Technirama
Encyclopedia
Technirama is a screen process that was used by some film production houses as an alternative to CinemaScope
. It was first used in 1957 but fell into disuse in the mid 1960s. The process was invented by Technicolor
and is an anamorphic process with a screen ratio the same as revised CinemaScope
(2.35:1) which became the standard but it's actually 2.55:1 on the negative.
. VistaVision
cameras were sometimes adapted. Technirama used a 1.5:1 anamorphic (squeeze) lens in order to take in a wider image. In the lab, the 8-perf horizontal negative would be "blown down" with a further 1.33 : 1 squeeze to create normal 4-perf normal (vertically running) prints with images having a squeeze ratio of 2:1, the same as CinemaScope
. These prints could be shown with the same projection lenses as CinemaScope
productions but would have greatly improved clarity owing to the double-sized original negative.
Just as VistaVision
had a few flagship engagements using 8-perf horizontal contact prints and special horizontal-running projectors, there is a bit of evidence that horizontal prints were envisioned for Technirama as well (probably with 4-track magnetic sound as in CinemaScope
), but to what extent this was ever done commercially, if at all, remains unclear.
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. Such prints would be compatible with those made by such 65-mm negative processes as Todd-AO
and Super Panavision. 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.
Technicolor
had roughly 12 of its famous Three-Strip cameras, obsolete after 1955, the final year for any Three-Strip Technicolor production, converted into VistaVision cameras, using camera movements supplied by Mitchell Camera Corporation, the supplier, in 1932, of the original Three-Strip camera movements. After the delivery, by Mitchell Camera Corporation, in 1956, of the Mitchell VistaVision cameras, the Technicolor Three-Strip conversions became immediately obsolete, and were, therefore, surplus to Technicolor's operations. These converted Three-Strip VistaVision cameras thereafter became the standard Technirama cameras, which were subsequently supplemented by a few Paramount hand-held VistaVision cameras which had been fitted with anamorphic optics.
The logistical advantage of using 35mm film, end-to-end, should not be underestimated.
A few 8-perf titles have been preserved on 65mm film, but most have been preserved on 35mm film or are considered unprintable.
The color was enhanced through the use of a special development process that was used to good effect in the films The Vikings (1958) and The Music Man
(1962). However, fewer than 40 films were produced using this process in the United States
. It was more popular and longer-lasting in Europe. Walt Disney Productions used the process twice for full length animated features: Sleeping Beauty
(1959), and The Black Cauldron
(1985). The 2008 DVD and Blu-Ray release of Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty was shown at its true CinemaScope aspect-ratio of 2.55:1 for the first time.
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
. It was first used in 1957 but fell into disuse in the mid 1960s. The process was invented by Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
and is an anamorphic process with a screen ratio the same as revised CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
(2.35:1) which became the standard but it's actually 2.55:1 on the negative.
Technical
The Technirama camera used a film area twice that of the CinemaScope cameras, which created a sharper, less grainy picture. Cameras used 35-mm film, running it horizontally and utilizing an 8-perforation frame, double the normal size, exactly the same as VistaVisionVistaVision
VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954....
. VistaVision
VistaVision
VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954....
cameras were sometimes adapted. Technirama used a 1.5:1 anamorphic (squeeze) lens in order to take in a wider image. In the lab, the 8-perf horizontal negative would be "blown down" with a further 1.33 : 1 squeeze to create normal 4-perf normal (vertically running) prints with images having a squeeze ratio of 2:1, the same as CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
. These prints could be shown with the same projection lenses as CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
productions but would have greatly improved clarity owing to the double-sized original negative.
Just as VistaVision
VistaVision
VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954....
had a few flagship engagements using 8-perf horizontal contact prints and special horizontal-running projectors, there is a bit of evidence that horizontal prints were envisioned for Technirama as well (probably with 4-track magnetic sound as in CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
), but to what extent this was ever done commercially, if at all, remains unclear.
The name Super Technirama 70
Super Technirama 70
Super Technirama 70 was the marketing name for films which were photographed in the 35 mm 8-perf Technirama process and optically enlarged to 70 mm 5-perf prints for deluxe exhibition....
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. Such prints would be compatible with those made by such 65-mm negative processes as Todd-AO
Todd-AO
Todd-AO is a post-production company founded in 1953, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company operates three facilities in the Los Angeles area.-History:...
and Super Panavision. 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.
Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
had roughly 12 of its famous Three-Strip cameras, obsolete after 1955, the final year for any Three-Strip Technicolor production, converted into VistaVision cameras, using camera movements supplied by Mitchell Camera Corporation, the supplier, in 1932, of the original Three-Strip camera movements. After the delivery, by Mitchell Camera Corporation, in 1956, of the Mitchell VistaVision cameras, the Technicolor Three-Strip conversions became immediately obsolete, and were, therefore, surplus to Technicolor's operations. These converted Three-Strip VistaVision cameras thereafter became the standard Technirama cameras, which were subsequently supplemented by a few Paramount hand-held VistaVision cameras which had been fitted with anamorphic optics.
The logistical advantage of using 35mm film, end-to-end, should not be underestimated.
A few 8-perf titles have been preserved on 65mm film, but most have been preserved on 35mm film or are considered unprintable.
The color was enhanced through the use of a special development process that was used to good effect in the films The Vikings (1958) and The Music Man
The Music Man (1962 film)
The Music Man is a 1962 musical film starring Robert Preston as Harold Hill and Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo. The film is based on the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name by Meredith Willson...
(1962). However, fewer than 40 films were produced using this process in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was more popular and longer-lasting in Europe. Walt Disney Productions used the process twice for full length animated features: Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)
Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "La Belle au bois dormant" by Charles Perrault...
(1959), and The Black Cauldron
The Black Cauldron (film)
The Black Cauldron is a 1985 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and originally released to theatres on July 24, 1985...
(1985). The 2008 DVD and Blu-Ray release of Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty was shown at its true CinemaScope aspect-ratio of 2.55:1 for the first time.
Specifications
- Film: 35 mm running horizontally using eight perforations at 24 frames per second.
- Film area: 1.496" (38 mm) × 0.992" (25.2 mm).
- Anamorphic power: 1.5
- Aspect ratio: 2.35:1.(Prints) 2.55:1(Negative)