| Panavision |
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Panavision is a Motion Picture equipment Company specializing in Camera s and Lenses , based in Woodland Hills, California . Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create Anamorphic projection lenses during the Widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product lines to meet the demands of modern filmmakers. The company introduced its first products in 1954; originally a provider of CinemaScope accessories, the company's line of anamorphic widescreen lenses soon became the industry leader. In 1972, Panavision helped revolutionize filmmaking with the lightweight Panaflex 35 mm Movie Camera . The company has introduced other groundbreaking cameras such as the Millennium XL (1999) and the digital video Genesis (2004). Panavision operates exclusively as a rental facility—the company owns its entire inventory, unlike most of its competitors. This allows investment in research and development, and the integration of high-quality manufacturing, without worrying about the end retail value. Maintaining its entire inventory also allows Panavision to regularly update all of its equipment, rather than just the newest models. EARLY HISTORY . In the 1950s, the motion picture industry was threatened by the advent of . The film was then exhibited with a complementary anamorphic lens on the projector that expanded the image, creating a projected Aspect Ratio (the ratio of the image's width to its height) twice that of the image area on the physical frame of film. By the time the first CinemaScope movie—'' The Robe '' (1953)—was announced for production, Gottschalk, Moore and Nicholson had a demo reel of work with their anamorphic underwater system. Gottschalk learned from one of his vendors that Bausch & Lomb , whom Fox had contracted to manufacture CinemaScope lenses, were having difficulty filling the lens orders for theatrical anamorphic projection. He teamed up with William Mann, who provided optical manufacturing capability, and Walter Wallin, an acquaintance of Mann's who had formally studied optics. With Wallin's input, the anamorphic lens design they settled on was Prismatic rather than the Cylindrical design of the Bausch & Lomb CinemaScope lens. This design meant the anamorphic lens extension factor—how much the image is horizontally unsqueezed—could be manually shifted, useful for projectionists switching between nonanamorphic ("flat" or "spherical") Trailers and an anamorphic Feature . ENTERING THE MARKET Panavision's first product—the Super PanatarThe Panatar name was in response to the Bausch and Lomb lens called the "Baltar". (Gray, Peter. History of CinemaScope , 2003. Retrieved 2007-06-14. projection lens—debuted in March 1954. Priced at $1,100, it captured the market. "History" (official company history and timeline). Panavision.com. Retrieved on . Panavision lenses gradually replaced CinemaScope as the leading anamorphic system for theatrical projection.Cook, David A. ''A History of Narrative Film''. Norton & Company, 1990. ISBN 0-393-95553-2. In December 1954, the company created a specialized lens for film laboratories—the Micro Panatar. When fitted to an Optical Printer , the Micro Panatar could create "flat" (nonanamorphic) prints from anamorphic negatives. This allowed films to be distributed to theaters that did not have an anamorphic system installed. To accomplish this dual platform release strategy before the Micro Panatar, studios would sometimes shoot films with one anamorphic and one spherical camera, so that nonwidescreen theaters could still exhibit the film. The cost savings of eliminating the second camera and making flat prints in Post-production with the Micro Panatar were enormous. Another innovation of the era secured Panavision's leading position: the Auto Panatar camera lens for 35 mm anamorphic productions. Early CinemaScope camera lenses were notoriously problematic in ring. This eliminated the distortion and allowed for natural close-up anamorphic photography. The Auto Panatar, released in 1958, was rapidly adopted industry-wide, eventually making CinemaScope lenses obsolete. This innovation earned Panavision the first of its 15 Academy Awards for technical achievement. '' (1959), the first film released using the Since 1954, Panavision had been working on a new widescreen process commissioned by anamorphic projection prints. Introduced as MGM Camera 65 , the system was used on just a few films, the first of which was '' Raintree County '' (1956). However, the film was released only in 35 mm anamorphic prints because the circuit of 70 mm theaters was booked with '' Around The World In Eighty Days '' (1956), shot with the competing, nonanamorphic Todd-AO system. The first film to be presented in 70 mm anamorphic—'' Ben-Hur ''—was released by MGM in 1959. Panavision also developed a nonanamorphic widescreen process called Super Panavision 70 , which was essentially identical to Todd-AO. Super Panavision made its screen debut in 1959 with '' The Big Fisherman '', released by Disney 's Buena Vista division. A MOVE INTO CAMERAS By 1962, four of Panavision's founders had left the company to pursue private careers. That year, MGM's Camera 65 production of ''. As 1.25x anamorphosers for 70 mm projectors have become rare, most of the 70 mm prints of these films still in circulation are designed for projection with nonanamorphic, spherical lenses. The result is a 2.20:1 aspect ratio, rather than the broader ratio originally intended. Although Fox insisted on maintaining CinemaScope for a time, some actors disliked the system. For Fox's 1965 production ''. To meet the extraordinary