IMAX: Part 5

In 2024, only 26 Imax cameras existed worldwide. The most popular was the MSM 9802, a general-purpose camera with a magazine that could hold 1,000 feet of film. Then there were also the Imax MKIV, MKIII, and MKII bodies, including a “lightweight” version with 500 feet of film. However, new developments were coming, and IMAX was about to become much more user-friendly.

2024 would see the launch of IMAX’s Next-gen 65mm Film Cameras, first debuting at 

NAB 2024 during the lecture “The Art and Science of IMAX.” The lecture was an in-depth dive to spread light on IMAX filmmaking and the upcoming next generation of IMAX 65mm film cameras. 

The newly released film cameras, which cost millions of dollars, completely redesigned the existing IMAX cameras. But this redesign came with massive perks and was now 30% quieter than existing IMAX cameras. Not to mention the other upgrades included a new multi-layer carbon fiber body and structure, all new functionality improvements throughout the camera design, a new brighter Optical Viewfinder designed by Panavision, embedded data via SDI to On-Set Playback to allow visible data overlays for both on-set and editorial use, and Gigabit Ethernet and a USB-C interface. The units now allowed WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity and live on-set dailies from the new digital viewfinder in 4K resolution.

All of these upgrades aimed to connect to the digital era of moviemakers and a ‘younger breed of filmmakers’ with a new LED touch panel screen and a lot of functionality in user presets. The new camera was still manual but could be programmed for various things. The idea was to make the camera accessible to filmmakers who may be used to a more digital environment. 

But wait, there was more. The IMAX cameras that were unveiled also spouted Hi-resolution 5-inch full-color LCD with updated physical buttons for core functions; New full-function remote-enabled for increased shooting flexibility, user profiles for custom screen functionality, layouts, and far more camera controls and operational status than were previously possible. Multiple options for any desired frame line Aspect, Ration Overlays, Standard, and user-definable visual frame-line guides were now options while shooting. This camera captured a 1.43 Square IMAX aspect ratio by default but also had frame lines to view a 2.35 aspect ratio and others simultaneously while shooting.

Other third-party lenses would be made for IMAX cameras around this time, including the rehoused Hasselblad medium-format lenses from Panavision and their large-format Sphero and System 65 lenses.  

Author's note: A fun fact about the old IMAX projectors: In 1996, it was stated that if an IMAX projector were pointed up toward space from Earth, the light would be visible to the naked eye if viewed from the ISS.

At the very end of the year, Christopher Nolan announced that he would use an undisclosed new IMAX Technology in his upcoming feature film, The Oddessy(scheduled for 2026). IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond would reveal that Nolan approached IMAX a year ago with a proposal for a new technology designed specifically for his upcoming project. Gelfond hinted that the upcoming technology would allow Nolan to do things on IMAX that have never been possible while using the previously accounted new-gen IMAX cameras. Principal photography for The Oddesy will commence in early 2025.  

The future looks bright for IMAX, and adopting the format in serious Hollywood endeavors has saved the format from becoming a forgotten technique of the past. The only limitation of the medium has been the imaginations of the filmmakers using it. To date, ten native-format IMAX films have received Academy Awards nominations, with one winner.

Dreams are alive, but now they are just featured in IMAX. 

Unfortunately, the founders of IMAX are no longer with us. On August 31, 2002, Bill Shaw passed away in the hospital after suffering complications from a heart attack at 73. At his death, The Imax Theatre Network comprised over 220 Imax-affiliated theatres in 30 countries, including over 100 theatres equipped with Imax 3D technology. Shaw was also highly decorated for his achievements. In 1985, he won the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers' John Grierson Medal. In 1986, on behalf of IMAX, he accepted a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Gold Medal from the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario(APEO) in 1988, and finally, in 1997, he accepted an Oscar for Scientific and Technical Achievements. In 1998, Shaw was also awarded the Leonardo da Vinci Award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

He is survived by his wife, Barbra; his daughter, Cami Kucera; his son, Scott Shaw; and his grandson, Daniel Kucera. Brother John Shaw, and sisters Isabel Pullen and Marjorie Shaw.

Robert Kerr would untimely pass away at 80 on April 29, 2010. During his retirement, Kerr supported local artists and, in 1997, endowed the University of Waterloo’s Stanley Knowles Visiting Professorship in Canadian Studies and bestowed bursaries at Cambridge secondary schools. His reasons, “I believe it is important for Canadians to increase our understanding of ourselves, our history, our special institutions, and those qualities that contribute to a more thoughtful and compassionate nation.” 

After retiring from IMAX, Kerr partnered with Jonathan Barker to form SK Films. And completed the development of Mill Race Park in Cambridge, Ontario, following the Grand River flood in 1974.

