Filmic Experience : La Géode

La Géode is an omnimax cinema theatre located in the Parc de la Villette , at the Cite des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Paris. Opened its doors to viewers in 1985 not only as the only spherical building in Paris, but also as a cinema theatre that offered a quite different filmic experience to its viewers compared with traditional cinemas.

In La Géode, Imax formatted films are projected on a half spherical dome constituting approximately 1000 square meters. The building has a diameter of 36 meters and it weights more than 6000 tons. The trompe l’oeil architecture reflects its surroundings. It also has a unique sound system that is powered with 21000 watts through 12 channels. Due to 30.000 lumens of projection power, it would be possible to see the light coming out of Géode from the moon if its top structure is removed.

The hemispherical projection and the use of more channels in sound added up to a different sitting position and viewing angle could surely be defined as a new experience of cinema. Although, it is debatable that Géode changes our worlds dramatically, this is, on the other hand a rare chance to consider contemporary architecture’s role on filmic experience.

Géeode’s screen has a spherical shape that stands on top of the viewer. Therefore we can talk about a more democratic, equal distribution of seats: sitting nearer to the screen is out of the question since every viewer is somehow at a similar distance to the spherical screen. In traditional theatres, in order to let everyone see the screen properly, the old amphitheater model is usually applied and each row of seats is raised towards the back of the halls gradually; although this architecture is functional, the presence of the other viewers is visible. Géode, by rotating the sitting position of the viewer towards a dome, upwards, abrogates the presence of the other viewers when watching a film. It is possible to argue that this contributes positively to the inclusion of viewer into film atmosphere. By removing the presence of the other viewers from the frame, we can expect viewers to feel more private, alone and consequently, open to the atmosphere created by the film.

In a world where filmic experience is very personalized, La Géode offers a new perspective to the issue. The growing numbers of TV screens in houses and home-theatre systems is one of the most important reasons why we can talk about a change in filmic experience, but La Géode invites viewers both to an old experience, that is, going to a cinema theatre, and to a new experience at the same time.