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TO THE STARS"
The story behind the development of the Spacearium filming and projecting systems is one of remarkable technical achievement. The challenging assignment called for a totally new concept of mo¬ tion picture presentation — including the design and construction of photographic equipment, optics, spe¬ cial processing, printing and film-handling equip¬ ment, projection, a giant dome-shaped screen, a film production involving intricate three-dimensional ani¬ mation and a precisely engineered auditorium in which to screen it — all to be completed in less than fourteen months.
Cinerama, Inc., was designated prime contractor to work with a group of sub-contractors including Fine Arts Productions (film production), FairchildCurtis (optics), Benson-Lehner Corporation (photo¬ graphic and projection equipment). Film Effects of Hollywood (printing equipment, optical effects and release printing), Technicolor, Inc. (processing) and many others.
Program Manager and Co-ordinator of the proj¬ ect, William D. Liittschwager, realized that the challenge was far different from that of normal motion picture production and that the first logical step was one of experimentation with standard and
FILM IMAGE IS projected vertically on overhead screen by this special Cinerama projector to produce a full 360-degree hemispherical picture of star-studded heavens. Here, operator makes focus adjustment before starting run of film.
SEATTLE WORLD FAIR visitors view “Journey To The Stars" pro¬ jected overhead on dome-shaped screen. The 15-minute color film was screened for more than 6,000 performances during 1962, was seen by an audience estimated at 4Vi million.
available equipment to prove the feasibility of the system. For this he borrowed from Naval Training Devices an inverted telephoto lens having a 142degree field and originally designed for use in Naval Gunnery Training. With this lens, a Bell & Howell camera and a 35mm projector, Fine Arts Productions began shooting tests and experimenting with projection onto a 20-foot dome. Concurrently, Benson-Lehner began developing the 70mm produc¬ tion camera, adapting it from a 2^-/4." x2\^r framesize model originally designed for photoinstrumen¬ tation work. This camera had to be modified for animation photography and fitted with optics yet to be engineered.
The camera utilized ASA Type 1 perforated film, having a .234 pitch. The mechanism was modified to permit stop-motion photography and included such refinements as frame counters, forward and reverse operation, thru-the-lens viewing, critical focus adjustment, a dissolving mechanism and spe¬ cial shuttering devices for exceptionally long ex¬ posures. A method was also devised to mount the camera on an animation crane so that it could be rotated in increments of 1/10 degree in any direction.
Curtis Optical, assigned the task of designing the lenses, delivered the first one — a 0.9-inch focal length, f/2.2 inverted telephoto — which could be used for both photography and projection. Its resolving characteristics were of a very high order — 500-600 lines per millimeter visually on axis and 70-80 on film, with virtually no vignetting at the
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AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, JUNE, 1963
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