Widescreen Museum - The Todd-AO / 70mm Wing - page 14

A product of Todd-AO Corp.

DIMENSION 150 and D-150 are demonstrated*
This material appeared in the March, 1964 issue of International Projectionist.
Our thanks to David Johnson for making it available.

D-150 Demonstration Run
Gets Unanimous 'Raves'

A demonstration of Dimension-150 was held recently at the Skouras Syosset Theatre, Syosset, Long Island, N. Y.
At the invitation of Marshall Naify, president of Dimension-150, film industry executives and exhibitors attended. They report the equipment had notable depth of focus, definition and clarity.
Dimension-150 is the newest development in the field of widescreen. The system, single-image in connection with Todd-AO, requires a 65mm camera equipped with wide-angle lenses and standard 70mm projection machines for presentation on a deeply-curved screen. The new
Two re-releases suitable for adaptation to the new process are "South Pacific" and "80 Days Around the World." Louis de Rochemont expects to release a feature in D-150 by early 1965.
Motion picture producers and technical experts in the field of cinematography have expressed great enthusiasm about the process and the many benefits to be derived in production and exhibition through its use.
Thus, the new process offers the producer and exhibitor maximum flexibility - from big, deeply-curved screen for `hard ticket' roadshow policy, to standard flat-screen with 70mm prints and 35mm reduction

ture producers the maximum in photographic and projection quality. The unique flexibility factors of D-150 in both photography and exhibition, plus its ability to create a sense of realism and audience participation mark an important step forward in the technical advancement of the motion picture medium.
The reactions of motion picture and entertainment trade journals have matched the enthusiasm of D-150's developers. Following other debut showings over the U. S., trade reporters gave the new process "raves," and heralded it an important milestone in the state-of-the-art.
One of the more important comments that came out of many reviews was the absence of distortion over the entire 150° arc sweep. iP

process offers producers and exhibitors maximum flexibility-from big, deeply-curved screen for roadshow policy, to standard flat-screen with 70mm prints and 35mm reduction prints in subsequent runs.
Dimension-150 printing utilizes a standard 65-70 optical printer, and allows an area for stereographic 6-track. The system requires 50 °. 70 °, 120 ° and 150 ° lenses. Specially developed print lens "corrects" image for projection on deeply-curved screens. This printing permits the correcting of previously photographed 70mm material. Projection optics proved extreme wide-angle projection to ensure viewing of a substantially distortion-free picture on a deeply-curved screen.
Dimension-150 was developed by Dr. Richard Vetter and Carl W. Williams. Dr. Vetter is assistant professor of audio-visual communication, and Carl Williams is instructor in the same department. Both are from the University of California at Los Angeles. Their system employs screens from 120 degrees to 150 degrees of arc, depending on the physical features of various theatres. A typical deeply-curved screen size: 34' high by 92' wide; its aspect ratio is 2.7 to 1.

prints in subsequent runs. Dimension-150 was developed over a period of several years by Dr. Vetter and Williams. Their many and varied tests under the most stringent and demanding conditions have resulted in a combination of technical developments to assure motion pic-

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST March, 1964

*While "Dimension 150" and "D-150" were frequently used interchangeably, generally "Dimension 150" was most often applied to the photographic system and "D-150" was almost exclusively used to describe the system installed in theatres.
©1964 International Projectionist - HTML transcription, including illustrations, ©2002 The American WideScreen Museum

Like the original Todd-AO system and later Cinerama single film presentation format, Dimension 150 made provision for optically corrected prints that better filled the deeply curved motion picture screen. Just how many such prints were put into use is unknown. To date, the Curator has not been able to obtain a sample of such a print. That's a hint for any of you film packrats that may have some of this stuff.
Illustration courtesy of Robert Weisgerber

Like the agreement that tied the use of Cinerama's full screen only to films that were licensed for official Cinerama release, D-150 Corporation reserved the use of the full size screen to films made in Dimension 150. As there was but two such films, the agreement was pretty much worthless when it was apparent that Fox had gone back to using the Todd-AO label. This is a large metal sign screwed to the side of a D-150 screen frame.
Photo courtesy of Matt Lutthans

Matt Lutthans also stumbled across this 70mm film used to announce a presentation on the full Dimension 150 screen.

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Martin Hart, Curator


D-150 Demonstration Run Gets Unanimous 'Raves'
A demonstration of Dimension-150 was held recently at the Skouras Syosset Theatre, Syosset, Long Island, N. Y. At the invitation of Marshall Naify, president of Dimension-150, film industry executives and exhibitors attended. They report the equipment had notable depth of focus, definition and clarity. Dimension-150 is the newest development in the field of widescreen. The system, single-image in connection with Todd-AO, requires a 65mm camera equipped with wide-angle lenses and standard 70mm projection machines for presentation on a deeply-curved screen. The new	Two re-releases suitable for adaptation to the new process are "South Pacific" and "80 Days Around the World." Louis de Rochemont expects to release a feature in D-150 by early 1965. Motion picture producers and technical experts in the field of cinematography have expressed great enthusiasm about the process and the many benefits to be derived in production and exhibition through its use. Thus, the new process offers the producer and exhibitor maximum flexibility - from big, deeply-curved screen for `hard ticket' roadshow policy, to standard flat-screen with 70mm prints and 35mm reduction
		ture producers the maximum in photographic and projection quality. The unique flexibility factors of D-150 in both photography and exhibition, plus its ability to create a sense of realism and audience participation mark an important step forward in the technical advancement of the motion picture medium. The reactions of motion picture and entertainment trade journals have matched the enthusiasm of D-150's developers. Following other debut showings over the U. S., trade reporters gave the new process "raves," and heralded it an important milestone in the state-of-the-art. One of the more important comments that came out of many reviews was the absence of distortion over the entire 150° arc sweep. iP
process offers producers and exhibitors maximum flexibility-from big, deeply-curved screen for roadshow policy, to standard flat-screen with 70mm prints and 35mm reduction prints in subsequent runs. Dimension-150 printing utilizes a standard 65-70 optical printer, and allows an area for stereographic 6-track. The system requires 50 °. 70 °, 120 ° and 150 ° lenses. Specially developed print lens "corrects" image for projection on deeply-curved screens. This printing permits the correcting of previously photographed 70mm material. Projection optics proved extreme wide-angle projection to ensure viewing of a substantially distortion-free picture on a deeply-curved screen. Dimension-150 was developed by Dr. Richard Vetter and Carl W. Williams. Dr. Vetter is assistant professor of audio-visual communication, and Carl Williams is instructor in the same department. Both are from the University of California at Los Angeles. Their system employs screens from 120 degrees to 150 degrees of arc, depending on the physical features of various theatres. A typical deeply-curved screen size: 34' high by 92' wide; its aspect ratio is 2.7 to 1.	prints in subsequent runs. Dimension-150 was developed over a period of several years by Dr. Vetter and Williams. Their many and varied tests under the most stringent and demanding conditions have resulted in a combination of technical developments to assure motion pic-

		INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST March, 1964

E-mail the author CLICK HERE

E-mail the author
CLICK HERE