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Would You Go See A Movie With A 270-Degree View?

Last week, moviegoers at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea saw the debut of a 30-minute spy thriller using a new technology, ScreenX, that includes the theater side walls as screens.
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What’s the Latest Development?

Director Kim Jee-woon’s latest action-adventure film is just 30 minutes long, but it’s the first to be filmed using a new technology, ScreenX, that projects onto three of the four walls of a typical theater, effectively creating a 270-degree view for moviegoers. South Korea’s largest cinema chain, CGV, commissioned ScreenX, and the film — The X — made its debut at the 2013 Busan International Film Festival last week and received positive responses from the audience. CGV chief strategy officer An Goo-choul says that they are looking at possible partnership opportunities with Hollywood production companies.

What’s the Big Idea?

Considering the popularity of movies shot for IMAX, ScreenX could help bring more people back to theaters for a different kind of immersive experience. Kim admits that filming The X was especially challenging, but the end result surprised him: “I initially thought ScreenX would be more effective for spectacular scenes but came to realize that it is unexpectedly effective for lyrical or creepy scenes, too.” Also, the technology can be installed in existing theaters at relatively low cost without changing the basic structure of the interior space.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

Read it at The Atlantic

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