The world of the 7 th art has known quite a few upheavals in recent years. To get to the cinema we all know today, we had to go through many transitions. Audiovisual professionals tried to develop cinematographic projection techniques that were supposed to revolutionize cinema. Some of them, like Cinerama, have not kept their promises.
We owe this cinematographic projection process to the American inventor Fred Waller. It was born in 1952 and was inaugurated by the film “This is Cinerama. At the time, Cinerama was billed as "the most spectacular post-war audiovisual experience. "
Photo by Felipe Bustillo Credits Unsplash Despite Fred Waller's ambitions, the success of Cinerama quickly faltered.
A revolutionary projection technique
The arrival of Cinerama in the United States aroused a general enthusiasm, which can be understood because it was a revolutionary projection technique in the 1950s. Fred Waller's project consisted of using a giant 146 ° curved screen which occupies the entire stage. Thanks to this process, spectators could also enjoy a high-fidelity multi-channel stereophonic sound system.
Le Cinerama was based on a laborious shooting technique, using a 35mm triple-band camera with threes lenses with a focal length of 27 mm and a magnetic sound reader. The projection was then done using three devices. Although it was very promising, this cinematographic projection process had many shortcomings.
Problems that got the better of Cinerama
The presentation of Cinerama took place on the 30th September 1952 at the Broadway Theater, New York. It was a huge success and most of the screenings were sold out. A total of nine films were shot in Cinerama before it was relegated to oblivion.
Many problems eventually got the better of Cinerama. This process suffered from several optical limitations. Apart from the discomfort caused by the bad cross-checking and the distortion of the images, the Cinerama imposed too many constraints on filming. The actors of the film industry have therefore ended up giving it up.
In France, some cinemas have been equipped to show films inCinerama. These include the Theâtre de l'Empire, the Gaumont-Palace, the Kinopanorama in Paris and the Rialto Cinema in Nice.
