A VistaVision 35 mm horizontal camera film frame. The dotted area shows the area actually used.

The VistaVision logo

VistaVision is a variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format created by Paramount Pictures in 1954 based on the Glamorama and Superama widescreen systems. Paramount, who did not buy into one of the anamorphic widescreen systems available, such as CinemaScope, looked for a more satisfying alternative. Paramount's intention was to create finer-grained negatives through shooting with larger surface area on film, which when printed and projected on the screen in the new flat widescreen formats, would register as clear as those which were not magnified for variable ratios. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1251x951, 19 KB) Summary A VistaVision 8 perferation film frame. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1251x951, 19 KB) Summary A VistaVision 8 perferation film frame. ... Image File history File links Vista-vision. ... Image File history File links Vista-vision. ... 35 mm film frames. ... Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ... Anamorphic widescreen is a cinematography and photography technique for capturing a widescreen picture on standard 35mm film, or other visual recording media with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio. ... A Fox logo used to promote the CinemaScope process. ... The inner box (green) is the format used in most pre-1952 movies and pre-widescreen television. ...

History

Loren L. Ryder, chief engineer at Paramount, expressed four general reasons to why Paramount's VistaVision would be the forerunner of widescreen projection in most theaters:

• VistaVision may be shown at any aspect ratio from 1.37 to 2:1.
• VistaVision does not requre the purchase of additional equipment (unlike CinemaScope).
• VistaVision will not cut down the number of seats in any theater (such as Cinerama and CinemaScope).
• VistaVision will permit the patrons to see more and therefore gain more enjoyment out of a feature. ^[1]

With all of the other major studios using CinemaScope, Paramount debuted VistaVision in 1954 with White Christmas. The film is run horizontally, as in a still camera, with a width of 8 perforations per frame. (It is sometimes colloquially called "Lazy 8" among film professionals because it is "lying down".) This gave a wider aspect ratio of 1.5 against the conventional 1.33, and a larger image area. The film was usually then matted to a standard aspect ratio and optically printed onto vertical reels. VistaVision films were shown in a number of aspect ratios, the most popular being 1.85:1. Others included 2:1 and 1.75:1. Framing for these ratios were always adjusted with special cue marks, printed into the start of each reel. Whereas most competing widescreen film systems utilized magnetic audio, VistaVision only carried Perspecta Stereo, encoded in the optical track. Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc, and for the corporation which was formed to market it. ... A Fox logo used to promote the CinemaScope process. ... White Christmas is a 1954 movie starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye that featured the songs of Irving Berlin, including the titular White Christmas. ... The aspect ratio of an image is its displayed width divided by its height (usually expressed as x:y). For instance, the aspect ratio of a traditional television screen is 4:3, or 1. ... Perspecta was a format of motion picture stereophonic sound, invented by the laboratories at Fine Sound Inc. ...

White Christmas, Strategic Air Command, To Catch a Thief and The Battle of the River Plate (a.k.a. Pursuit of the Graf Spee) had very limited (two or three) prints struck in the 8-perf VistaVision format as the films were shot. Generally, these were for premiere or preview engagements and required special projection equipment. This process was impractical as the footage travelling through the projector at the normal 24 frames per second resulted with a traveling rate of 180 feet per minute, double the speed of normal 35 mm film and opening itself up to many technical problems. As the process specified, all of the titles were printed in the conventional vertical format and could be shown on the standard 35 mm projector.

Alfred Hitchcock took to the format and used it for many of his films in the 1950s. However, the process saw limited usage, as it required considerable labwork including optical printing and matting down to a conventional aspect ratio on vertical film (with the exception of a very small number of theaters between 1954 and 1956), as well as the cost of twice as much film stock during filming. VistaVision lost out in the general market to the less expensive, anamorphic systems such as Panavision and the more capable 70 mm format. Since its last usage in the American market for One Eyed Jacks in 1961, it has virtually disappeared as a primary imaging system for feature films. Many of the VistaVision cameras were sold internationally since the 1960s, which led to a significant number of VistaVision productions (not using the trade name) in countries such as Italy and Japan from the 1960s to 1980s. Modern primary usage of the format is nearly moribund, although it was still very infrequently used in lesser-known Japanese films up until at least 2000. Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980) was a highly influential film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... Anamorphic widescreen is a cinematography and photography technique for capturing a widescreen picture on standard 35mm film. ... Panavision is a motion picture equipment company specializing in camera, lens, and grip equipment, along with related accessories. ... 70 mm film (or 65 mm film) is a high-resolution film stock, of superior quality to standard 35 mm motion picture film format. ... One-Eyed Jacks, a western movie released in 1961, is the only film directed by Marlon Brando, who replaced the original director, Stanley Kubrick. ...

