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Around the Screen in 360 Degrees |
Read more at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter |
| Written by: Alain Dorange, Malaysia | Date: 01.01.2021 |
 The
"Cineorama" installation. 10x 70mm projectors. Image: WikipediaI - A CIRCULAR DREAM SINCE 1787 Circular pictures or paintings have existed since the 18th Century. The Irish painter Robert Baker realised in Edinburgh, Scotland, a 360-degree painting called ‘Panoramic view of Carlton Hill’ and the public viewed it from the center of a rotunda. Then many others did and in 1913, in Baltimore, USA, a building called ‘Cyclorama’ exhibited the panoramic view of “The Battle of Gettysburg”. It took only a short time for Cinématographe to take interest into it. II - THE ELECTRIC CYCLORAMA / 1894 Charles A. Chase from the US chased this idea to create a projection of fixed slides called “The Electric Cyclorama”. The projection was 28m in diameter and 10m in height. It was composed of 8 fixed images projected by 8 lanterns installed on the ceiling like a chandelier. Those lanterns were activated with electric arcs. This concept was patented on September 24th, 1894. III - THE CINEMATORAMA / 1899 On November 16th, 1899, Auguste Baron from France patented the following; Device for Circular Panoramic, Animated projections in colours under the name ‘Cinematorama’. He also patented a few months later, a complimentary equipment to add the sound. Little is known because all those concepts were mostly theoretical and never saw the public daylight by lack of funding. What we do know, was his dream to project on a 30m diameter x 11m height circular screen with 6 or 10 cameras / projectors using a 50mm film. The sound process machine was called ‘graphophonoscope’. A picture is included here showing the concept of the theater. IV - THE CINEORAMA / 1900 This has been fully described in a previous article “A Century of Widescreen at the International’s Fairs”; 10 films 70mm running at 16fps from 10 projectors mounted on a carousel. Projection on a 32m diameter x 10m height pentagonal screen. The mystery remains whether it was shown only 3 days at this Expo or none at all. In Germany, the given name was Cineorama Balloon since the views were shot from a balloon. V - PHOTORAMA LUMIÈRE / 1902 The Lumière Brothers design a carousel called ‘Periphote’ with 10 lenses. The ten views are projected by a device called ‘Photorama’. Again, those views are only fixed slides shown on a circular screen 6m in height. The first Photorama Theater opened in February 1902 in Paris but with little success. VI - THE CIRCARAMA / 1955 / THE DREAM IS ALIVE Walt Disney, having experienced the Cinerama in 1952, had a thought; why not expand the curved screen from 146 to 360 degrees. Ub Iwerks (the father of Don Iwerks who designed the 870 widescreen) and Roger Broggio put that thought into practice and named it ‘Circarama’, 50 years after Cineorama. This Circarama process evolved into 3 steps: |
More in 70mm reading: Circle Vision 360 Circarama at the "EXPO" in Lausanne, Switzerland Cinema Circulaire 360 - Arromanches 360 The true history of Circlorama 1962-65 "Circlorama Cavalcade" credits The new "Circlorama" cinema in London Stanley Long, Mr. "Circlorama" Visits Widescreen Weekend, Pictureville 2011 Projecting Circlorama Cinerama 360 Kinopanorama A Century of Widescreens at the World's Fairs |
 For numerous recordings on the route tracks between the scheduled trains a
track motor
car was modified in that way that during the recordings the view on all
sides was free. Image from
