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The Film

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  • Big Movies are shot using 70mm film, as opposed to the 35mm film used to shoot conventional movies. The two main varieties of 70mm film used for Big Movies today are "15/70" and "8/70." A precursor to today's 70mm film stocks was 5/70 film.

  • The "70" in 5/70, 8/70 and 15/70 refers to the 70mm size of the film; 5/70 and 8/70 film frames are set up vertically with five and eight perforations per frame, while 15/70 is horizontally oriented with 15 perforations per frame, resulting in a smooth feeding of the giant film frames through the camera, and the clearest motion picture images in the world.

  • IMAX® cameras use a 15 perf/70mm film frame, the largest in the motion picture industry. Ten times larger than Hollywood's standard 35-mm film format, it is 3 times bigger than the standard 70-mm frame (5/70). The larger film frame creates images of unsurpassed clarity and impact.

  • A single 500-foot roll of IMAX® film-enough to capture just 90 seconds of action-weighs five pounds.

  • The film is strong enough to pull a truck.

  • The size of the IMAX® film is so large that one 40-minute film is approximately 3 miles long or 15,840 feet!

  • A typical edited feature can weigh 200 lbs.