Special effects usage

In 1975, Dykstraflex, a retooled VistaVision camera, was created for Industrial Light and Magic's use on process shots in Star Wars. Since then, the format has enjoyed a brief renaissance as an intermediate format used for shooting special effects, since the larger negative area compensates against the increased grain created when shots are optically composited. However, the advent of computer-generated imagery, advanced film scanning and digital intermediate work, and usage of 70 mm for similar optical compositing work has largely rendered this usage of VistaVision obsolete as well. The Dykstraflex is a motion picture camera system named after its developer John Dykstra. ... Industrial Light & Magic original logo, designed by Drew Struzan Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is a motion picture special visual effects company, founded in May 1975 by George Lucas and owned by Lucasfilm Ltd. ... This article is about the series. ... Lasers were used in the 2005 Classical Spectacular concert Special effects (abbreviated SPFX or SFX) are used in the film, television, and entertainment industry to realize scenes, such as space travel, that cannot be achieved by normal means. ... Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the application of the field of computer graphics (or more specifically, 3D computer graphics) to special effects. ... Digital intermediate (often abbreviated as DI) describes the process of digitizing a motion picture and manipulating color and other image characteristics to change the look, and is usually the final creative adjustment to a movie before distribution in theaters. ...

Technical specifications

VistaVision (8/35)

• spherical lenses
• 8 perforations per frame
• horizontal pulldown, from right to left (viewed from base side)
• slightly less depth of field than vertical pulldown 35 mm
• camera aperture: 1.485" (37.72 mm) by 0.981" (24.92 mm)

Films shot in VistaVision

• White Christmas (1954)
• 3 Ring Circus (1954)
• Richard III (1955)
• Artists and Models (1955)
• The Desperate Hours (1955) (first b&w film shot in VistaVision)
• The Rose Tattoo (1955)
• Strategic Air Command (1955)
• To Catch a Thief (1955)
• The Trouble with Harry (1955)
• We're No Angels (1955)
• War and Peace (1956)
• High Society (1956)
• The Court Jester (1956)
• The Searchers (1956)
• The Ten Commandments (1956)
• The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
• Funny Face (1957)
• Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
• The Pride and the Passion (1957)
• Vertigo (1958)
• Rock-a-Bye Baby (1958)
• Desire Under the Elms (1958)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• One-Eyed Jacks (1961)
• Death by Hanging (1968)
• In the Realm of the Senses (1976)
• In the Realm of Passion (1978)
• Vengeance Is Mine (1979)
• Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)
• Venus Wars (1989)

White Christmas is a 1954 movie starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye that featured the songs of Irving Berlin, including the titular White Christmas. ... 3 Ring Circus was filmed from February 17 - March 31, 1954. ... Richard III is a 1955 British film adaptation of William Shakespeares play Richard III. The film also contains elements of Shakespeares Henry VI, part 3. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: it is patent nonsense. ... The Desperate Hours is a 1955 film from Paramount Pictures starring Humphrey Bogart. ... The Rose Tattoo is a Tennessee Williams play. ... The Strategic Air Command (SAC) was the operational establishment of the United States Air Force in charge of Americas bomber-based and ballistic missile-based strategic nuclear arsenal from 1946 to 1992. ... To Catch a Thief is a 1955 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis and John Williams. ... The Trouble with Harry is an American black comedy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, which was released on October 3, 1955 in the United States. ... Were no Angels is a 1955 comedy picture starring Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray. ... War and Peace is the first film version of the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. ... High Society is a 1956 musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in VistaVision with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. ... The Court Jester is a 1956 comedy film starring Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, and Angela Lansbury. ... The Searchers is a 1956 epic Western film directed by John Ford, which tells the story of Ethan Edwards, a bitter, middle-aged loner played by John Wayne, who spends years looking for his abducted niece. ... The Ten Commandments is a 1956 epic film from Paramount Pictures in VistaVision directed by Cecil B. DeMille, which tells in the broadest Hollywood style the Bible story of Moses (Charlton Heston) as he struggles to get Pharaoh Ramesses II (Yul Brynner) to let the Israelites leave Egypt. ... The Man Who Knew Too Much is a 1956 suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart and Doris Day. ... Funny Face (TV series). ... Newspaper coverage of the fight. ... French movie poster for The Pride and The Passion The Pride and the Passion is an 1957 historical film drama made by Stanley Kramer productions and released by United Artists. ... Vertigo is a 1958 suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. ... Desire Under the Elms is a play by Eugene ONeill, published in 1924, and is now considered an American classic. ... North by Northwest is a 1959 MGM comic thriller by Alfred Hitchcock and is generally considered one of his best works. ... One-Eyed Jacks, a western movie released in 1961, is the only film directed by Marlon Brando, who replaced the original director, Stanley Kubrick. ... In the Realm of the Senses (dvd) In the Realm of the Senses (Ai no Korīda, 愛のコリーダ, lit. ... There are several films named Vengeance Is Mine: Vengeance Is Mine (1974 film) (set in the USA) Vengeance Is Mine (1979 film) (Japanese, original title 復讐するは我にあり, fukushū suru wa ware ni ari) An alternate title for Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, a 2002 Korean movie Vengeance Is Mine, an episode of War... The Venus Wars (or Vinasu Senki in Japanese) is a 1989 science fiction film anime film. ...