Kino-Technik No 8 / 1963.1. 1955 - 11 Arriflex cameras 16mm (and 11 projectors). There are 11 screens, each separated from each other by a 150mm vertical black stripe in order to give space to the projector. The Premiere took place with the movie “A Tour of the West” on July 17th, 1955 at the American Motors Company building at a new place called Disneyland in Anaheim, Florida. The theater was only 12m in diameter holding 150 visitors and each of the 11 screens was 3.1m x 2.5m. The sound was delivered on a separate 35mm spool supporting 4 magnetic tracks to feed 4 speakers. 2. 1961- The number of cameras is reduced from 11 to 9 and the 16mm films are blown up to 35mm. The result was shown at the Expo 61 in Turin, Italy with the movie “Italia 61”. 3. 1964 - The nine 16mm cameras are replaced by nine 35mm cameras and the first corresponding movie was “La Magie du Rail” (The Magic of the Rails) at the "EXPO 64" in Lausanne, Switzerland. The name of Circarama changed to the name of Circle Vision 360 at the request of Cinerama Inc. on August 11th, 1964 because they claimed the names of Cinerama and Circarama were too close. This Cinerama caprice was accepted by Disney to avoid wasting time for positive actions. Therefore, to avoid any confusion, at the Expo 61 of Turin which took place from May 1st up to October 31st, 1961, the name was Circarama and afterwards the name changed to Circle Vision 360, but with the same process i.e. nine 35mm cameras. The given ratio for this format is 12.00:1. VII - THE CIRCARAMA / CIRCLE VISION 360 MOVIES: INITIAL RELEASE DATES Most of those movies (except the specific ones for the International World’s Fairs) have been shown to various Disney Resorts. Here are the titles with their initial opening dates. Chapter VIII shows the same titles at the various showing locations: “A Tour of the West / 12 minutes / 11 x 16mm”. Opening: July 17th, 1955 at Disneyland Resort Anaheim, US. “America the Beautiful / 16 minutes / 11 x 16mm”. Opening: April 17th, 1958 at Expo 58 Brussels, Belgium. Opening: July 24th, 1959 at the American National Exhibition in Sokolniki Park, Moscow, Russia. “Italia 61 / 28 minutes / 9 x 16mm blown up to 35mm”. Opening: May 1st, 1961 at Expo 61 Turin, Italy. Screen size: 32m Diameter (one of the largest Circaramas). Sponsored by FIAT. “La Magie du Rail - Zauber Der Schiene / 20minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: April 30th, 1964 at the Swiss National Exhibition Lausanne, Switzerland. Screen size: 27m in diameter, 10m x 7m each. Sound was as usual on a separate 35mm spool but now with 9 magnetic tracks. Sponsor: Swiss Federal Railways. “America the Beautiful / 18 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. This is a re-shot in 35mm under the name of Circle Vision 360. Opening: June 25th, 1967 at Walt Disney World Resort Orlando, Florida. “Canada 67 / 22 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: April 28th, 1967 at Expo 67 Montreal, Canada. 12 sound channels;1 channel for each screen and 3 overhead dimensional sound (9 + 3 = 12, just in case!). The aerial shots taken onboard a B-25 Bomber rebuilt by Paul Mantz’s Tallmantz Aviation. This guy, Paul Marantz, managed finally to close the circle from 146 to 360 degrees. Sponsor: The Telephone Association of Canada. “Magic Carpet Around the World / 21 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: March 16th, 1974 at Walt Disney World Resort Orlando, Florida. Sponsor: Monsanto. “America the Beautiful / 28 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. This is now the third version for this movie by including additional sequences of Philadelphia for the American Bicentennial”. Opening: various dates during 1975. |
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“Impressions de France / 18 minutes / 5 x 35mm”. Opening: October 1st, 1982
at the France Pavilion of Epcot’s World Showcase at Walt Disney World Resort
Orlando, Florida. This is actually a semi-circular movie, only covering 200
degrees with 5 projectors (better anyway than the Heraclorama). This movie
is still running in 2020 and mentioned in the Guinness World Records of 2017
as being “The longest running daily screening of a film in the same theater
(Palais du Cinema) and unmodified”. There are 30 shows daily. In January
2020 this movie is upgraded to Digital 4K and becomes seamless. It be played
in alternance with the new movie “Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along”(200
