Appendix 1

Appendix 4: Current Film Formats
specialty format. In projection, it uses a rotating optical system removing the need for a shutter. Each
frame “wipes” on the screen replacing the previous frame. The image is therefore fl ickerless. This
rotating optical system was used on many of the “fl at bed” editing machines that came on the scene
in about 1970 and more or less died by the twenty-fi rst century.
Interestingly, this is also the oldest “fi lm” projection system. In 1886 Charles-Émile Reynaud
invented the théâtre optique, shown in Figure A4.1, a projection system for projecting his short animations.
Reynaud drew his frames on gelatin squares that were approximately the same size as an
IMAX frame. He then stitched his frames into thin leather bands that were perforated between the
frames. The perforations engaged with sprockets on the projector. The strips were wound onto reels
exactly like fi lm reels. Just like the IMAX projector, the théâtre optique projector ran the strips horizontally
and used a fl ickerless optical drum. It even looked something like an IMAX projector.
Figure A4.1 The théâtre optique
Other fi lm formats have come and gone: 9.5 mm, 51 mm, VistaVision 8 perf, Techniscope 2 perf, and
Cinerama to name a few. These days, few are asking what will be the next great fi lm format or fi lm
stock, but rather, how much longer will fi lm be around? The answer is likely to be for quite a while,
at least as a shooting format. Digital projection may well push fi lm out of most of the theaters soon,
but digital cameras will need to come a long way before replacing fi lm as the usual format for shooting
movies.
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