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An alternative large negative format to 65mm origination -
Vistamorph ®
An alternative large Format Film Experience
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Read more
at
in70mm.com
The 70mm Newsletter
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Written
by: Chris O'Kane |
Date:
24 January 2007 |
Vistamorph
70mm frame. Press image to see
enlargement.
There exists today a substantial market for large format
cinema. These cinemas sell the thrill and experience of a big
show where films entertain and educate the audience for 40
minutes with short films and over 2 hours with commercial
feature films. The large format Imax® system has its films
originated on 15-perf 70mm horizontal film. These films are
printed at great cost and synced up with a powerful surround
sound system. The concept is to convey a sense of realism to the
audience, as if they are physically involved in the film through
the use of scale and power. This idea stems from Cinerama, a
system launched on the cinema industry in 1952, where the
panoramic film was shown on a curved screen 90ft wide and 30ft
high. Accompanied with 7-channel stereo sound, Cinerama made
such an impact in the industry that all wide screen film systems
were developed as a consequence of the very great public
response to the Cinerama experience. Even wide screen TV is now
common in homes.
The Vistamorph film system was developed by Vistatech Ltd. As a
response to the rising costs of large format film production and
presentation in the late 1990’s. It was envisaged that it could
fill the role that Cinerama once had in commercial cinema and
offer a much lower cost alternative to 15/70 formats as a
medium. Vistamorph is a process that can produce spectacular
wide screen films and emulates Cinerama in scale. One of the
many benefits of Vistamorph is that it utilises existing motion
picture technology to produce films at a reasonable cost in
comparison to 15/70 films. Vistamorph has a presentation ratio
of 3: 1 to 1 or greater and is originated on 35mm motion picture
negative stock. It incorporates a x2 anamorphic optical
compression along the horizontal axis of the film stock and is
shot in a VistaVision format camera. A range of primes lenses
can be coupled to the Vistamorph anamorphic attachment lens for
originating wide and medium fields of view.
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Internet link:
70mm 5-perf cinemas outside North America
70mm
5-perf cinemas in North America |
Vistamorph
70mm frame. Press image to see HUGE
enlargement.
In March of 2000 a short test film was shot using a Technicolor model camera
from Panavision and a Nikon prime lens coupled with a x2 anamorphic
attachment. The film was shot in good daylight on Eastman Kodak EXR 50D 35mm
stock. The film “A Trip to Dunoon” was shot on the west coast of
Scotland in early spring and consists of several shots of moving boats,
vehicles and people in a rural landscape. The film also includes moving
camera shots. This was done to test for strobing problems in theatre
viewing. These proved to be minimal and non intrusive for the audience. The
negative was processed by Technicolor in England and was telecined by The
Mill in London. The negative was cut by Trucut of London and a 70mm
Vistamorph projection print was produced by Technicolor using existing
Technirama printing equipment. The test film was run a DKP75 Kinoton
projector with a 3K lamp and shown on a 56ft Todd AO screen where the aspect
ratio exceed the width of the screen at 3:1 to 1 The film was also test run
on the Pictureville Cinerama screen in Bradford and on the 96ft Cinerama
screen at the Martin Cinerama Theatre in Seattle, where the aspect ratio of
the screen was exceeded also. This was done using a medium focal length
backing lens attached to an industry standard x2 anamorphic with a 7K lamp
as a light source.
The development of better lenses and cameras would further improve the
quality of the Vistamorph process and make it a viable system to produce
super-wide-screen motion pictures. The costs to do this need not be
excessive as some existing equipment could be adapted for the purpose. The
VistaVision negative format lends itself to fitting in with existing
printing techniques. Technicolor can produce either a 70mm or 35mm
anamorphic print from the Vistamorph negative and DTS can produce a surround
sound track for the film. A multiplex cinema could knock two large halls
into a large one and build within it a Vistamorph auditorium that would
allow the screening of, not only Vistamorph 70mm format films, but also all
existing 70mm, 35mm and future digital formats too.
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Vistamorph requires at this stage a three-phase development.
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Phase 1: Production and testing of a full-scale prototype system and test
film.
Phase 2: Production of new equipment for filmmaking and the building, or
adaption of an existing theatre as a Vistamorph auditorium in a popular
location.
Phase 3: Establishing the concept worldwide.
Vistamorph is a UK registered trade mark -
Copyright© Chris O’Kane 2007
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