degrees and seamless). “O Canada! / 14 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: October 1st, 1982 at the Canada Pavilion, same location as “Impressions de France”. It closed on August 6th, 2007 for an upgrading and the new version started on September 1st, 2007. “Wonders of China / 19 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: October 1st, 1982 at Walt Disney World Resort Orlando, Florida. Shown for a long time up to March 23rd, 2003 and replaced by “Reflections of China”. “Magic Carpet’ Round the World / 22 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: April 15th, 1983 at Tokyo Disney Resort Tokyo, Japan. This is a revised version from the one in 1974, by getting new footage about Europe and the US. “American Journeys / 21 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: July 7th, 1984 at Disneyland Resort Anaheim, California. “Portraits of Canada / 20 minutes / 9 x35mm”. Opening: May 2nd, 1986 at Expo 86 Vancouver, Canada. Sponsor: Telecom Canada.  Film
at Le Visionarium. Note the two (of nine) projection ports between the three
screens of 35mm film. Disneyland Paris, 1999. Picture: Thomas
Hauerslev“Le Visionarium / 19 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: April 12th, 1992 at Disneyland Paris, Marne la Vallée, France. Like “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm”, it was the first time that Circle Vision was telling a story. The main character was Jules Verne played by the French actor Michel Piccoli. This show has been presented in two other places besides Paris; Tokyo Disney Resort in Tokyo and Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake Orlando, Florida. To confuse everyone, the title changed from time to time depending on the time and place “Le Visionarium”, “The Timekeeper” “Un Voyage a Travers le Temps”, “From Time to Time”. The movie made use of audio-animatronic characters (9-Eye and the Timekeeper) interacting with it. Some European sequences were replaced by some American ones to avoid a culture shock in the US. For the Florida presentation, the scene of a balloon riding over the Red Square in Moscow was removed. The music was also changed for no reason (they did the same mutilation for the Luc Besson movie “The Big Blue”). “Reflections of China / 13 minutes / 9 x 35”. Opening: May 22nd, 2003 at Walt Disney World Resort Orlando, Florida. This was to replace the previous one; “Wonders of China of 1982”and updated by including views about Hong Kong and Macau since they were now part of China. “O Canada! / 13 minutes / 9 x 35mm. Opening: September 1st, 2007 at Walt Disney World Resort Orlando, Florida. This is the second version updated with 50% new footage and a new soundtrack. The third revision will come in 2020. “Canada Far and Wide / 12 minutes / 9 x 35mm (unconfirmed). Opening: January 13th, 2020, the same place as above. Actually, this is the third revision of “O Canada!” with a new title. Just to recap, the two previous versions were at the following dates: - First one: from October 1st, 1982 to August 6th, 2007. - Second one: from September 1st, 2007 to August 1st, 2019. - Third one: from January 13th 2020 to ? Those 3 versions are under the process Circle Vision 360 with some reservation for the last one. “Wondrous China / 15 minutes / 9 x Digital cameras”. This is the first Circle Vision 360 Seamless (so digital) to replace the previous argentic one “Wonders of China, 1982”. Opening: date is unconfirmed. “Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along / 5 x Digital cameras”. This is also a seamless Circle Vision 360 with 5 screens. Opening: date is unconfirmed. Supposedly playing in alternance with “Impressions de France”, that one being ‘upgraded’ to 4K and seamless. There were two movies which were aborted or promoted as a lie (dixit Disney website): “Vietnam 360 / Circle Vision 360” supposedly taking place in August 1966 at Disneyland Resort. “Mushu, the Dragon / Circle Vision 360 - Seamless”. This movie was announced at the end of 2016 by Bob Chapek, the Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts at that time. Now in 2020 we know it will never be the case simply because for the live version of MULAN, this dragon is not in the picture. |
