The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

60 THE CINE-TECHNICIAN Mav-June. 1953 How Closbups Will Be Composed in CinemaScope wide-screen photography. Tight closeups will probably be avoided in favour of head-and-shoulders composition, with the figure or figures placed a little to the left or right of centrt of the frame, as in this sketch of a scene for "The Robe," 20th-Century-Fox,s first Cinemascope production. In the beginning, film editors will have to feel their way cautiously, as indeed will all other technicians. There will be a greater need for unstinted co-operation between the production planners, the director, cameraman and cutter, in order to effect the smoothest possible result on the screen. Of great importance to the viewer, there is no distortion of images in CinemaScope pictures from any seat in the theatre. Screens, specially developed for the new system for extra brilliance, may be any length desired to fit any theatre. The screen used for projecting tests at 20th CenturyFox studios is 64 feet wide and 25 feet high. A theatre like New York's Roxy would probably use one 80 feet long with proportionate ratio of height to width. The screen curves to a depth of five feet — enough to afford a feeling of engulfment without reflecting annoying highlight from one curved end of the screen to the other, as deeper curving screens are said to do. Due to the immensity of the screen, few entire scenes can be taken in at a glance, enabling the spectator to view them as in life or as one would watch a play when actors are working from opposite ends of the stage. Commenting on CinemaScope, following a series of test screenings at the studio, director of photography Joe Macdonald, A.S.C., said: "People will see things they've never seen before. When you look at CinemaScope it's like taking off blinders. It gives all the three-dimensional feeling that people want. Every camerman that I've talked to is enthused about CinemaScope because it will enable him to make a more substantial contribution to story-telling. Scenes will be longer and more intricate." Supervising Art Director Lyle Wheeler had this to say: " Thanks to CinemaScope, sets will play a more intergrated part in the picture than ever before. Just as on the stage, width, not depth, will represent the typical setup." The sound implications of CinemaScope are as important as the visual ones, believes Lorin Grignon, 20th's sound engineer, who worked closely with Sol Halprin, A.S.C., and other studio engineers in perfecting the system. " In bringing stereophonic sound to the screen," said Grignon. " the illusion of reality will be conveyed to a degree never before realised." Editors will be able to deliver smoother pictures with CinemaScope because scenes will be longer and there will be fewer cuts and close-ups, according to 20th film editor William Murphy. It appears that CinemaScope will make special effects photography more important to film production than ever before. Matte shots will be widely used and there is the possibility that such shots will be the answer to the building of vast panoramic sets where the action must be staged indoors on the sound stage. Ray Kellogg, who heads the special photographic effects department at 20th Century-Fox said, " With CinemaScope, special effects will bring greater realism than ever before. To me, CinemaScope is more important to the industry today than was the advent of sound in its day." CINEMASCOPE SCREEN s,2£. jTAKMID scMtV Size f 2jj STlMOPHOklC SCUHO SI7CS THrUl-DtMlKSIODAl UHCT SO scuta corns r*on point or OAltIN ON iCKHN Projection of Cinemascopi movies requires but ont protector Screen is curved slightly and tills entin stag/ proscenium, Thret speakers ont in centrt mid ont at either side of screen {i.e., inland it) reproduct the stereophonic sound track. lending add< </ naturalness and dimension to CinemaScopt movies.