Concurring Opinions » IMAX http://www.concurringopinions.com The Law, the Universe, and Everything Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:37:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Maps and Legends http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/05/maps-and-legends.html http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/05/maps-and-legends.html#comments Fri, 29 May 2009 22:42:25 +0000 Deven Desai http://www.concurringopinions.com/?p=16588 Space the final frontier. These are the voyages of … ah, you know the rest. Exploration and the idea of frontiers seem to capture an important part of the human experience. The possibility of finding something new, of entering uncharted territories excites people. And, although one may want to keep the secret of the Northwest Passage or the Straits of Magellan a secret, sooner or later a map is created to increase the amount of benefit that can be extracted from the discovery. Yet with the world seeming to collapse into one connected place, the role of maps has changed. In short, maps are a new frontier for property and privacy.

As Jacqueline Lipton noted Google Maps has enabled the persistence of race discrimination. Google [...]]]> Space the final frontier. These are the voyages of … ah, you know the rest. Exploration and the idea of frontiers seem to capture an important part of the human experience. The possibility of finding something new, of entering uncharted territories excites people. And, although one may want to keep the secret of the Northwest Passage or the Straits of Magellan a secret, sooner or later a map is created to increase the amount of benefit that can be extracted from the discovery. Yet with the world seeming to collapse into one connected place, the role of maps has changed. In short, maps are a new frontier for property and privacy.

As Jacqueline Lipton noted Google Maps has enabled the persistence of race discrimination. Google Maps has also spawned some other curious creations and connections. For example, I wrote about the flap over what is a true IMAX screen and that folks put together a map of IMAX screens with information about the screen size. The H1N1 (aka swine) flu epidemic revealed an interesting dual use for maps. One person created a frequently updated map with information about claimed incidents. I was curious about the source and found that one person at, what else, a bitotech company focused on recombination and disease, was behind the map. In addition, a group called Health Map seeks to offers a map that connects “disparate data sources to achieve a unified and comprehensive view of the current global state of infectious diseases and their effect on human and animal health.” On the light side, Total Film has a feature that uses Google Street view to show 25 favorite film locations.

As seems always to be the case, folks will probably soon argue about who owns what. The more interesting point might be the way maps show the malleability of information. In some hands, maps show fun things like where a film was shot. In other hands, maps provide useful epidemiological information. Yet, certain home owners may not be pleased about having tourists show up to gawk at what had been a quiet abode. Cities, counties, and even states may be upset if lay people assume that suspected or even confirmed outbreaks mean they should create a de facto or quasi-quarantine. Last, knowing where specific racial, religious, and other groups are can all too easily lead to mob behaviors.

The information mill churns. We have to sort it out. Old tools have new impacts. Today maps pose challenges. Tomorrow it will be something else. I am never certain that the law is the best way to manage these changes. Nonetheless, we have to consider what they are and how they function in case the law is asked to do so. On that note, please share any other creative and/or challenging uses of maps of which you are aware.

Last here is a little music for the trip:

Maps And Legends – R.E.M.

]]> http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/05/maps-and-legends.html/feed 2 Size Matters or What’s an IMAX?: Thoughts on Branding and Meaning http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/05/size-matters-or-what%e2%80%99s-an-imax-thoughts-on-branding-and-meaning.html http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/05/size-matters-or-what%e2%80%99s-an-imax-thoughts-on-branding-and-meaning.html#comments Sat, 23 May 2009 21:28:46 +0000 Deven Desai http://www.concurringopinions.com/?p=16323 The recent flap over whether an IMAX screen is really an IMAX screen shows how fragile a brand can be. As some of you may have heard, actor Aziz Ansari went to see Star Trek at an IMAX theater in Burbank and paid a five dollar premium to do so. But when Mr. Ansari went into the theater, he was not in a wonderful, cavernous theater. Instead he was watching the film on a screen not much larger than an ordinary screen. Ansari blogged about his displeasure and the news spread. At first IMAX played the corporate head-in-the-sand/obfuscate game with statements on Wired asserting that IMAX does not mean 72 foot screen and that the new theaters may be smaller but they still deliver [...]]]> london_imax_cinema1_2The recent flap over whether an IMAX screen is really an IMAX screen shows how fragile a brand can be. As some of you may have heard, actor Aziz Ansari went to see Star Trek at an IMAX theater in Burbank and paid a five dollar premium to do so. But when Mr. Ansari went into the theater, he was not in a wonderful, cavernous theater. Instead he was watching the film on a screen not much larger than an ordinary screen. Ansari blogged about his displeasure and the news spread. At first IMAX played the corporate head-in-the-sand/obfuscate game with statements on Wired asserting that IMAX does not mean 72 foot screen and that the new theaters may be smaller but they still deliver the IMAX experience. And there’s the problem. IMAX thinks it knows what the experience is and means to its consumers (or it certainly wants to try and tell consumers what it means). So it appeared that IMAX fell into the control-the-meaning of the mark trap, which Sandra Rierson and I have argued is futile and causes serious problems for trademark law. Yet there seems to be a useful lesson and happy ending to this trademark story.

