The Independent Film Journal (1955)

Todd-AO In Gala Debut DIRECTOR FRED ZINNEMANN Lenses All four TODD-AO lenses represent late developments in the art of optical design, but the most impressive is undoubtedly the “Bugeye” lens, with a 128 degree horizontal field of view. A camera equipped with this lens can allegedly stand in one corner of a room and photograph all four walls simultaneously. Thus for the first time a commercial movie lens is available whose angular field matches the useful field of the human eye. Of course, the human eye has an advantage over a movie camera in having a deeplycurved “film.” Since this is impossible in a movie camera, the wideangle lens must be more complex than the lens of the human eye. The necessity of using fiat film presented the difficult problem of distortion to TODDAO scientists, who licked the problem by “balancing” the design of other components. All of the lenses are high-speed, and pictures can be made using only conventional lighting. They are coated to increase light transmission and reduce flare. In fact, the TODD-AO scientists say, without the new art of coating camera lenses to reduce the reflection of light back and forth between the surfaces, a lens with the complexity of “Bugeye” would be impossible to build, because the scattered light would spoil the picture. Projector Film “Oklahoma” was photographed on special 65min Eastman Color negative, and is to be shown on 70mm Eastman Color print. The pictures are not only wider than conventional film, but are proportionately higher, and a 5 hole pull-down is used. The main advantage of the wide film, says TODD-AO, is the excellent sharpness of the picture on the screen, since less magnification is necessary. Without the crisp picture, much of the realism of the TODD-AO system would be lost. Less magnification also means less weave and jitter of the picture, and scratches and dirt will be less conspicuous when they begin to appear. Although the negative is made on 65mm film, and the prints are on 70mm film, the pictures are the same size. The extra 5mm is needed to make room for the six channel magnetic sound, whose quality is said to be as sharp and clear as the pictures themselves. Another unusual feature of the system is that the pictures come at a rate of 30 per second — instead of the conventional 24. This change is necessary, the TODD-AO engineers say, because the human eye is very sensitive to movements and flickers that occur at the edges of the field of view. This sensitivity, developed by our ancestors to warn themselves of dangers not seen directly, would bring about objections to the flicker of a wide movie screen. At 30 frames a second, the engineers say, a clear bright picture is permitted — without flicker. Versatility The TODD-AO projector embodies unusual flexibility to deal with a wide variety of modern film techniques. The projector will take 70mm film or 35mm film with very minor adjustments in the mechanism, and can be changed in “about four minutes.” The projectors are equipped to handle multi-channel magnetic sound for TODD-AO, 35mm sound for CinemaScope, or conventional optical sound. All three sets of sound equipment are provided, and the only change necessary is to thread the film through the desired sound head. One unusual feature of the design is that all the mechanism, including sound heads, is included in the projector heads, thus eliminating the possibility of errors due to un PROMOTER MICHAEL TODD PRODUCER ARTHUR HORNBLOW, JR. equal film pressure. The projector includes a tilting mechanism which rotates around a high point so there is only a slight movement of the center of gravity. Projection angles of as far down as 28 degrees and as far up as 20 degrees can be reached, so the projector can be used in upward-throw drive-in theatres. Other modern features include a eentrifical switch to drop the dowser if the film speed is too low, a water flow switch to cut off the arc if the cooling water is cut off, and stop switches on both sides of the chassis. The built-in optical preamplifier is of a special plug-in design so that a new unit can be substituted almost instantaneously in case of breakdown. The single-bladed conical shutter cuts twice for every frame and gives a 54 percent efficiency. Two separate motors are provided to run at 30 and 24 frames per second respectively. A constant feed sprocket is provided on the magnetic film path, between the upper fire rollers and the magnetic 10 channel head; the sprocket is said to even out the potential jerkiness in the film as it comes out from the upper magazine. The projector gate is made of tantung, a special metal alloy that has hardness characteristics to prevent wear, and will not become magnetized. As a result, the recurring problem of degaussing is practically eliminated with the new TODD-AO projector. The projector, excepting the head, is manufactured by American Optical at its Buffalo plant. The head is a product of Phillips of Holland. Screen Curve The most striking feature of the TODDAO system is the deeply curved, concave screen fundamental to the system and responsible for many remarkable visual effects. Perhaps the most important is the distinct THE INDEPENDENT FILM JOURNAL— October 15, 1955 23