Not sure how many of you have been following the meet-up thread in the General Avatar Discussion area, but to cut a loooooong story short I ended up getting shown into the projection room of the IMAX cinema in Birmingham. I was fortunate enough to be allowed to take some piccies and thought folks might be interested to see behind the scenes at the place where we have met our Avatar experience. Well anyway here it is:

This first one shows the film that brought us all thogether in the first place. Note that there are two reels of film. One each for the left and right eyes. These things are massive and can only just fit on the 'platters' - hence the film time limit. There are also very heavy, hence the pallet truck to move them.



The next photo shows the projection installation - freeking daisy cutters! Ok, well starting top left you can just make out a sanyo projector. This is what our film was shown on. Below this is a 35mm film projector and is used to show the adverts on. It's not quite what you think a projector would look like. But then neither is the that big white box thingy next to it. That, my friends, is the IMAX projector - GT version no less.


It is one 'Foxtrot Oscar' projector that provides some 15,000W of illumination! In the middle of the photo are the 'platters' upon which the film reels sit and are taken off via a set of 'umpteen' rollers, into the IMAX projector and then back onto the top 'platters'. Behind the 'platters' you can just make out a big black box of tricks. That is the sound system! It'll blow the windows out of your house! The white table on the left is the splicing table for making up films and repairs.

This next view is taken from the other side. You get a better look at the 'platter' tray reel system which takes the film off the plater and feeds it into the IMAX projector to the right. You see the pipes coming out the back of the machine? Well they are all the air and water cooling systems for the lamp in the projector. I bet the lights dim in Brimingham when they turn that baby on!


I know folks are interested in the Avatar film technology and how it was made. But I thought it might also be of interest to see the output technology for 'our' film and how it is projected in an IMAX cinema.

Toodle pip,

Alan