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IMAX Technology

Dr. Roberta Bondar became Canada's second astronaut in space when she participated in the first International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-I) mission on board Space Shuttle Discovery. A unique piece of Canadian technology was also be on board for the mission. An advanced 70mm 15-perforation motion-picture camera, developed by Canada's Imax Corporation (Imax), made its ninth journey to the stars.

IMAX cameras, used in the making of giant-screen films, have already been used aboard Space Shuttles Atlantis, Discovery, Challenger and Columbia. Footage from these missions is featured in the IMAX film Blue Planet currently being shown in IMAX theatres across Canada and around the world.

The first IMAX space film, The Dream is Alive, shows the landing of the Space Shuttle Challenger with Payload Specialist Dr. Marc Garneau, Canada's first astronaut in space. It has been seen by more than 30 million people in 11 language versions since it premiered in 1985. The footage from the IML-I mission featured in a new IMAX film entitled Destiny in Space

IMAX was created after Montreal's Expo '67, when Canadian film makers Graeme Ferguson, Robert Kerr and Roman Kroitor impressed audiences with their multiscreen films Labyrinth and Polar Life. Sparked by the popularity of these films, the three formed Imax, to perfect giant-screen technology. Just three years later, Imax premiered its first film, Tiger Child, at Japan's Expo '70 in Osaka.

To avoid the cumbersome multi-projector system used in Montreal to achieve a giant-screen picture, the team experimented with 70mm film turned on its side. To complement this idea, they purchased the patent to the "Rolling Loop" system developed by Australian Ron Jones, which advances film in a gentle wavelike motion, rather than dragging it along by its perforations.

Mechanical engineer William Shaw joined Imax to incorporate the invention into the first IMAX projector, while Norwegian designer Jan Jacobson joined the team to build the first IMAX camera.

Based out of their corporate headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, with its Technology Centre in the research and development community of Sheridan Park, Mississauga, Imax is at the forefront of giant screen technology. From their original flat screen, which is ten times larger than conventional movie screens, Imax developed OMNIMAX, which projects the film onto a dome screen, filling the audiences peripheral vision and giving the impression of actually being part of the action.

Imax's latest advance, IMAX SOLIDO, uses special cordless, alternate-eye, electronic liquid-crystal glasses to produce a remarkable three-dimensional image. The system premiered at Expo '90 in Osaka, Japan, and will be featured again at Expo '92 in Seville, Spain. At the Canadian Pavilion in Seville, IMAX will launch IMAX 48, filmed and projected at twice the frame rate of conventional systems, allowing for an even higher picture quality.

IMAX systems have received several awards, including a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1986, a 1988 Canada Export Award from the Department of External Affairs for superior export performance, and an Award of Excellence from the Canadian Ministry of Communications for its contribution in the field of communications and culture.

The IMAX library includes more than 75 films. There are currently 77 permanent theatres operating in 15 countries around the world, with an additional 23 theatres scheduled to open by the end of 1992.