The word "Cinerama" combines cinema with panorama, the origin of all the "-orama" neologisms (the word "panorama" comes from the Greek words "pan", meaning all, and "orama", which translates into that which is seen, a sight, or a spectacle). ![]() ![]() A five-camera version, the Waller Gunnery Trainer, was used during the Second World War. Waller had earlier developed an eleven-projector system called "Vitarama" at the Petroleum Industry exhibit in the 1939 New York World's Fair. A forerunner was the triple-screen final sequence in the silent Napoléon (1927) directed by Abel Gance Gance's classic was considered lost in the 1950s, however, known of only by hearsay, and Waller could not have viewed it. It was the outgrowth of many years of development. The film, titled This Is Cinerama, was received with enthusiasm. Cooper, produced a commercially viable demonstration of Cinerama that opened on Broadway on September 30, 1952. History Process and production Ĭinerama was invented by Fred Waller (1886–1954) and languished in the laboratory for several years before Waller, joined by Hazard "Buzz" Reeves, brought it to the attention of Lowell Thomas who, first with Mike Todd and later with Merian C. Three-strip Cinerama did not use anamorphic lenses, although two of the systems used to produce the 70mm prints ( Ultra Panavision 70 and Super Technirama 70) did employ anamorphic lenses, 35mm (~1.38 in) anamorphic reduction prints were produced for exhibition in theatres with anamorphic CinemaScope-compatible projection lenses. The latter system lost the 146-degree field of view of the original three-strip system, and its resolution was markedly lower. This process was later abandoned in favor of a system using a single camera and 70mm (~2.75 inch) prints. The original system involved shooting with three synchronized cameras sharing a single shutter. The display is accompanied by a high-quality, seven-track discrete, directional, surround-sound system. The Cinerama projection screen, rather than being a continuous surface like most screens, is made of hundreds of individual vertical strips of standard perforated screen material, each about 7⁄ 8 inch (~22 millimeters) wide, with each strip angled to face the audience, to prevent light scattered from one end of the deeply curved screen from reflecting across the screen and washing out the image on the opposite end. Cinerama was presented to the public as a theatrical event, with reserved seating and printed programs, and audience members often dressed in their best attire for the evening. It was the first of several novel processes introduced during the 1950s when the movie industry was reacting to competition from television. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporation. Scene from This Is Cinerama A Cinerama screen in the Bellevue, AmsterdamĬinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146-degrees of arc. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |