But after The Wizard of Oz, things started to change. It projects in the ratio of 2.66/1. But many film-goers were still curious to see how three color Technicolor would look in live-action. Briefly, the VistaVision process includes new wider angle lenses to give greater scope on the big screens; new cameras through which the 35 mm negative travels horizontally eight sprocket holes per frame (instead of 4) giving a negative image with an area of nearly three times the area of the standard negative image. How to Use Color in Film [w/ Free E-book] , The Ultimate Guide to Call Sheets (with FREE Call Sheet Template), How to Break Down a Script (with FREE Script Breakdown Sheet), The Only Shot List Template You Need with Free Download, Managing Your Film Budget Cashflow & PO Log (Free Template), A Better Film Crew List Template Booking Sheet, Best Storyboard Softwares (with free Storyboard Templates), Best Spike Lee Movies and TV Shows Ranked for Filmmakers, What is Practical Lighting in Film? In addition to using much larger film stock than other 70mm productions, IMAX made a name for itself by producing high quality motion pictures that could only be shown in select cinemas (unlike VistaVision). Persons outside of Paramount who are interested in the purchase of cameras should make their inquiries directly to the camera companies and any orders for cameras should be placed with these companies. It is contemplated that we shall derive the same benefit on black and white pictures that we are now gaining in color photography. Technicolor, Hollywood (CA), USA (color) Film Length : Negative Format : 35 mm (horizontal) (Eastman 25T 5248) Cinematographic Process : Digital Intermediate (4K) (2020 remaster) VistaVision Printed Film Format . [4], Also offered at the same auction was VistaVision High Speed #1 (VVHS1), which was used to film the parting of the Red Sea in The Ten Commandments (1956) and special effects on Star Wars (winning bid US$60,000.)[5]. This is the same light level that has been in use at Paramount studio for nearly a year. It was first used in 1957 but fell into disuse in the mid-1960s. We see no complication in the handling of subtitles or other special requirements for foreign release other than those complications which have existed on all pictures that have an aspect ratio above 1.33/1. Its easy to forget just how difficult the process of coloring films was. This includes lenses down to 24 mm, which will give a photographic angle of coverage slightly above 75 degrees. As explained later in this booklet, the picture can play in any aspect ratio from 1.33/1 through 1.66/1, 1.85/1 up to 2/1. Resulting in higher-resolution photography, along with a native widescreen VistaVision aspect ratio of about 1.5:1 that can, by design, be cropped for 1.66:1, 1.85:1, and 2:1. Enter The Wizard of Oz perhaps the most famous Technicolor movie of all time. Create robust and customizable shot lists. DRIVE-IN PRESENTATION OF VISTAVISION FILMS. A two-color process that used dye imbibition to chemically color two complementary images onto a single strip of film. So how can you break put from the pack and get your idea onto the small screen? Films were starting to be shot in widescreen through processes like Cinemascope and VistaVision. Thus, a negative with a finer grain was created and release prints had less grain. Cameras used 35-mm film running horizontally with an 8-perforation frame, double the normal size, exactly the same as VistaVision. Its easy to forget just how different the filmmaking process was then compared to now. This will give a new depth perception in exhibition. In smaller theaters, seamless white screens can be used if adequate projection light is available. Dont worry, this next video does a great job of showing us how the process was done: The three strip process required a gargantuan amount of work from the Pre-Production process all the way through Post-Production. As stated above, all VistaVision release prints, both standard and squeezed, will have a single photographic sound track located in the standard position so that they will reproduce on any standard optical sound head in any projector the world over. A picture composed in this way will play equally good at 1.85/1, it will play very satisfactorily at 2/1 and it can be played at the old standard of 1.33/1. Lets check out a great video that shows us how Technicolor was founded and how it was used by filmmakers: Now that weve refreshed our memory with a look at some Technicolor examples, lets just jump into a Technicolor definition. When Paramount introduced the large screen to the motion picture industry prior to and during the release of SHANE, Paramount recommended that the theaters install the largest feasible screen, both as to HEIGHT and WIDTH. One of the best 4K disc releases so far (2021) owing to its VistaVision large fo. Many of these off-brand VistaVision films included classics of Japanese cinema, such as Death by Hanging (1968), In the Realm of the Senses (1976), and Vengeance