Large-screen image reproduction - Special film formats

The "traditional cinema" processes (a set of standardized procedures for photographically recording and projecting animated views) were described in the previous article. . The various formats of "professional" cinema (35 mm, Scope, panoramic formats, Super 35, 70 mm) and "substandard" cinema (8 mm, Super 8, 9.5 mm, 16 mm, Super 16, 17.5 mm) have been described, and the technical evolution of digital cinema discussed. In this second part, we'll focus mainly on the processes used in large-screen cinema. It should be remembered that the notion of grand spectacle cinema is used here to mean the desire to create a sensational effect that amplifies the film's projection and subject matter, whereas it is usually understood to mean the deployment of special financial resources to stage a lavish production crowded with extras and stars.

Special formats (non-traditional cinema formats and processes) include both wide formats and panoramic, hemispherical, circular, stereoscopic, dynamic and olfactory processes. Sought-after since the birth of the cinematograph (1895), they were designed to achieve a striking cinematic representation of "reality", by means of gigantic or three-dimensional images, multiple sounds, or original room and screen designs. The impression of reality specific to cinema manifests itself mainly through the illusion of movement and depth. Special formats, on the other hand, tend to reproduce a "truer-than-life" image. This research generally refers to filmmakers who subordinate filmic representation to the most faithful possible rendering of a supposed truth, but which in fact departs from the conventions of traditional cinema [1] .

Our present aim is to describe the inventions and innovations developed, in some cases, over the course of history. However, for reasons of technical complexity and non-exhaustive information, the processes of 3D cinema and olfactory cinema will not be mentioned. They would, however, merit an article of their own. Special formats, both prototypes and marketed products, will be presented and their principles explained. Technical, aesthetic and physiological imperatives will also be addressed, in order to consider the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques.

The summary of our study testifies to the creative richness and original desire of inventors, artists and promoters to design innovative devices designed to reproduce the viewer's senses in cinema, in order to place him "at the heart of the image". However, these processes call for complex mechanics and the right choice of optics and light sources.

The essential aim of this article, which is intended to be a valuable working and decision-making...