The finders on the VistaVision cameras carry a hairline framing marking in the aspect ratio of 1.66/1. In CinemaScope projection, the image passes through an anamorphic expander lens which expands the image in the ratio of 2/1. However, its no secret that they came at a cost. Unlike most other types of filmmaking, the VistaVision camera process involves turning the film stock on its side, so that the perforations are at the top and bottom of the image (instead of on the left and right). But after The Wizard of Oz, things started to change. Cameras with the sensor are Red Ranger Monstro, DSMC2 Monstro, and Panavision DXL2. Unlike most other types of filmmaking, the VistaVision camera process involves turning the film stock on its side, so that the perforations are at the top and bottom of the image (instead of on the left and right). The negative will be handled in 2,000-foot rolls corresponding to the 1,000-foot rolls of normal film. Fortunately, the cast and crew made it through production mostly unscathed. VistaVision could be shown at widescreen aspect ratios between 1.66 and 2.00:1. This is the story of VistaVision, an explanation of the process and its many advantages. This recommendation still stands. It is the feature that others must follow if they are to reduce grain, eliminate fuzziness and gain bigger, brighter and better pictures. The variable prismatic expander lens, such as manufactured by Tushinsky also has the capability of projecting any ratio of squeeze, from a ratio of 1/1 to 3/1, if anyone ever produces a picture for such a wide aspect ratio. The name Super Technirama 70 was used on films where the shooting was done in Technirama and at least some prints were made on 70-mm stock by unsqueezing the image. This is the same light level that has been in use at Paramount studio for nearly a year. Theater supply companies have tables and can recommend the proper focal length lens to give the desired picture width. In introducing VistaVision, Paramount has introduced the technique of optical reduction from a large negative image to the standard release print image. Theaters that have large seamless screens and good projection equipment will gain full advantage of VistaVision without further change or expenditure. With respect to the sub-title foreign release, it is the writer's earnest recommendation that all theaters that exhibit sub-titled pictures use an aspect ratio of 1.66/1 or 1.33/1. The first of the VistaVision films was White Christmas (1954), and it was a wild success. Available for both RF and RM licensing. Some improvement will be apparent even on the old "postage stamp" screens in theaters where not one cent has been spent to improve the presentation. There will also be a frame line marking for the 1.33/1 aspect ratio. Unfortunately, the opening VistaVision screen card over the Paramount mountain used in theaters and the DVD is not on the Blu-ray. The lenses are stopped to f:2.8 and f:3.2. He reflects on what it was like to work with the company on films like Apocalypse Nowand their instrumental aid in the restoration of his film The Cotton Club: So, what is Technicolor? VistaVision is the first process to make a noteworthy and immediately apparent improvement in picture quality. After determining the proper focal length lens the projector aperture plates should be filed so as to project the proper shaped picture to meet the size of the screen that has been selected. However, fewer than 40 films were produced using this process in the United States. It was pointed out to the Motion Picture Research Council and the motion picture industry in a letter dated February 11, 1953. The theater service companies will have complete instructions in regard to their installation and operation. Cameras used 35-mm film running horizontally with an 8-perforation frame, double the normal size, exactly the same as VistaVision. The area of negative film exposure is shown in Figure 1. In selecting Perspect-a-Sound for VistaVision pictures, Paramount is moving toward standardization. This allows for an image space 2x the size of traditional 35mm. Paramount Vista Vision logo at the beginning (only for Paramount films that used the process). Paramount pictures are photographed with height which gives them stature and an artistic proportion that is lost by reducing screen height. So I know they stopped using 3 strip Technicolor around 1955. 