is Mine (1979). Pretty soon, other studios were making their own widescreen movies, including Paramount Pictures with VistaVision. We also expect to make matte shots, and we see no reason why we should not gain the same improvement in all types of special effects photography. Paramount does not contemplate the release of any pictures with either a separate or four-track magnetic film. VistaVision cameras were sometimes adapted. As an example, with a screen 25 feet wide, this has been from 50 to 125 feet from the screen. Filmmakers did, however, need a special VistaVision camera that could shoot the film horizontally. In the VistaVision process standard camera lenses are used in photography and a standard (non-squeezed) large negative image is obtained. VistaVision also offers the simplest and most flexible system for those theaters that wish to play squeezed prints through variable prismatic expander lenses. The reduction ratio is 1.63/1. Although it is great to see that some of them are being restored. Below are more "Lazy 8" production stills. We realize that it is impossible to lay down fixed recommendations applicable to all theaters. The logistical advantage of using 35mm film, end-to-end, should not be underestimated. Seamless screens are made by Bodde, Roy Stewart and others. The picture film which was made with these lenses is still in the Paramount studio library. Technicolor changed the course of cinema forever with bright and bold visuals, saturated to the point of near-surreality. Figure 2) at the start of each 2,000 foot reel as a guide to the projectionist. This exhibition process was impractical because for the footage to travel through a projector at the normal 24 frames per second, the film had to roll at three feet per second, double the speed of 35mm film and causing many technical and mechanical problems. Were here to help. This is the only limitation that should force the theater into an aspect ratio as high as 2/1. No more VistaVision in use today, at least not for film. Today, dozens of Technicolor cameras still exist, dormant and rusty from lack of use. With VistaVision on a screen 50 feet wide, the seating will be acceptable down to 25 feet from the screen and will be very satisfactory at 38 feet from the screen. Paramount Vista Vision logo at the beginning (only for Paramount films that used the process). VistaVision is a high-resolution widescreen process that uses 35mm film. Relevance. A new wide angle view finder has been adapted to the camera and operates with vertical rather than horizontal parallax. I saw a new print of THE SEARCHERS back in about 1998, and it was stunningly clear, even though it was just a standard 35mm 1.85 print. If the picture is being projected in the old 1.33/1 aspect ratio, the projectionist will frame with the top frame line just above the top of the projected picture as in the past. VistaVision. In theaters where the screen width is limited to under 30 feet, and where there is adequate height, we recommend a screen aspect ratio of 1 66/1, reducing the height only when necessary for good viewing. In this case the theater may elect to install a screen in the ratio of 2/1. We believe that in our use of the VistaVision process we have selected the best ratio of negative area to positive area for motion picture making. Using new Mitchell movements, Technicolor converted six of their old three-strip color cameras for VistaVision. The camera numbered VistaVision #1, used on Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, films by Alfred Hitchcock, and others, was offered at auction on September 30, 2015, by Profiles in History with an estimated value of US$30,000 to $50,000, with a winning bid of US$65,000. We are advised that Mitchell, Bell and Howell and the Producers Service Company will be making cameras available for Paramount and others in the industry. Using that larger-area negative really improves the final product. This is a tremendous advantage. It was also one of the few VistaVision films that had 8-perforation prints made for special engagements that could present the movies in their original format (horizontal VistaVision prints vs regular vertical 35mm). One of the most famous directors to make VistaVision films is Alfred Hitchock, who used it for To Catch a Thief (1955), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Vertigo (1958), and North by Northwest (1959), the latter of which was released by MGM, an uncommon example of VistaVision being licensed out to another studio. In studies made by Paramount we find that seams become more apparent with time. The VistaVision fanfare, used on most of the films produced in this ratio, was written by film, television, and radio composer and orchestrator Nathan Van Cleave.[1]. With the new Paramount process this rule can be changed to "the screen width can be increased to 1/2 the distance from the screen to the center of seating". The film is standard 35 mm negative exposed horizontally. 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