A Tribute to Film Posters

New Technologies

The film industry was hit hard by the popularity of television. It is in part thanks to television that movies have evolved, out of necessity. In order to draw audiences back to the movie theater, new technologies had to be introduced to differentiate themselves from television.

In 1952, two such technologies were introduced in an attempt to revive the film industry. The first technology was called Cinerama which revolutionized the way movies were made and enjoyed. This technology made the audience feel like they were part of the movie itself. It used a system of three cameras, three projectors, and a curved screen. Cinerama was the creation of Fred Waller, who worked at Paramount. Originally, Cinerama required the use of five cameras, but after further experiments, it was eventually taken down to three. The way in which the image is formed is with three separate 35mm films and a fourth where the sound is carried. When the three frames were combined, they formed an image almost six times the definition of the usual 35mm film. Cinerama’s first production was This is Cinerama, a documentary on vacation spots. Cinerama lasted for fourteen years.

The next new technology that was introduced was that of 3-D. It gave audiences the impression that the action of the movie was jumping out of the screen at them when wearing special viewing glasses. The first movie filmed in 3-D was a horror film called Bwana Devil.

In 1953, yet another new technology was introduced that improved the way films were made. It was called CinemaScope. Its concept was simple and could not be replicated by television. It enlarged the picture being filmed and therefore made the picture on screen seem wider.

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