City Beat: Imax 3D Theater goes big by going digital

February 4, 2016 at 1:00 a.m. | Updated February 4, 2016 at 2:18 p.m.

by Barry Courter

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 1/5/16. Climbers with Anderson Guttering and Tree service, John Cable, Bond Davis and Wiley Davis, from left, rappel while using cutters to slice the giant six-story silver screen into sections while at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX theater on Tuesday, January 5, 2016. The Tennessee Aquarium IMAX is being converted from a standard 70mm projection theater into a cutting edge IMAX laser projection system theater complete with a 12-point audio system and 3D sound sphere. The renovations are expected to take nearly a month and cost $1.2 million dollars.
Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 1/5/16. Climbers with Anderson Guttering and Tree service, John Cable, Bond Davis and Wiley Davis, from left, rappel while using cutters to slice the giant six-story silver screen into sections while at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX theater on Tuesday, January 5, 2016. The Tennessee Aquarium IMAX is being converted from a standard 70mm projection theater into a cutting edge IMAX laser projection system theater complete with a 12-point audio system and 3D sound sphere. The renovations are expected to take nearly a month and cost $1.2 million dollars.
photo Barry Courter

Before seeing "Hubble" on the new six-story digital screen at the Imax 3D Theater, I'd never really considered that it might be cool to watch a space shuttle launch. Now I'd like to go. I can also tell you that my brain is not capable of comprehending how big or old space and the things that are in it really are.

Actually, to say I saw the film is kind of misleading. I saw it, felt it, heard it and experienced it like I was in a spacesuit next to the astronauts as they replaced parts on the giant Hubble telescope some 370 miles above the Earth. At one point before the launch, the astronauts are on-screen getting dressed into their spacesuits and, because of the 3-D technology, I found myself backing up in my seat because the guy was getting into my space. I think I even moved my foot out of his way.

When the shuttle is launched, it looks, sounds and feels like you are on the launchpad watching it all.

While it will go unseen by the general public, the conversion to all-digital audio and video formats greatly changes things in the projection room, which is now largely empty by comparison. Where the 70-millimeter films used to come shipped in packing crates big enough to fill up a pickup truck bed, the digital versions come on hard drives the size of a John Grisham novel.

The Imax Theater has several favorite films in the rotation for the next week during a reopening film festival, and officials hope to bring in some feature-length films in the future. It's worth a visit.

* Piggybacking on what Casey has written, local musicians and promoters have an opportunity to learn from the pros on how to book live shows next week. SoundCorps, the local music advocacy organization, will present its second TakeNote event at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center.

The event will feature concert promoter and festival producer Thomas "T-Dawg" Helland (Blue Ridge HarvestFest - bluegrass, blues, country, folk, funk, jam band and old-time), venue promoter Mike Sick (Apache Café in Atlanta - jazz, funk, hip-hop, soul, world music) and booking agent and artist manager Hugh Southard (Blue Mountain Artists - Tim Reynolds, NRBQ, George Porter Jr., Acoustic Syndicate).

The evening will kick off with an hour of networking, then will feature a panel session moderated by SoundCorps Executive Director Stratton Tingle, followed by an audience-led Q&A. Refreshments will be available, and it costs $10 to attend.

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.

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