「黃家駒 Wong Ka Kui」 | (aka: 鳳凰院 凶真 Hououin Kyouma)How do movie theaters work? Which seats in theaters are the best? (never done this before) Also is the IMAX thing actually any different?
deepfriedchril See that cluster of already taken seats? That’s the choice spot.
I just 3 paragraphs for nothing omg.
Hey, I still appreciate your effort, if it’s any consolation.
:(
Sad…
Maybe I should just choose a later day…
You could if you’re really keen on the very very best seat. That said it looks like there are plenty of perfectly good seats left. I personally would snag the one 7 rows up from the bottom, 8 seats in.
amniotic druidHow many seats do you need? Without knowing that, I’d say anything here would be just fine
Go to a midday matinee during the week if you can. Like a 12pm showing. There’s usually only a few people at those and you get the whole room to yourself.
Just saw Project Hail Mary at a 1230pm Friday showing. There was only 6 people in the whole room. At that point you go sit wherever you want.
I’m more like a 3pm type of person
12pm I could probably oversleep it since my sleep schedule is so fucked up lmao
Going at a more popular time is a different experience and can be better in its own way. More different from watching alone at home. Individual audience members can be annoying but a good audience enhances your enjoyment as they react to the same moments with you.
You could take one of the five available seats in the middle of that cluster.
Idk… I’ve literally never been to a movie theater…
Each one varies, but generally, movies theaters are descending down stairs. Meaning, you go in at the top, and the next row is a step down or two, and the the next row are more steps down. Then, at the bottom, there’s flat ground, and there are more seats on the flat ground closer to the screen. The very front row is ironically the worst seats in the house, because you have to crane your neck up.
The best row is generally the last row of the steps, closest to the screen. There is typically a bar in front of it (so you don’t fall off the step). The reason it’s the best row is that it’s the closest you can get with nobody in front of you- the most direct view-. Nobody is in front of you because you’re a little higher than the seats at the bottom.
You kind of infer where the bar is based on the layout of the map. You can see on the map, the center row where it goes from wide to narrow? That’s where I would bet the end of the steps are. You can see that’s where a bunch of people have purchased tickets already, towards the center. That’s because it’s the best place to sit.
Once you’re in the theater, you’ll have a better idea of the layout of that theater, and you’ll be able to exactly pinpoint where you should sit next time. Just based off the layout, I would feel comfortable with either the 5th or 6th from the back row.
Centermost is always the best viewing angle. If that’s taken, move back, not closer. The back doesn’t give great pictures quality but front rows are basically unwatchable
Usually in the center. Any position that puts you in the middle of the “screen” so you won’t have to keep your head up or down. If I can’t sit in the center, I prefer further back over in the front, but that’s just my preference.
IIRC, IMAX is a standard in terms of audio for cinemas. A cinema might be really good without being IMAX certified, but the imax certification does convey quality. As for difference, that can vary a lot. But I’d argue that a modern cinema with a proper audio setup won’t be that different than an IMAX cinema.
TheImpressiveXIIRC, IMAX is a standard in terms of audio for cinemas. A cinema might be really good without being IMAX certified, but the imax certification does convey quality.
I think you may have IMAX confused with Dolby or THX. IMAX is a premium movie theater franchise, best known for its’ large screens.
IMAX film is twice as wide as standard film. 70 mm instead of 35 mm. The IMAX film platters are physically ginormous. All that extra film gives you a bunch of extra resolution compared to regular film.
The first catch is that “IMAX standard” may not be real IMAX. I don’t know exactly what that means. Perhaps it could even be digital projection that aims to be comparable to IMAX in some ways?
Second catch is that a lot of films that are shown in IMAX theaters were not actually shot on IMAX originally. If a film was shot on 35mm, say, and then printed onto IMAX, you don’t get all of the resolution benefits, and you may also get letter boxes or pan-and-scan because the aspect ratio isn’t the same. IMAX cameras are massively more expensive and logistically difficult than regular film cameras.
squirrelThere are some responses already, but I will offer yet a different one: From a technical viewpoint, middle-middle is best. The seat in the middle of the middle row.
The reason is because movie theatres need to get calibrated: The sound and the picture get adjusted for the best possible viewing/sound experience. This calibration process usually targets the middle of the room, because this ensures that even the edges will at least have a decent sound and a decent picture. Nonetheless the middle-middle position will be where sound and picture are optimal. You sit at the centre of the area targeted by the sound system and where are at an optimal distance from the screen for the sharpest picture.
Of course, that is theoretical. Specific movie theatres may have a variety of reasons to go for a calibration that favours different spots and whether people want to sit in the middle-middle is a wholly different question.
I used to tune the speakers in movie theaters.
If it’s a Dolby certified theater there will be a chair that has a placard on it, that’s where the mic was placed to tune the theater. It will always be center, about 2/3rds of the way back. Most other certifications mirror this in some way.
