The Straight Dope -- By Cecil Adams
http://www.straightdope.com

THE STRAIGHT DOPE 05/21/2004

[snip]

STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC #1 - 06/26/1981

Dear Cecil:

Here is a matter that has not been on my mind for qu
ite a while now, that isn't a matter of life or deat
h, and that doesn't have 50 bucks riding on it: tell
me, what are the differences between Cinerama, Pana
vision, and Super Panavision? Are any of these simpl
y trade names for ordinary 70mm film?
--Bruce Lund, Western Springs, Illinois

Dear Bruce:

You might have mentioned CinemaScope, Metroscope, Ul
tra Panavision, or any of about a dozen other cinema
tic breakthroughs while you were at it, Bruce; the m
ovie industry has never been at a loss for grandiose
titles for its dubious products. All of the above r
efer to various widescreen techniques intended to he
lp Hollywood meet the TV challenge of the 50s.
The earliest, Cinerama (1952), required three projec
tors flashing onto a huge curved screen to give the
illusion of depth. 1953 saw the debut of CinemaScope
, which was the first of several processes to use an
anamorphic lens. Such lenses squeezed the unusually
wide screen image like an accordion so that it woul
d fit onto an ordinary 35mm negative--i.e., everythi
ng got skinnier. When projected, a reverse anamorphi
c lense stretched the compacted image back out to it
s original width. In some instances, the stretching
was done in the lab, meaning you used a 35mm negativ
e to make a 70mm print, which was then projected wit
h an ordinary 70mm lens. Panavision appeared on the
scene a year or two after CinemaScope, and eventuall
y offered three techniques: ordinary Panavision, whi
ch uses a 2.35:1 anamorphic lens to squeeze a wide i
mage onto a 35mm negative; Ultra Panavision, with 1.
25:1 lens and a 65mm negative; and Super Panavision,
with an ordinary 1:1 lens and a 65mm negative. 65mm
, incidentally, is the size of the film used in the
camera. When the film is processed, a 5mm sound stri
pe is added and what the movie houses get is 70mm wi
de.

For more, see:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_366c.html

[snip]
____________________________________________
Here's how you can get your OWN FREE Subscription:
Send a blank mailto:join-straightdope-list@jokeaday.
com
____________________________________________
Copyright 1995 - 2004 Chicago Reader, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
You may forward this document by email ONLY if you i
nclude the entire document INCLUDING the information
at the bottom of this publication
____________________________________________
Visit our good friends at Joke A Day http://www.joke
aday.com
They're kind enough to mail THE STRAIGHT DOPE for us
.
Join the World's Largest Daily Humor List and receiv
e daily laughs in your email by sending mailto:join@
jokeaday.com



insidious_plots...
http://insidiousplots.com