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 Alien
space ship typed cinema structure. Here “The Visionarium” 360 cinema,
EuroDisney / Disneyland Paris, 1992. Picture: Thomas HauerslevVIII - THE CIRCARAMA / Circle Vision 360 AT THE DISNEY LOCATIONS In our opinion all the different names used by the Disney Companies to describe their Parks / Resorts are extremely messy and as such confusing. So, we are showing the proper names of the 6 Disney locations around the world and only use those names to avoid any confusion as much as possible: - Disneyland Resort Anaheim, California. Opening: July 17th, 1955 - Walt Disney World Resort Orlando, Florida. Opening: October 1st, 1971 - Tokyo Disney Resort Tokyo, Japan. Opening: April 15th, 1983 - Disneyland Paris Marne la Vallée, France. Opening: April 12th, 1992 - Hong Kong Disneyland Resort Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Opening: September 12th, 2005 - Shanghai Disney Resort Pudong, China. Opening: June 16th, 2016 The following list is by Disney Resorts and by chronological year: 8.1 - Disneyland Resort 1955 “A Tour of the West”. 1960 “America the Beautiful”/ First version. 1967 “America the Beautiful”/ Second version. 1984 “Wonders of China” “American Journeys” 8.2 - Walt Disney World Resort 1971 “America the Beautiful”/ Second version. 1974 “Canada 67” / Briefly for the Salute to Canada. “Magic Carpet’s Round the World” / First version. 1975 “America the Beautiful” / Third version. 1979 “Magic Carpet’ Round the World” / First version. 1982 “Impressions de France”. “Wonders of China”. 1983 “O Canada!” / First version. 1984 “American Journeys”. 1994 “The Time Keeper”. 1995 “Reflections of China”. 2007 “O Canada!” / Second version. 8.3 - Tokyo Disney Resort 1984 “Magic carpet’ Round the World”/ Second version. 1986 “American Journeys”. 1992 “The Visionarium”. 8.4 - Disneyland Paris 1992 “Un Voyage a Travers le Temps / The Visionarium”. 8.5 - Hong Kong Disneyland Resort None. 8.6 - Shanghai Disney Resort None. |
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 The
Panorama in 1959IX - KRUGORAYA / CIRCULAR KINOPANORAMA 9.1 The circular Krugoraya Theater opened on June 6th, 1959 at the new Kinopanorama Pavilion near the southern entrance of the USSR Exhibition of Economic Achievements in Moscow. This theater is still active today despite years of lack of maintenance and was renovated in 2018, having closed between 1995 and 2006. The first three movies where projected on 2 rows of 11 screens each; 1 row at the human level and 1 row above the previous one. The lower screens are 4.9m x 3.6m each on 17m diameter. The upper screens are of conical shape with an inclination of 59 degrees compared to the floor level. Each screen has a width of 4.9m at the bottom and 4.2m on top with a height of 3.5m. The screens are divided by a black velvet stripe 150mm wide and 500mm between the lower and upper ones. In total, there are 22 projectors of 35mm and fully synchronised. The stereophonic sound (9 channels) is delivered by 36 speakers: 1 behind each screen (1 x 22 = 22, confirmed!), 7 on the floor and 7 at the ceiling. By April 4th, 1966, the two rows of screens are removed and replaced by only one row at the human level. There are still 11 screens 4.9m wide x 7.2m height. The 11 films do have an anamorphic ratio of 1.63:1. Each movie is having a running time of 20 minutes in order to stand on a spool to avoid any complex change over. • Go to Советская Кругорама  • Go to Soviet Circular Panorama 9.2 The movies projected on 22 screens x 35mm, no official title in English. 1959 “The Road of Spring”. 1960 “At the Vienna Festival”. 1961 “Ships and Under Water”. |
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 Soviet
Circular Panorama "Krugorama", with 22 screens. Two times 11 screens stacked upon each other.
