msc@saber.UUCP (Mark Callow) (03/04/86)
> I have a question of my own about 2001. The original was filmed in > "Cinerama" (not cinemascope). This means that three projectors, in sync, > were used to project three films onto three adjoining screens -- the audience > was surrounded about 180 degrees by the film (I have a friend who saw it The original Cinerama technology used 3 35mm cameras and 4 35mm projectors. 3 of the projectors were used to project onto the left middle and right portions of *one* giant curved screen. The fourth projector contained the 4-track soundtrack plus a sync track used to keep all four projectors synchronized. Since the theatre owners didn't want 8 projectors, these early cinerama projectors were equipped with giant reels that held 1 1/2 hours of film. The intermission was provided so that reels could be changed. "How the West Was Won" was made and shown in this way. You could usually see the joins between the three strips of film. Later on, cinerama was refined to use a single 70mm camera and projector with special 3 facet lenses and gateplates with a bizarre looking curved aperture. 2001 was made using this version of cinerama. A long time ago I visited the projection booth in a cinerama theatre while they were showing 2001. Some (a very few) of the old cinerama theatres still exist and even have the old screen (Cinema 150 in Santa Clara, CA is an example). Nowadays they show regular 70mm films on the central two-thirds or so of the old screen. I would imagine they still have the cinerama lenses and gateplates and could show a cinerama print of 2001 if they could get hold of one. You aren't actually losing that much when you see a 70mm print vs the original cinerama. The only difference is that screen doesn't quite wrap around you quite so much. -- From the TARDIS of Mark Callow msc@saber.uucp, sun!saber!msc@decwrl.dec.com ...{ihnp4,sun}!saber!msc "Boards are long and hard and made of wood"