended audio of the logo, the text "IMMERSIVE SOUND" appearing to the left. An explosion of blue and gray energy occurs, followed by an explosion that includes some normal colored fire but is mostly magenta. Purple and turquoise crystal-like energy forms as "WIDER COLOR SPECTRUM" appears to its right. What almost looks like a pulsing pelt of fur made of gold is shown with the text "EXCLUSIVITY". Finally many rainbow pins of light form an iris-like shape as the text "ADVANCED THEATER TECHNOLOGY" appears to the bottom right. The IMAX logo forms in an unknown way.

'''Audio:''' Unknown, as all we have are style frames.