Picture from Grigorij Shandorovich, Moscow, Russia9.3 The movies projected on 11 screens x 35mm, no official title in English. 1966 “Hello the Capital (aka Let’s go, Let’s go)”. 1966 “Take Us with You, Tourists”. 1969 “Summer in Czechoslovakia” 1969 “The Road on the Road”. 1973 “50th Anniversary of the Soviet Union”. 1975 “I want to talk about the GRD” (GRD: Russian Ruble). 1978 “Sports, Awesome and Beautiful”. 1980 “Far - Close”. 1983 “At the Far Side”. 1984 “Inexhaustible Springs”. 1985 “Volga, a Russian River”. 1986 “And the Highest Aspiration of the Dream”. 1987 “Legend of the Rus”. 1990 “My Love Russia, my Pain”/ sound: 6 channels. 1993 “This is what we call Motherland”/ sound: 6 channels. Out of those 18 movies, only 3 have survived: - “Volga a Russian River”. - “Take Us with You, Tourists”. - “Let’s go, Let’s go”. |
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 "Circlorama
Cavalcade" in London, 1963.X - CIRCLORAMA IN LONDON / 1963 This process is already fully documented on this website: - “The new Circlorama cinema in London”. - “Memories of Circlorama”. - “The real story behind Circlorama”. - “The true story of Circlorama”. - “Circlorama Cavalcade credits”. Only two movies were produced with stereophonic sound,9 channels. 51 speakers behind screens and the floor. Projections on 18m diameter: - “Russian Roundabout / 20 minutes / 11 x 35mm”. Opened May 1st, 1963. - “Circlorama Cavalcade / 22 minutes / 11 x 16mm (for cost reduction)”. Opened in 1964 (no one has the exact date). • Go to The true history of Circlorama 1962-65 XI - SWISSORAMA (1984) Also described on this website under the title “All-Around Cinema - Ernst A. Heiniger‘s Swissorama”. The Swissorama process is using just one camera with a 70mm film, vertical pull down ,10 perfo, 24fps. One projector at the ceiling of the theater, 20m diameter. The projection is seamless. Only one movie was produced; “Impressions of Switzerland / 20 minutes / 1 x 70mm”. Opening: July 2nd, 1984 at the Swiss Museum of Transport and Communication in Lucerne, Switzerland. In 1981, Ernst had a project supposedly the first Swissorama film with the working title of “The Spirit of Adventure” but it was not carried out. XII - IWERKS’ IMAGINE 360 In 1986, due to a lack of possible future, Ernst A. Heiniger brought his camera to Don Iwerks (the son of the one who made Ub Iwerks / Circarama) and made few alterations and the process was renamed as ‘Imagine 360’. The projectors were manufactured by Ballantyne of Omaha and connected to a newly Iwerks 70mm film loop cabinet allowing for continuous operation without rewinding the film. The resulting movies were the following: - “Shikoku Alive”/ 15 minutes / 1 x 70mm”. Opening: November 1988 at the Seto Ohashi Bridge Expo 88 Shikoku Pavilion (near the city of Kagawa), Japan. - “Destination Berlin / 10 minutes / 1 x 70mm”. Opening: December 20th, 1988 at the Blaue Kuppel Theater named “ Panorama “ in West Berlin, Germany. - “Mi Pais Biasco” (My Basque Country) / 9 minutes / 1 x 70mm. Opening: April 20th, 1992 at Expo 92 Seville, Spain. Presented at the Pays Basque Pavilion on a screen of 14m diameter. The audience is seated on rotative seats instead of standing up like for the other circular presentations. - “California Beach Party”/ 1 x 70mm. During 1999 but unconfirmed as it was not presented to the public. |
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 Le
Cinema 360 at Futuroscope, Poitiers, in France, 1992. Picture: Thomas