118 related topics. The squeezed ratio of this picture (Figure 3) is 1 1/2/1 as compared to the squeezed ratio of 2/1 which is used by CinemaScope. But many were left traumatized or sick including the original Tin Man actor Buddy Ebsen, who was poisoned from the silver make-up. Paramount suggests this type of sound for those exhibitors who desire multi-horn reproduction and who wish to fill the theater with sound. However, by the late 1950s with the introduction of finer-grained color stocks and the disadvantage of shooting twice as much negative stock, VistaVision became obsolete. Technically speaking, the first movie in color, Cupid Angling, came out in 1918. The camera numbered VistaVision #1, used on Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, films by Alfred Hitchcock, and others, was offered at auction on September 30, 2015, by Profiles in History with an estimated value of US$30,000 to $50,000, with a winning bid of US$65,000. If Eastman release prints are required by the Foreign Department, we feel sure that the VistaVision double-frame negative will give a better inter-negative for such release printing than could be obtained by any other system. The first such marks will appear approximately 5 feet in from the start of the reel and the second set of marks will appear 8 feet in from the start of the reel. This is the answer to front seating. The quality would have been very good but perhaps a bit less than those processes, because the negative was not quite as large and needed to be printed optically. The VistaVision squeezed prints will not play through the CinemaScope 2/1 expander lenses. This was just on regular 35mm, but it gave the studio the idea for what would become Vista Vision. While this process is behind why the image quality was so good, it also meant that the film stock would run out twice as fast. Less expensive anamorphic systems such as CinemaScope and the more expensive 70mm format became standard during the later 1950s and 1960s. IMAX also emphasizes height over width (just like VistaVision). In making the VistaVision process available to others it must be clearly understood that Paramount assumes no responsibility or liability in regard to patents or claims of any type. These auditorium loudspeakers, if used, should be located well to the front of the auditorium. The screen should be seamless and not just called seamless. "Cropping" is accomplished in the projector by using special projection aperture plates filed to the desired aspect ratio. 4K UHD Blu-ray review of Cecil B. In addition to gaining flexibility in projection, the compressed VistaVision prints, working with expander lenses will give a light increase of approximately 40% which can be of real assistance on very large screens. Whether you knew at the time or not, youve probably seen a Technicolor movie. One of the most famous directors to make VistaVision films is Alfred Hitchock, who used it for To Catch a Thief (1955), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Vertigo (1958), and North by Northwest (1959), the latter of which was released by MGM, an uncommon example of VistaVision being licensed out to another studio. The production picture dailies are optically printed directly from the large color negative to the standard 35 mm image size. Last edited on 23 December 2022, at 02:00, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, "Widescreen Museum - The VistaVision Wing - 2", "The Development of VistaVision: Paramount Marches to a Different Drummer", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VistaVision&oldid=1128991920. Well, it takes a bit of explaining, so if you can, please join us as we look into the origins of VistaVision, what it was like, and why it still matters today. Collapse. For VistaVision directional sound it is only necessary to have three loudspeakers, as shown by A, B, and C, Figure 4. Higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954. Rafael Abreu received his B.A. Technirama is a screen process that has been used by some film production houses as an alternative to CinemaScope. One of the best 4K disc releases so far (2021) owing to its VistaVision large fo. At the time, Technicolor cameras required incredibly bright lights to work as intended. Such prints would be compatible with those made by such 65-mm negative processes as Todd-AO and Super Panavision. What is VistaVision? They have brought a new look to motion pictures, a permanent new look. It is our opinion that this move will give greater dramatic effectiveness, greater simplicity and greater flexibility, at a lower cost and with less service trouble than any other multi-horn system. Screen height, the same as screen width, is usually limited by the proscenium. All re-recording will be to a single-sound-track magnetic master which will have been re-recorded (dubbed) with monaural monitoring. In theaters that do not have multiple loudspeakers, it will be necessary to buy additional loudspeakers and their associated amplifiers, the cost of which should be approximately $2,000 installed, except for very large theaters where the cost may be higher. If youre trying to recall an example, just think, color, color, color. We are advised that Mitchell, Bell and Howell and the Producers Service Company will be making cameras available for Paramount and others in the industry. The first of these, Cinerama, debuted in September 1952, and consisted of three strips of 35mm film projected side-by-side onto a giant, curved screen, augmented by seven channels of stereophonic sound. 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