American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1955)

□ □□□□!□□□□□□ Picture Negatives . . . Studios have made many false starts in this direction in the past but now it looks like they’re really on their way. of wide film, because, while the majority of people think wide film is something new, it is, in reality, a re¬ vival of what took place far in the past. This is a natural conclusion to draw, however, because the standard width of film, 35 millimeters, has become so widely accepted that one often hears of it as the only standard of measure which is common to all nations. Today producers are surrounded by a veritable chaos, as far as film width standard is concerned. And so it was back in the nineties. Today the pro¬ ducers realize that a larger film must come in the not distant future, and 65MM — Actual size of 65mm negative used in the Fearless wide-film camera developed about the same time as Grandeur. naturally, there is an effort being made to find a width which will be fixed as a standard. In the nineties the same situation existed, and film was being used which ranged in width all the way from one-half inch to 70 millimeters. At present, extensive work is being done on the Fox Case Grandeur in 70 millimeters; Spoor-Bergren in 63 milli¬ meters; still another is 56 millimeters, and Ralph Fear of the Fearless Com¬ pany has brought out a new camera for photographing on 65 millimeter film, which one big picture company is now using in a production. Several of the other large studios are said to be turn¬ ing a very favorable eye towards this width. While there has been much in a general way published regarding these various width films, the producing com¬ panies apparently have been somewhat reluctant to give much detailed and authentic information. From Para¬ mount, where experiments have been conducted in 56 millimeters, there is practically no information available. RKO has issued much publicity regard¬ ing contemplated use of the SpoorBergren 63 millimeter film, but recent rumor has it that this concern is planning to take up the 65mm size. However, there is a little more infor¬ mation available regarding the 70 milli¬ meter film of the Fox Grandeur. The company has already presented this width to the public, and as a result of this and the advantages shown in the use of a film wider than the present standard of 35 millimeters, it is pretty generally agreed that a wider film than the 35 millimeter will be evolved out of the chaos. In the case of Grandeur, the Fox film, the width of the film itself is 70 milli¬ meters; while the frame is 22^2 milli¬ meters x 48 millimeters; leaving a sound track 7 millimeters wide in the customary position at the left of the picture. The only difference between the r»l' dS ('1AMT2A3 VISTAVISION — Developed by Paramount Pic¬ tures, VistaVision marks the first use in feature film production of negative running horizontally through the camera to provide an aperture wider than that of conventional 35mm film. VV is 8 sprocket holes in width. normal film stock and that of the Grandeur is that the latter is cut in wider strips and the perforations are of a slightly different pitch. Eastman is the only firm at present making the 70 millimeters width film, and the only perforators for this width film at this writing are found in the Eastman plant at Rochester. The cameras used are made by the Mitchell Camera Company and are available on the open market. They are simply the standard Mitchell Camera enlarged laterally to accommodate the wider film. Wherever possible the parts are interchangeable with those of the 35 millimeter, and this feature has proved so popular that this is being done in a surprisingly large number of cases. The most outstanding changes are found in the shutter, which had to be made practically double the size of the old one, and in the actual film-moving mechanism. The gears of the GrandeurMitchell are cut differently, as the pitch of the Grandeur perforations is approxi¬ mately .231" against a pitch of .87" for the 35 millimeter standard. In all other respects the 70 millimeter Mitchell is identical with the 35 millimeter model. Special Grandeur lenses having a greater angular covering power are used. Grandeur projectors are being manu¬ factured by the International Projector Corporation, and many of the major Fox theatres are being equipped with them, and according to the present plans of that organization, all the Fox houses will ultimately have this equipment. What are the advantages of a wider film ? ( Continued on Page 368) TODD-AO — Cameras use 65mm negative, which is printed on 70mm film that provides space for sound track. Success of Todd-AO has rekindled interest in other studios in the use of wider area negatives. American Cinematographer June, 1955 333