HauerslevXIII - CIRCORAMA (1989) Developed by Patrick Besenval (France) and the Futuroscope Park (near Poitiers / France), the CircOrama is close to the Circarama but with the following differences: - 9 cameras ARRI 3 / 35mm (instead of ARRIFLEX). - 25 fps for a better synchro between sound and picture since the electrical power in Europe is 50 Hz (60Hz in the US / Japan) instead of 24 fps. - Adjacent cabinets near the projectors for endless loop projection. - 9 channel soundtrack (one speaker behind each screen) and 1 on the ceiling. 13.1 - Films at the Futuroscope The theater is called ‘Le Cinema 360’. The 9 screens are 7.7m x 4.4m each on a 21m in diameter. “Un Tour de France en 360 degrés / 18 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. This is about the yearly race in France with bicycles. From 1989 to 1991. “Andalousie (Andalousia in Spain) / 20 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. From 1992 up to 1994 (also shown at the Expo 92 Seville, Spain, from April 20th up to October). “L’Europe en Multicoques (Europe on board of a Trimaran) / 17 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. From 1995 to 1999. “Couleurs Brésil (colourful Brazil) / 19 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. From 2000 to 2005. 13.2 - Arromanches-les-Bains / France / Cinema 360 Arromanches-les-Bains in Normandy is the historical place for the D-Day (June 6th, 1940) since the Americans and Allies did land at the beaches around Arromanches-les-Bains. There is a museum near the sea which opened on June 5th, 1954. In this museum, a small theater showing the same documentary since the opening. The movie was in 16mm and replaced few years ago by a digital copy. Then in 1994, on top of the hill, they built a theater for a 360-degree projection and took the CircOrama process. Two films have now been shown: “Le Prix de la Liberté / The Price of Freedom / 18 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Movie from D. Benicheti. Opening: June 6th, 1994, closing November 28th, 2012. “Les 100 Jours de Normandie / Normandy’s 100 Days / 19 minutes / 9 x Digital HD”. Opening: February 2nd, 2013 and still running. • Go to Cinema Circulaire 360 - Arromanches 360 |
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 Actual
sample from Arromanches of a 2-panel clip.
Click the image, to see enlargement.XIV - OTHER CIRCULAR MOVIES AT THE WORLD’S FAIRS The following list excludes all the movies already mentioned in the previous chapters. 14.1 - Expo 1964-1965 New York, USA “From Every Horizon / 12 minutes / 10 x 16mm”. Opening: April 22nd, 1964, New York, USA. Film from Fred A. Niles and sponsored by the Port of New York Authority. Shot with 10 cameras Arriflex 16mm and projectors at the ceiling. The theater is called ‘Theater 360’ and installed at the Port Authorities Heliport and Exhibit Building. The screens are 18m in diameter. “Around New York / 15 minutes / 6 x 35mm, anamorphic 2.35:1”. Opening: April 22nd, 1964 at the Theaterama. The screens are 24m in diameter and 6m in height. Projection by means of 6 Norelco projectors. 14.2 - Expo 67 Montreal, Canada “Polar Life / 18 minutes / 11 x 35mm”. Opening: April 22nd, 1964 at the Man the Explorer Pavilion. Film from Graeme Ferguson (one of the co-inventors of IMAX) and shot in Greenland. The audience is seated on a rotating platform with a few stops during the rotation. 14.3 - Expo 68 – The 1968 Hemisfair, San Antonio, TX. (The U.S. Pavilion) “The Wide World of Ford / 10 minutes / 9 x 16mm”. Opening: April 4th, 1968 at the Ford Pavilion. Film from Peter Toukamian projected on the concave Styrofoam walls since the theater is of conical shape with a base of 18m at the bottom and 4.5m at the roof section. The screen area is 5m high and 56m in circumference. The projectors (Kodak Zenolite Pageant) are inclined at 22 degrees and mounted at 2.5m above the ground. They are holding 5 times the movie to reduce the manual operations. 14.4 - Expo 70 Osaka, Japan “Horizon / Continuous projection / 9 x 70mm (blown up from 35mm)”. Opening: March 15th, 1970 at the Australia’s Commonwealth Unit. For this Australian movie, each screen is showing a different view. Those 9 films are mounted on an endless loop for continuous show. The public is standing up and walk along a ramp (spiral) in which 1400 speakers are engraved. The Screens are on 34m diameter. |
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 Cinema
Circulaire 360 is located in Arromanches on the Normandy coast of France.
