{"id":387286,"date":"2026-07-26T22:47:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T22:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/387286\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T22:47:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T22:47:15","slug":"dallas-imax-projectionist-explains-what-makes-the-70mm-odyssey-is-so-special-people-are-riveted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/387286\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas IMAX projectionist explains what makes the 70mm ‘Odyssey’ is so special. People are riveted."},"content":{"rendered":"

How a movie<\/a> gets presented in 70mm IMAX<\/a> may seem like niche film<\/a> nerd information, but a Cinemark Dallas assistant manager has sucked people far and wide in with his explanation<\/a> of how it works. <\/p>\n

Brandon Valdez, Cinemark assistant manager and IMAX 70mm projectionist, stands in the middle of the theater before a showing of Christopher Nolan\u2019s \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d<\/a> and begins chatting with the audience. After asking who had and hadn\u2019t seen a 70mm film before and giving newcomers a round of applause, he launches into a 5-minute spiel about what makes a 70mm film so special. Watch:<\/p>\n

The 70mm IMAX film for \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d weighs 800 pounds<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those of you that are inexperienced or uninitiated, 70 mm is unlike a traditional moviegoing experience,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt\u2019s not presented to you in a digital format. It\u2019s using actual film.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holding up a strip of actual film, he continues: \u201c70 mm film is a very rare style of presentation. We are one of approximately 40 theaters, not just in the United States but in the entire world, that has the capability to play films in 70 mm.\u201d People come to Dallas from all over to have the experience, he shares. (One person was even there from Australia.)<\/p>\n

Then pulls out more of the film strip, stretching it out to his full wingspan, showing the audience what 24 frames of 70mm film looks like.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis right here is actually equivalent to one second of your movie,\u201d he explains.\u00a0Everyone \u201cOooohs\u201d and \u201cAhhhhs\u201d (at his prompting, which was delightful).<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were to stretch out the entire film from one end to another, it would be approximately 11 miles long,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen it first arrived here, before we assembled it, casings and additional leader that we needed to add onto the film, it weighed over 800 pounds. Okay? So it\u2019s a lot of film that we\u2019re dealing with up here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He explains that the film gets fed into the projector at a rate of 24 frames per second and projected onto the enormous screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis screen is five stories tall by seven stories wide, making it one of the largest IMAX screens in the state of Texas,\u201d he says with pride.<\/p>\n

Since it\u2019s an analog presentation, not a digital one, the quality of the picture is better, he explains. If you get close enough to the screen of a digital film, you can see the pixels. With 70mm, you don\u2019t see pixels at all, no matter how close your seat is to the screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The big sound is part of the IMAX experience<\/p>\n

Then Valdez explains the sound, which comes from a set of speakers behind the big screen as well as two \u201cmassive\u201d speakers in each back corner of the theater.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe screen itself has a bunch of tiny microperforations that allow the sound to come to you, approximately 20 per square inch,\u201d he says. The back speakers give the audience the surround sound experience.<\/p>\n

Many people are sharing how loud showings of \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d are. Valdez says that when the Dallas Cinemark played \u201cThe Dark Knight Rises\u201d in 70 mm, the bass was so powerful that the auditorium light bulbs became unscrewed enough that they wouldn\u2019t turn on after the film. (But they\u2019ve since fixed that problem, he adds.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally, Valdez explains that since this is an analog and not digital film, it has to have a human touch. A person, known as a projectionist,st, has to put it all together for the audience. That evening\u2019s projectionist, he says, is Jennifer, and he invites the audience to turn around and say hi to her up in the projection booth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

People love a little in-person, pre-movie education, apparently<\/p>\n

The video, shared by @goffygoober7349 on TikTok<\/a>, has been viewed nearly 30 million times in less than a week. People made it clear in the comments that they loved the assistant manager\u2019s passion and energy as he clearly enjoys educating the audience:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s hyping up the 70mm IMAX experience, as Nolan intended.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWait I want an educational film speech before my movie. :(\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cCan we tip the guy. Dude is phenomenal at his job. Kept me hooked.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not even from America but I would definitely tip him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGIVE THAT MAN A RAISE.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNice to see them educating the audience instead of showing ads.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIMAX education > 30 min of Coke and car ads.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m paying $35 for a ticket, this is what I wanna know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBarely a single stutter or filler words. He\u2019s meant to be a leader omg.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople like him are the reason I get up in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHumanizing the experience is exactly how you get people back into the theatres.\u201d<\/p>\n

And finally, a comment that showcases why millions have sat through Valdez\u2019s talk:<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only have I been to a 70mm IMAX showing, and have already gone through one of these speeches, I\u2019ve gone through it WITH this gentleman here. And yet I watched the entire thing again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It really is a joy to watch someone share something they\u2019re really into, no matter what it is. For the folks watching \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d at the Dallas Cinemark, Valdez surely made their moviegoing experience better. And for the rest of us watching at home, we learned a little something and enjoyed ourselves because he did. Nothing but wins for everyone involved.\n<\/p>\n