demand for Panavision projection lenses, Gottschalk had Bausch & Lomb CinemaScope lenses retrofitted into Panavision housings with a new astigmatic attachment, improving them greatly. This was revealed many years after Gottschalk's death; a lead designer from Bausch & Lomb, who had been involved with the original CinemaScope project, came to work as a designer for Panavision and—after opening some of the older lenses—figured out the secret. s into its design—1.33 (TV, standard "Academy" Ratio ) on the inside, 1.85 (standard U.S. Widescreen ) in the middle, and 2.35/2.40 ( Modern 35mm Anamorphic ) on the outside.]] In the mid-1960s, Gottschalk altered Panavision's business model. The company now maintained its full inventory, making its lenses and the cameras it had acquired from MGM available only by rental.Bijl, Adriaan. "The Importance of Panavision: Diffusion Phase." in70mm.com. Retrieved on . The new business model required additional upfront capital; to this end, the company was sold to Banner Productions in 1965, with Gottschalk remaining as president. Panavision would soon begin branching out into markets beyond Hollywood , eventually including New York, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. Kinney National Service bought out Banner in 1968 and took over Warner Brothers the following year, eventually renaming itself Warner Communications . Kinney/Warner's financial resources made possible a massive expansion in Panavision's inventory, as well as substantial leaps in research and development. During this period, the company's R&D department focused on retrofitting the industry standard 35 mm camera, the Mitchell BNC. The effort to develop a lighter, quieter camera with a Reflex Viewfinder led to the introduction of the Panavision Silent Reflex (PSR) in 1967. The camera could provide a Shutter Angle of up to 200 degrees. Many refinements were made to the PSR during the first few years after its introduction, and it soon became one of the most popular studio cameras in the world. Panavision also began manufacturing spherical lenses for 1.85:1 photography, garnering a significant share of the market. In 1968, Panavision released a handheld 65 mm camera. By that time, however, the much cheaper process of blowing up 35 mm anamorphic films to 70 mm—introduced with ''. PANAFLEX IS BORN Albert Mayer led the next major project: the creation of a lightweight reflex camera adaptable to either handheld or studio conditions. After four years of development, the Panaflex debuted in 1972. A revolutionary camera that operated quietly, the Panaflex eliminated the need for a cumbersome Sound Blimp , and could synchronize handheld work. The Panaflex also included a digital electronic Tachometer and Magazine motors for the take-up reel.Probst, Christopher. "A Camera for the 21st century." ''American Cinematographer,'' March 1999, pp. 201–211. Steven Spielberg 's '' The Sugarland Express '' (1974) was the first motion picture filmed with the Panaflex.Brode, Douglas. ''The Films of Steven Spielberg''. Citidel Press, 1995: p. 39. ISBN 0-8065-1540-6. During the 1970s, the Panaflex line was updated and marketed in new incarnations: the Panaflex X, Panaflex Lightweight (for Steadicam ), the high-speed Panastar, Panaflex Gold, and Panaflex G2. Panavision came out with a direct competitor to Tiffen 's Steadicam stabilizer, the Panaglide harness. The Panacam, a Video Camera , was also brought out, though the company largely left the video field to others. Robert Gottschalk died in 1982 at the age of 64. After Gottschalk's death, Kinney National sold the company to a consortium headed by two years later. In 1989, the company brought out Primo, a new line of lenses. Designed with a consistent color match between all the different '' (1992) and Kenneth Branagh 's '' Hamlet '' (1996), the last known feature film to be shot entirely on 65 mm. Later in 1995 an Oscar was awarded for the Primo 3:1 Zoom Lens where three individuals were recognized for their work: Iain Neil for the optical design, Rick Gelbard for the mechanical design and Eric Dubberke for the engineering aspect of the lens. "The high contrast and absence of flare, along with its ability to provide close focusing and to maintain constant image size while changing focus, make the Primo 3:1 Zoom Lens truly unique" http://wwwdb.oscars.org/ampas/plsql/ampas_award.detail?primekey_in=1999070716:12:46881424423 In 1992, Panavision launched a project to develop a camera that involved rethinking every aspect of the company's existing 35 mm system. Nolan Murdock and Albert Mayer Sr. headed up the design team. The new Millennium camera, replacing the Platinum as the company's flagship, was introduced in 1997. The Millennium XL (1999) and XL2 (2004) followed.Kaczek, Frédéric-Gérard. "Panavision." European Federation of Cinematographers (Imago.org). Retrieved on and subsequent Arricam ) instead of one large drum to do both.Probst, Christopher. "Dawn of a New Millennium." ''American Cinematographer'', February 2005, pp. 80–82. DIGITAL REVOLUTION '' (2002), described as "the first digital major feature film." The next step in the evolution of the digital cinema camera also involved collaboration between Sony and Panavision; this time, Panavision participated in all stages of development. The aim was to create a system that could use the entire range of the company's 35 mm spherical lenses. This led to the 2004 introduction of the Genesis HD—a . During the same period, Panavision began acquiring related motion picture companies, including . SEE ALSO NOTES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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