Last week, The Cosmic Circus was invited to get a sneak preview of the newly refurbished Jane & John Justin Foundation Omni Theater at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. At the height of the pandemic, the giant Dome, which has marveled DFW for years, closed its doors for a much-needed renovation.
The Omni Theater was a spectacular experience for families. In the ’90s, the IMAX experience was not a household name. Most of us in Texas knew the format as “Omni.” To behold its cinematic wonders, one had to visit a museum with a dome-shaped screen. Eventually, the IMAX brand grew, and a few theater chains adopted the 70mm experience in select markets. For example, the Cinemark on Webb Chappell in Dallas is one of the few IMAX screens capable of projecting an authentic IMAX aspect ratio film presentation.
The experience was unlike any other for its time. Most theaters could only dream of boasting such an immersive image. To this day, most IMAX screens lack authenticity, so they are dubbed “LieMax.” But, like most wondrous inventions, the old-fashioned 70mm projector faced modern-day setbacks. For instance, when Oppenheimer was released last year, theater chains were repeatedly hit by projector problems nationwide. One theory for the issue is most movie theater workers lack the knowledge to run a film projector in the digital age.
Inevitably, the format would find a way to evolve or become extinct. And well, the Fort Worth Omni Theater has brought the awe and wonder of the Dome back to life in jaw-dropping fashion.
The new Omni Theater experience
The interior showcased a more relaxed look when entering the remodeled lobby on Wednesday. The lobby has more open space with a blueish hue to the room. It’s a comfortable environment that feels like a rollercoaster ride cue for a Jetsons experience. A couple of walls had small video screens, one that took up an entire space, showcasing old images of the theater being built and a video of the iconic 70mm flyover of Fort Worth.
Shortly after, the tour proceeded to the first observation room visitors saw before entering the renovated theater. In this area, guests could view the old 70mm Omnimax projector. The device’s size will surprise even the most avid IMAX moviegoers.
Upon entering the theater, one will notice that it generally looks the same, except everything has been upgraded. From recollection, the auditorium has more seating (over 300 occupants, if memory serves correctly), the seats look way more comfortable, and the Dome itself looks sleeker.
As a disabled consumer, my first nitpick is the lack of access to the middle section. The center aisle gives the best immersion and places one in visual splendor. It was easier to access that area as a child, and this writer hopes they find a way to make the middle row more accessible.
Once everyone got settled, the screen magnificently came to life. The press attendees were treated with various images, videos, computer-generated artistry, animated spectacles of color, texture, patterns, and so on. The first thing shown was a new version of the Fort Worth flyover. Immediately, one will gasp. The projection is so full, consuming, and vibrant that it achieves a 3D quality without using glasses. The experience gives the impression of seeing things through the world’s largest window.
Next, the theater showcased a few previews of documentaries coming to the auditorium, such as an experience about Jane Goodall and one involving wildlife. The documentary footage had some issues, and it might be growing pains with the new technology. The previews were less smooth in motion and resembled a high-quality video attempting to buffer.
Whether this was a conversion problem, going from 70mm to an 8k projection, or a first-day fluke event is unclear. Unlike the refurbished opening flyover, the digitally projected documentaries are presented in the accustomed 70mm layout, which does not fill the screen. However, this will be fine for most consumers familiar with the old Omni format.
Then, the theater unleashed the immersive Dome, displaying dazzling images and creations that would make one’s head melt. The entire screen returned to life, and we were sitting in the vacuum of space as “Across the Universe” by The Beatles played over the visual. Like in the movie Contact, the screen slowly soars backward across the stars as planets, galaxies, and vibrant atmospheres swim through it.
Here is some footage we took during the presentation. Bear in mind that the screen is massive, so capturing a perfect understanding of how the experience feels cannot be witnessed on a cellphone recording.
Additionally, the presentation included expansive footage of nature, such as a brisk waterfall. The image was beautifully sharp as if the waterfall were in front of the audience. It was both beautiful and overwhelming.
The new technology at Fort Worth Omni Theater
In the middle of the presentation, the Museum explained that the Dome is crafted with eight thousand LED crystals in each arc, and its screen has over 43 million LED crystals. The technology was also said to be brighter and better than most immersive experiences, theatrical or otherwise.
The Dome incorporates Cosm Technology, which enables the screen to project 8K+ images in a gigantic format. The website also says the tech includes “Digistar 7, the world’s most advanced planetarium system, and CX Realtime, a deep integration of Unreal Engine,” allowing the Museum to craft its own visual spectacles for the attendees.
The question this writer sought was the “how?” More specifically, how does a filmmaker take advantage of this technology? What camera can film a gorgeous cascading waterfall and make it fit the entire LED IMAX Dome? And the truth is, there isn’t one. According to the Museum, the screen is too large, and most of the footage was filmed with multiple 8k cameras, then stitched together in post. They also mentioned there are other methods, such as using “fisheye” on a video or executing a conversion.
But anyone who has seen a 3D conversion vs. a movie genuinely filmed in 3D knows the genuine article is prime real estate. For this reason, it will be beneficial for consumers to learn which experiences were made to discover the new technology’s full potential.
Is this the future of cinema?
There was a time when the 70mm IMAX or Omnimax experience could only be seen in museums, where attendees could watch a documentary. That was until Christopher Nolan decided to use the technology for The Dark Knight in the mid-2000s. Since Nolan brought IMAX to the mainstream, many filmmakers have pioneered the technology and worked out the bugs to give audiences a larger canvas. Nolan famously had to work through the weight of the IMAX and the noisy nature of the technology before finding solutions.
Although the ability to shoot a movie of this scale and quality may not exist yet, it’s closer than one might think. Even Darren Aronofsky helped birth the Big Sky camera for the Las Vegas Sphere, which can produce an image of 18k quality and requires 12 people to operate. We are in the early stages of the next chapter of immersive entertainment, but if this is the future, it’s exciting and might save an industry from predicting its demise.
The Fort Worth Omni Theater reopens this Saturday, December 14th, with tickets on sale now. Are you excited to try out this experience? Let us know on social media @mycosmiccircus or now @TheCosmicCircus.com on Bluesky!
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