Following his death in 2010, the Cambridge, Ontario City Council approved placing a memorial stone to Kerr. The city's Grand River Film Festival paid tribute to his role in film history by staging a special gala screening of the Cambridge-shot film Saint Ralph, with guest speakers including Graeme Ferguson.

Roman Kroiter said goodbye to the world on September 17, 2012, at 85. Besides helping run the company, Kroiter married Graeme Ferguson's sister, Janet Ferguson. Together they had five children. Kroiter would also die of a heart attack in his sleep. 

The surrounding support team and filmmakers of IMAX have also graduated to another realm, or in this case, the Universe. Colin Low would retire from filmmaking in 1997. Still, not before he was awarded the inaugural Grierson Award for an outstanding contribution to Canadian cinema at the 24th Canadian Film Awards in 1972.  Colin Low was awarded the Prix Albert-Tessier in 1997 and, in 1996, was invested as a member of the Order of Canada in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to cinema in Canada and around the world. Low would have had a cinema named after him: the 100-Person Theatre at Canada Place in Edmonton, Alberta. 

Collin Low died in Montreal on February 24, 2016, at the age of 89. In 2013, the DOXA Documentary Film Festival created the annual Colin Low Award, which is presented to the best Canadian documentary film in the festival program in his honor.

Toni Myers would die on February 18, 2019, in Toronto. Regarded as a pioneer in 3D filmmaking, she was appointed to the Order of Canada for her contributions to cinema. Myers trained around 155 astronauts in filmmaking for 24 missions during her tenure at IMAX, teaching them the basics of lighting, framing, and recording sounds with an IMAX camera.

In an interview with Independent Print in 2016, Myers revealed that she hoped her films would inspire young women to pursue not just filmmaking but also STEM subjects to increase female representation in those fields. She further shared, “I want girls to come out of the film and go, ‘Yeah, I want to crack that fusion problem.’” She also hoped her films would encourage young people to consider pressing environmental issues like climate change. However, she made it clear that she never wanted to “berate” people for not taking care of the Earth; instead, she hoped her films would inspire people to do better.

Myers’s early IMAX space films inspired many people to become astronauts, including Tom Jones, Susan Helms, and Terry Virts. Myers is sometimes called the “Spielberg of Space Films.” Her family said cancer caused her death.

Graeme Ferguson was the last man standing. Before his death, IMAX led Ferguson to receive the Order of Canada, the Genie Special Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to the Canadian Film Industry in 1986, and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Medal in 1990. In 2005, he received the Kodak Vision Award from the Large Format Cinema Association.  Ferguson was the president of IMAX for two decades.  After 1990, he moved into executive producing roles in film-producing films such as Hubble 3D (2010) and A Beautiful Planet (2016). Graeme Ferguson’s favorite award he ever won was NASA's Silver Snoopy Award for dedication and contributions to the Space Shuttle Program.

After retirement, Phyllis and Graeme Ferguson retreated to a stone cottage at Norway Point on Muskoka’s Lake of Bays. Graeme collected antique boats and worked on writing projects, including a book about the history of the Naphtha Revolution and the invention of naphtha-powered boats in the 1880s, inspired by one of his various boats, the Heather-Belle. Phyllis raised funds for various charities and causes and became a golfer.

Ferguson would die on May 8, 2021, at his home in Norway Point, Ontario. He was 91 years old. His last few days on earth were rather unfortunate. Ferguson was diagnosed with throat cancer one year before his death, and eight weeks before he passed, Phyllis Ferguson would die of a heart attack. A true leader, Ferguson saw his team on their next journey to the film gods in the sky. He was the first to bring his friends and family together for IMAX and the last to see them go. 

Ferguson’s last wish before his passing was that he hoped he had achieved his goal of imparting the gift of curiosity and an awareness of worldwide issues to his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and society. Hoping that he had indeed made the world a better place. Ferguson believed his most tremendous success was his family and the nearly 50-year beloved relationship he forged with Phyllis.

These best friends and colleagues never gave up on each other and were friends till the bitter end. They held each other together through the roughest times of their careers and never stopped pushing each other to do the impossible. In an interview with the Cambridge Times, Ferguson would reminisce about “Lake IMAX,” the group’s nickname for Lake of Bays, Ontario. All the founders of IMAX owned property in Lake of Bays, so the name became rather fitting. 

“We met in Grade 9…and then we founded a company together,” Ferguson said.

“After that, we were always in each other's faces.”

Somewhere in the great depths of the unknown, the founders are probably gathered around a dock, one of Ferguson’s boats, a few beers, and a film camera. Listening to the distant loon call of the universe and documenting their new adventures into the forever distance of their new Lake IMAX: The Great Beyond.