If you’ve ever watched a movie and wondered what’s just out of frame, you’re in luck. ScreenX has arrived in the UK, and it’s a multi-projector cinema experience that has you looking at three screens instead of one. Show The first one in the UK was just installed at the O2 in North Greenwich, London. I was invited to check it out ahead of its public opening today. Here’s what you need to know. How does three-screen viewing work? The middle one is like any cinema screen. It displays the same film and format as what you’ll eventually see on Netflix. ScreenX presentations beam additional footage on the walls to the left and right. That’s a 270-degree field of view, designed to fill up your peripheral vision – theoretically making the picture more immersive. It’s a similar idea to the Ambilight system on Philips TVs, which fill your peripheral vision with light. Only this isn’t just light – it’s proper video footage, composed, filmed and edited at the same time as the standard theatrical material and subject to the same CGI and colour grading efforts. Movies arrive at the cinema in two digital files (most cinemas no longer use reels of film): one for the standard film, the other for the sides or ‘wings’. They are stitched together using the clever ScreenX software. The combined image is then fired out of five projectors. The main picture uses one but the wings need four. Special fabric is lined on the walls to keep colours consistent, although that won’t hide the fire exit signs. ScreenX was first launched in 2015 and has featured such titles as King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and Black Panther. In the UK, it is launching with Ant-Man and the Wasp, The Meg, and The Nun. My demonstration used footage from The Meg, 20 minutes of Jason Statham fighting a massive shark. There are inevitable similarities with the super-sized IMAX format. With the picture extending past the sides, it is a genuinely immersive experience. My field of view was entirely filled with shots of the ocean, which naturally took me closer to feeling like I was part of the film. If a standard cinema screen isn’t enough for you and you need something extra to transport you to that world, this does the job very nicely. Considering the work involved, the price is reasonable: ScreenX tickets cost £3 more than usual. Unlike IMAX, however, ScreenX isn’t seamless. Scenes shot in IMAX format fill in the top and bottom of a standard 2.4:1 format screen, so what you get is a single, massive picture. For ScreenX, the expanded images aren’t on the same wall. It’s not exactly a panoramic experience. If you can get past this, there’s also the issue of a scene not entirely being in extended format. For instance, the scene I saw of The Meg switched from Jason Statham fighting the shark to the supporting cast elsewhere. The movie regularly switched between ScreenX super-wide and standard formats as the film cut from one location to another – which can be distracting. Related: Best headphones Related: Best TV Of course, these are still early days for the new technology, and filmmakers will no doubt find better ways of using the new tools at their disposal. Having three screens provides potential for new methods of storytelling. Ever since cinemas came along, we’ve seen various attempts to revolutionise it. The 3D phase has come and gone several times, but the super-sized IMAX format has stuck. Then there’s Dolby Cinema’s enhanced contrast and precision audio, and Samsung’s experimental LED screens. Maybe one day we’ll all watch movies with three screens instead of one. To date, ScreenX has been installed in 151 auditoriums around the world and Cineworld has been tasked with building another hundred. South Korea alone has 84, and China has 46. If you’re in the UK and you can’t make it to London, there’s also the one in Cineworld Speke, and Leeds White Rose will be getting the upgrade in September 2018.
While booking your tickets on an online platform, you would have come across the term ‘ScreenX’, like this snapshot below on India’s BookMyShow: So what is ScreenX exactly? What are its features, ticket cost, etc.? Let us find out. ScreenX MeaningTraditional movie screens are projected on one wall, which is right in front of you. With ScreenX, the projection expands to the side walls too, i.e. on the walls to your right and left. Simply put, ScreenX provides a 270-degree movie watching experience. The projection expands to your peripheral vision and provides a super-immersive experience as compared to the traditional screens. The movies can be seen in both, 3D and 2D. Here is a video explainer. This is a very simplistic explanation of ScreenX theatre technology. Before we get into more details though, here is some history. Also Read: Carryminati Runway 34 Fees: How Much Carryminati Charged? What is the history of the technology?The technology was first developed on 3rd March 2012 by a South Korean company CJ 4DPLEX, which is a subsidiary of CJ CGV group. The technology is over a decade old. By the way, in case you didn’t know, CJ 4DPLEX has also powered the immersive 4DX technology. Read about it if you didn’t know already. How do ScreenX movies work?There are essentially two stages of the movie-making process – Shooting and Conversion. During the shooting phase, scene selection is thought of first, followed by simultaneous shooting with various camera setups. Then in the post-production phase, the quality is enhanced with VFX and colour grading. The final phase is conversion. CJ 4DPLEX works with creators to create the ScreenX effect for an immersive experience. The movie is then sent out for distribution. What is the seating capacity at a ScreenX theatre?The cinema hall has a capacity of around 300 seats. These are usually divided across three sections – Executive, Premiere and Silver, with Silver being the farthest from the screen. What is the ticket price of a ScreenX movie?A ScreenX movie ticket costs about 2-3 times the normal. In India, a ScreenX ticket may cost anywhere between ₹500 to ₹700. How many ScreenX theatres are there in India?As of today, there is only one theatre in India at INOX Megaplex (Inorbit Mall) in Malad West locality of Mumbai suburban. We have also written about other theatre technologies. Read about them before you experience them! 1. A playful theatre for kids PVR Playhouse or INOX Kiddles |