Films using VistaVision for special effects process work only

• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
• Tron (1982)
• Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
• Back to the Future (1985)
• RoboCop (1987)
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
• Back to the Future Part II (1989)
• The Abyss (1989)
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
• Forrest Gump (1994)
• Apollo 13 (1995)
• Twister (1996)
• Contact (1997)
• Men in Black (1997)
• Meet Joe Black (1998)
• The Matrix (1999)
• The Mummy (1999)
• The Perfect Storm (2000)
• Pearl Harbor (2001)
• The Mummy Returns (2001)
• Men in Black II (2002)
• 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
• Spider-Man 2 (2004)
• Batman Begins (2005)
• Flightplan (2006)

This movie poster for Star Wars depicts many of the films important elements, such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, X-Wing and Y-Wing fighters Star Wars, retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981 (see note at Title,) is the original (and in chronological... Movie poster Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is the sequel to the first released Star Wars movie, and the second film released in the original trilogy. ... Tron is a 1982 Walt Disney Productions science fiction film starring Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn (and his counterpart inside the electronic world, Clu), Bruce Boxleitner as Alan Bradley (and Tron), Cindy Morgan as Lora Baines (and Yori) and Dan Shor as Ram. ... Movie poster Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, is a science fiction film that debuted in 1983, and re-released with changes in 1997 and 2004. ... Back to the Future is an American science fiction/comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released in 1985. ... RoboCop is a 1987 science fiction action movie, directed by Paul Verhoeven. ... Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 film, produced by Disney subsidiary Touchstone and Amblin Entertainment, that combines animation and live action. ... Back to the Future Part II is a 1989 film and is the second part of the Back to the Future trilogy. ... The Abyss is an award-winning science fiction film from 1989, written and directed by James Cameron, starring Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. ... Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Julian Glover, Alison Doody, River Phoenix and John Rhys-Davies. ... Tagline: Forrest Gump is a 1985 novel by Winston Groom, a 1994 film adaptation, and the name of the title character of both. ... Apollo 13 was the third American-manned lunar-landing mission, part of the Apollo program. ... Twister may mean: the game Twister the movie Twister a slang word for a tornado a tongue twister, something difficult to pronounce The name of a roller coaster in Knoebels amusement park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. ... Look up Contact in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Common depiction of the Men in Black. ... Meet Joe Black is a 1998 remake of the 1934 film, Death Takes a Holiday, starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Forlani. ... The Matrix is a science fiction/action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski and starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano and Hugo Weaving. ... The Mummy is the title of: a 1932 movie starring Boris Karloff: see The Mummy (1932 movie) a 1959 movie starring Christopher Lee: see The Mummy (1959 movie) a 1999 movie starring Brendan Fraser: see The Mummy (1999 movie) a novel by Anne Rice: see The Mummy (novel) This is... B C D E F G UN Categories: | | | | | | | | | | | ... Satellite image of Pearl Harbor. ... The Mummy Returns is a 2001 movie starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and is directed by Stephen Sommers. ... Men in Black II is a 2002 science fiction comedy action film starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. ... 2 Fast 2 Furious is a 2003 film. ... Spider-Man 2 is the Academy Award-winning sequel to the popular 2002 film Spider-Man and was released in the United States on June 30th, 2004. ... Batman Begins is a 2005 superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman. ... Flightplan is a 2005 American film directed by Robert Schwentke and starring Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Erika Christensen and Sean Bean. ...

References

1. ^ Independent Film Journal, 33:25, March 20, 1954.

• Hart, Martin (1996). The Development of VistaVision: Paramount Marches to a Different Drummer. Retrieved Dec. 28, 2004.

See also

• List of film formats

This is a list of film formats known to have been developed for shooting or viewing motion pictures since the development of such photographic technology towards the end of the 19th century. ...

External links

• List of VistaVision titles at the Internet Movie Database
• Widescreen Museum — The VistaVision Wing