IMAX is expanding rapidly and becoming a big player in Hollywood’s attempt to keep the theater experience alive. So IMAX is partnering with theaters to install IMAX branded theaters at mulitplexes. The strategy has worked to expand the company’s reach. Now that it is summertime, however, the strategy is being tested, for summertime means tent pole movies, and many more people wanting that summer movie thrill. Indeed, ever since television, Hollywood has tried to offer viewers an experience that they cannot have at home: bigger screens, better sound, special effects that make your head explode. Technology and trademarks have traveled along with that quest. Panavision, Cinemascope, Dolby, THX, and DTS, signified a way of filming and/or presenting a film in a theater. They became trademarks as well. Recently, with the growth of home theaters Hollywood has been looking for new ways to make the public theater experience worthwhile. IMAX seems to be the latest way to indicate a special experience that is often lacking in cinema houses today.

I certainly miss the movie palaces of L.A. For me, 70mm screens and sound that may break up kidney stones are worth the eleven or twelve dollars a ticket can cost in a major city. Sadly, movie palaces gave way to multiplexes, and so one rarely can find that all encompassing, immersion a single, massive screen offers. IMAX has started to fill this gap. Yet, in my opinion, the company is diluting its brand by offering what many would call non-IMAX experiences under the name IMAX.

For me, and I think many others too, IMAX began as a way to see amazing nature films on a massive screen with excellent sound. Part of that experience included education about filming on IMAX equipment and screening films in theaters that could handle films shot with that equipment. So when studios started showing studio films at IMAX theaters, I was elated. Now the large screen, excellent picture, amazing sound experience was back. And I am willing to pay three to five dollars more to see a film created with that technology in such a venue. So IMAX came to mean just that: a film shot with certain equipment and shown in a certain way.

Nonetheless, in pursuing its goal of rapid expansion, IMAX was willing to buy its view or rationalization that the experience and image it built of a 72 foot screen and sound experience was essentially the same as a smaller screen because of “‘perceived screen size,’ which involves the relationship of the viewer to the screen.” Enter the Net. Ansari’s rant, Wired’s coverage, and the Los Angeles Times’ blog on the subject, are just a few examples of how much IMAX missed the point of the very image it built. One group even put a quick Google Map called IMAX or LIEMAX to show “known ‘real/fake’ IMAX screens, based on screen size and aspect ratio.”

To IMAX’s credit, the approach seems to be changing. Although the CEO appears to be sticking to the claim that one must appreciate that the ratio of screen to distance matters, he has also said “I want to be clear, … We’re going to do something about disclosing information. Period. The market research survey is really just to help figure out what to do, not if we should do something. We are going to give people more information — it’s just a matter of how and where.”

If IMAX follows through and makes sure customers know what they are getting before they buy the ticket, I, for one, will be a loyal customer. Regardless, the companies should realize that forcing views on customers may be possible when one starts a brand but once that meaning is out there, the consumer can become quite upset at deviations from expected results. Luckily, today’s world of rapid feedback presents the opportunity for a company to correct its course rather quickly. Hopefully, they will do so.

IMAGE: London IMAX
License: Public Domain

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