1992 Picture: Thomas Hauerslev“A Tribute to Man / 18 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: March 15th, 1970 at the Toshiba-IHI Pavilion. Film from Shinya Izumi. The audience is seated (500 seats) on a circular platform, hydraulically lifted in one minute from the floor up to the level of the screens. This theater is called ‘Global Vision Theater’ and during the performance, the platform rotates. The diameter of this theater is 32m and fed by 12 tracks magnetic sound. 14.5 - Expo 92 Seville, Spain “Sights of China / 15 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: April 20th, 1992 at the China Pavilion. The public is seated on the floor. “Australia Hexaplex / 15 minutes / 6 x 35mm”. Opening: April 20th, 1992 at the Australian Pavilion. Hexaplex was a complex process designed by Mike Browning. Shot from a camera rig composed of 6 interlocked Arri cameras (24fps, full aperture) and rotating at 1RPM in order to move the joints between the panels. There are 6 fix screens mounted on a hexagonal arrangement with their edges almost touching. Each of the 6 projectors was mounted at the middle and on top of the screen. Both projectors (Kinoton) and screens remained fixed into position. The audience (around 120 people per show) is on a low speed rotating platform, turning in reverse direction of the one used at the shooting of the 6 films. The 6 films are running from locally made (Spain) cabinets for endless loop projection. Initially the idea was to project in 70mm (blown up from 35mm) but due to cost issue the original format remains (source: Phillip Grace from ACMI). 14.6 - Expo 93 Taejon, South Korea “Postcards: Touring the World / 12 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: August 7th, 1993 at the Korean Air Pavilion. Movie in Circle Vision 360 from Bob Roger (creator of the Holavision Theater for which the ghost’s images were shot on 70mm Film) and Craig Bartlett. |
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 Typical
design of a circular cinema. A cylinder structure. Here "Le Cinema 360" at
Futuroscope, Poitiers, in France, 1992. Picture: Thomas HauerslevXV - MERCEDES-BENZ and VOLKSWAGEN Since the cars have round wheels making a complete circle, Mercedes and Volkswagen have been making use of the Circle Vision process to present their advertisements. 15.1 - Mercedes-Benz “The Fortune Teller / 14 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: February 1997 at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) in Atlanta at their Mercedes Circle Scope Theater accommodating 800 people. Each screen is 6.5m x 3.3m with 11 channels of surround sound. Film from Karen Jorgensen of Kaleidoscope Productions. Then this circular advert has been circulating afterwards to many other places such as: - The Lipton ATP Tour tennis tournament in Key Biscayne, Florida. - The Taste of Chicago Festival. - The Star Fair in Dallas, Texas. - The Los Angeles Auto Show. - New York International Automobile Show 15.2 – Volkswagen “The Secret of Security / 12 minutes / 9 x 35mm transferred to Digital”. Opening: Mid 2000 at the VW Autostadt in Wolfsburg, Germany. The 9 Screens are covering a circumference of 56m in a nonagon shape, one speaker behind each screen. XVI - CIRCULATING THE CIRCULAR Here are some other identified locations in Asia but this list is not complete, and readers are welcome to add any missing titles. These are Circle Vision theaters. 16.1 “The Badaling Great Wall / 17 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: September 2nd, 1990 in Badaling, China. 16.2 “Terracotta Army Exhibit / 15 minutes / 9 x 35mm”. Opening: end of the 90’s at the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, 35km from Xian, China. 16.3 “Cirkino Vision” was the name given in Japan for a similar system to Circle Vision 360.Such theater was opened on April 10th, 1964 at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, Japan. This is now replaced Naturally and Scientifically by a Digital projection inside a sphere where the audience is standing in the middle on a bridge, not unlike for Cineorama in 1900. WE HAVE NOW REACHED FULL CIRCLE. |
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