We did THX certification and that was a little bit more broad, we wanted the “sweet spot” to be an area, not a single seat. This is why a THX certified room will look different than most other theater rooms, because it’s designed for maximum coverage. This also means we are sacrificing sound quality for sound consistency, making sure every seat sounds the same. With that being said we completely ignored the margins, they were called quarter margins and anything within 25% of the edge was disqualified from primary readings. We would take secondary readings from the edge, but that was just to verify that there were no glaring problems, not for actual certifications.
In short… central-ish is good for any movie theater.
This guy knows what’s up.
Question if you’ve been recently: is it just me or have they made movies really damn loud? Not in the sense that they’re trying to get a broader dynamic range, but the whole thing is just tinnitus-inducing the whole way through. Is the mix just bad, the tuning bad, or are the volumes just cranked?
They changed how they measured loudness a few years back on both the mixing side and the playback side. Back in the 00’s the measurements were based on peak volumes, so brick wall limiting was used to get the most volume that you were allowed to have in playback. This caused the dynamics to be essentially non existent. Filmmakers hated this, movie goers hated it, the only people who liked it were the lawyers because it meant lawsuits didn’t happen.
Laws were changed in the early 10’s that changed how loudness was measured. Now it’s measured as exposure over time. This has had many benefits in the production of both films and music, however the laws, at least in the USA and Canada, were written very broadly, and consider movie theaters and concert halls to both be performance venues. This means movie theaters have the same restrictions as concert halls.
Because the law measures exposure over time it allows the loud areas to be loud as long as there’s quiet areas to offset it. This means when you have someone who doesn’t understand yet how the new laws affect the audio mix, the dialogue will get buried to make the explosions more “impactful”. It has started to get better since the laws have been around for a while and people have gotten used to them.
As dumb as all this sounds the calculations themselves, are very well calculated and you are way less likely to get hearing damage these days from a concert or movie theater than you used to. Your ears get damaged from long term exposure easier than peak volumes, and with measurement stick now measuring long term exposure as opposed to peak volumes, you end up better protected. Because of the regulations you are more likely to get hearing damage from headphones than you are a concert or a movie theater.
Like someone else said, it really depends on the theater chain and the type of seats. If they are reclining, chances are the distance between rows is larger. Best options would be middle row, one row closer, or up to two rows behind. If it’s IMAX, then it’s definitely safer to go for a farther row vs closer, and even the last row shouldn’t be that bad if you don’t have any other choice.
I’m also guessing based on the layout that the first 5 rows are at ground level so you’ll be looking up the entire time. So I would suggest anywhere starting from row 6.
With IMAX more than regular theaters, you prefer to sit further back from the screen. Unless you like craning your neck.
When I was younger and went almost weekly it was always front row, as close to the middle as possible. Now I still prefer kind of close but not front row close. Still try and get centered.
Further to the back to me feels more like watching tv, but I’ll sit back there if my friends prefer it and be fine.
IMAX is total garbage. Turns every seat into the worst seat in the theater. Definitely the least ideal way to view a movie. It’s just a gimmick to justify outrageously priced tickets.
Hard disagree. There is no experience like seeing a movie filmed in 70mm, being shown with a 70mm projector in a theater designed to show it. Granted, there are only about 2 dozen theaters in the US that fit that exact description, but no eye strain, no neck craning. Even most of the “close enough” IMAX theaters I’ve been to are still really good experiences unless your in the front few rows.
FuglyDuckImportant question: what movie are you gonna go see?
Based on the timing I would guess Project Hail Mary. I heard it’s worth seeing in IMAX.
That is crazy!! I love theaters, always have.
Yeah normal theater sit center and kind of middle of the seats. You’ll see where people congregate more.
The popcorn is hit or miss. The butter is thick and greasy and may give you a stomach ache xD
🌞 Alexander Daychilde 🌞As a wheelchair user, what a shitty theatre setup. The first few rows are always too close and you have to lean back to see the center of the screen. Although that is a small theatre, so… I’d say 4th row is probably good as a guess.
I’d never go all the way back to the wall in a larger theatre, but that one I might. And I highly prefer center.
For me 3 or 4 rows from the front is ideal. I don’t ever feel it strains my neck personally and it makes it easier to appreciate the detail of the film.
IMAX has better resolution than standard. With standard films, they can look low-res to some (especially gamers who might be used to higher resolutions).
it depends on where in the world you are and what type of theater you’re going to. in many theaters the front row is perfectly fine
in an American shit chain theater, the front row might be a really bad time because they just want to get as many people in there as possible. you need to know the place
I know you didn’t ask this bit, but be prepared for it to be loud. Like really loud. If you’ve any aversions there it might be worth taking some earplugs just in case.
Like, feel it in your bones loud sometimes.
I mean surely they aren’t gonna play it beyond the safe volume for human hearing right?
Pretty much anything that’s not first or second row is probably fine. Movie theaters usually aren’t that big, like a concert hall. There won’t be obstructions, either. Those center seats are prime, but there’s not a huge difference, other than if you’re way too close in row 1 or 2.
Saw tron area in imax, had never been to imax before. The seats vibrated really well, the music hit hard. Really cool experience, you could just feel the scenes. Wouldn’t do imax for just any movie though, maybe the fifth element.