Those attending Science North's IMAX Theatre from now on will be part of a very select group.
The theatre officially re-opens Feb. 6 after five weeks of renovations to install the latest iteration of IMAX technology — laser projection.
Science North is only one of three IMAX theatres in Canada and one of 20 in the world using the technology. The laser light source provides substantially more brightness than a xenon bulb.
“We're using pure laser light — red, green and blue — without prisms, and we're getting inside the frame for inter-frame contrast,” said IMAX chief quality officer David Keighley, who attended the Feb. 4 unveiling of the renovations.
“That is a world standard. We're very proud of it. What that means is brighter, sharper pictures than we've ever seen before.”
The theatre's digital sound system has also been upgraded — it now features a 12 discrete channels plus sub-bass.
The old IMAX 3D glasses people have gotten used to are no more, too — the new ones look more like sunglasses.
Science North spent more than $1 million on the upgrades, but it's money well spent, said Science North CEO Guy Labine.
“Staying up to date and, in fact, presenting leading-edge technology allows us to engage with an audience on a repeated basis,” he said.
“It's the best cinematic experience that anybody will ever see in Ontario now. It's an opportunity for us to make sure that our visitors have a reason to come back over and over again.”
Given it's a digital technology, IMAX laser allows Science North to ramp up the use of its theatre, Labine added. The theatre used to screen six films a year, but now it could potentially show 30, he said.
IMAX films used to come in boxes a metre long, and they were complicated and expensive to ship and store.
“Now our films come in on a hard drive,” said Labine.
“The complexity of having film print, and keeping it in storage versus a hard drive makes it much more feasible, much more efficient, and allows us to have content that changes on a regular basis.”
He said he thinks people will be amazed at the change.
“The sound quality is amazing,” Labine said.
“The contrast, the sharpness of the image, the fact that it fills the full screen, the brightness is spectacular. I think people will see that and want to come back here over and over again to see films.”
People can check out the new equipment in action starting Saturday, when the film "Everest 3D" opens at Science North's IMAX Theatre.
The new lineup of films coming to the theatre over the next few months also includes Star Wars: The Force Awakens in IMAX 3D — Labine said the opening date will be released later this month.
Other films will include America Wild: National Parks Adventure 3D, Humpback Whales 3D,Great White Shark 3D, The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child, A Beautiful Planet and D-day: Normandy 3D.
For tickets and showtimes, visit sciencenorth.ca.
