Business screen magazine (1946)

EI IN PICTURES AND SOUND FOR CONTROLLED AUDIENCE ^■"'HE Sponsokkii Fii-M niediuin -■ embraced three-dimensional principles during the New York World's Fair, nearly 15 years ago. when the Chrysler Exhibit demonstrated its popularity to Malting throngs. Today, the search for the "maximum" in reality has been resumed as sponsors and producers note the public interest shown in new dimensional techniques of picture and sound for the entertainment cinema. They are improving on them month by month. A leading experimenter who has brought a high degree of practicality to stereo motion pictures is Raphael G. Wolff, out of whose Hollywood studios has come a new and highly-portable 16mm camera setup — plus picture-sense — to match the fine pictorial quality shown in current sponsored films. Recent Wolff short subjects in stereo and color have included unusual location sequences, realistic 3-D color animation, and glamorous product displays. ♦ llii ii.ng-raiige -ii,.-,- ..( .1-1) in sponsored films depends on its "■premiere"' use among controlled audiences where the problem of precise interlocked projection can be safely met. The 3-D opportunity15 there for dealer meetings, conventions and trade shows where projection control can match the precise handling now possible in the studio and on location. And this 3-D "first-run" program can be duplicated in standard "flat" projection to take advantage of any or all of an estimated half-million 16mm sound projectors. In 3-D and color, such a subject might be designed, further, to plav stereoequipped theatres of which there are some 3,000 to date. Stereo on the screen and with stereophonic sound are an exciting idea. They may. to many sponsors, be well worth their problems and their cost since the end result is now reaching a point of greater assurance through the creative and technical efforts of producers. ^" RCA Announces Arc Equipment for 1 6inm 3-D Business Films * Portable 16mm arc projection equipment designed to use threedimensional motion pictures for business and industry has been announced by the Engineering Products Department. RCA Victor Division, R.U)IO C0RP0R.4TI0N' OF AMERICA. This new equipment is said to bring for the first time to non-theatrical users the special advantages of three-dimensional films with the same impact and realism of depth and color of Hollywood produc Imterlocked arcs provide the topquality li-ght and precise mechanical control necessary to a perfect 3-D film presentation in color. lions. Documentary and industrial films in 3-D are expected to provide American industn' with an unparalleled but highly specialized medium. The Raphael G. Wolff Studios of Hollywood, a leading documentary and industrial film producer and a proponent of stereo-projection techniques for industry, has cooperated with RCA in providing a new 3-D experimental production to demonstrate with the new equipment. The equipment reproduces standard sound tracks, both photographic and magnetic, and may be easily adapted for binaural or stereophonic sound if desired. The system consists of two RCA 16mm portable arc projectors wth selsvn interlocked motors. The arc lighting is said to provide two to four times the illumination of the next best light source. High light intensity is a fundamental requirement for 3-D projection since the polarizing filters absorb considerable light. Sound amplifiers are provided with the new RCA equipment, but it may also be connected to almost any t\'])e of existing stage or auditorium loudspeaker equipment. The new 3-D equipment, or more information, is available from the RCA Engineering Products Department. Camden. N. J. 9' 16 MM STEREO AT WORK: PRINCIPLES AND POTENTIAL • A PICTORIAL REPORT • ♦ Unusual portability is a key factor in the new 16mm Stereo-Cine camera equipment developed and perfected by Raphael G. Wolff and shown at right as a stereo engineer lines up a 3-D shot on location. ^fe^^^^^' Producer and New 3-D Cameras ♦ Taking full advantage of portability, Ray Wolff (left, foreground) directs camera crew in a recent color sequence filmed on location at Marineland. Florida and soon to be seen on the nation's theatrical screens in a 3-D short sidiject release. The same footage could also be released as a standard 16mm sound motion picture for projection on that type of wide-available equipment but has added impact when shown on interlocked projectors. The 16mm Stereo-Cine Camera ♦ Culmination of seven years of experimentation and at a cost of 850,000 is this first controlled 16mm stereo camera developed by Wolff Studios. Close-up view at right shows specially ground reflecting prisms and taking lenses. With this highly portable 16mm equipment, effects out of reach of most 35mm studio 3-D equipment are obtainable and at lower cost than bulky, cumbersome 35mm units, used by major studios. "Presence" Means True-to-Life * The sense of "presence" or feeling of acttutlity which members of the 3-D audience achieve when viewing these films under good conditions is an important advantage in merchandising. The obviously exciting device of bringing products and packages out of the screen also gives them new meaning and importance, especially useful in dealer meetings and at trade show and convention programs where projection may also be carefully controlled. Greater Retention Through 3-D ♦ The sense of reality can bring about greater retention of objects and methods presented in tliree-dimensional sequences. Here a studio artist is preparing 3-D artwork for a recent stereo film presentation which included startling animation sequences in color. S' NUMBER 5 • VOLUME 14