Publisher Description

The first of its kind, this book traces the evolution of motion picture technology in its entirety. Beginning with Huygens' magic lantern and ending in the current electronic era, it explains cinema's scientific foundations and the development of parallel enabling technologies alongside the lives of the innovators. Product development issues, business and marketplace factors, the interaction of aesthetic and technological demands, and the patent system all play key roles in the tale. The topics are covered sequentially, with detailed discussion of the transition from the magic lantern to Edison's invention of the 35mm camera, the development of the celluloid cinema, and the transition from celluloid to digital. Unique and essential reading from a lifetime innovator in the field of cinema technology, this engaging and well-illustrated book will appeal to anyone interested in the history and science of cinema, from movie buffs to academics and members of the motion picture industry.

Back Cover

The first of its kind, this book traces the evolution of motion picture technology in its entirety across two comprehensive volumes. Beginning with Huygen's magic lantern and ending in the current electronic era, it explains cinema's scientific foundations and the development of parallel enabling technologies alongside the lives of the innovators. Product development issues, business and marketplace factors, the interaction of aesthetic and technological demands, and the patent system all play key roles in the tale. The topics are covered sequentially, with detailed discussion of the transition from the magic lantern to Edison's invention of the 35mm camera, the development of the celluloid cinema, and the transition from celluloid to digital. This is thus a unique and essential reading for anyone interested in the history and science of cinema, from movie buffs to academics and members of the motion picture industry. Volume 1 begins with the magic lantern before journeying through other early animation devices such as the phenakistiscope and zoetrope, leading to the days of 35mm celluloid, spearheaded by Edison and others. It is followed by Volume 2, which subsequently takes the reader from color in 35mm through the development of television to its convergence with cinema that has led to the advent of the electronic-digital cinema.

Author Biography

Lenny Lipton founded StereoGraphics Corporation in 1980 and was the Chief Technology Officer of RealD during the introduction of digital stereoscopic theatrical exhibition. He led the team that invented the ZScreen, used in more than 30,000 RealD 3-D theaters, and was the first to demonstrate the flickerless projection technique used on 80,000 3-D cinema screens. He has written four books, including Independent Filmmaking (1972) and Foundations of the Stereoscopic Cinema (1982). He is a Fellow of both the SMPTE and the SPIE, and a member of the Scientific Council of the Conservatoire des techniques of the Cinémathèque Française. He's been granted 72 patents in the field of electronic stereoscopic displays and received a Smithsonian award for his invention of CrystalEyes, the original electronic stereoscopic eyewear product, and he received the Lumiere Lifetime Achievement Award from the Advanced Cinema Society. While majoring in physics at Cornell he wrote the lyrics of the song Puff the Magic Dragon. He produced and directed 25 independent films in the collection of the Pacific Film Archive. He lives in Laurel Canyon, California, with his family.

Table of Contents

IntroductionThe Cinema of Real Motion1. Huygens and the Magic Lantern2. The Magic Lanternists3. Lantern Light and GlassApparent Motion: Discovered and Applied4. Plateau Invents the Phenakistoscope5. A Persistent Myth6. The Zoëtrope and the Praxinoscope7. Daguerre's Photography8. Fox Talbot's Photography9. Protocinematography10. Muybridge and Anschütz11. Chronophotography: Janssen, Marey, DemenÿThe 35mm Medium12. Edison, Dickson, and the Kineto Project13. The Kinetograph14. The Kinetoscope: Projection's Inspiration15. Lambda, Mutoscope, and Bitzer16. Jenkins and Armat: American Projection17. The Lumières and the Europeans18. Edison and the Trust19. Porter the Filmmaker20. Porter and the Simplex21. Camera Design before WWII22. Camera Design after WWII23. Ciné Lenses: Part I24. Ciné Lenses: Part IISound25. Silent Sound26. Synchronizing the Phonograph26. Electronics for Talking Shadows27. The Origins of Sound-on-Film28. One Man Bands: Lauste and Tykociner30. Tri-Ergon31. De Forest and Case32. Phonofilm33. William Fox Hears the Future34. Vitaphone35. Movietone36. RCA vs. ERPI37. William Fox vs. the Industry38. Optical Sound Evolution39. Multichannel, Magnetic, and Digital SoundColor40. Applied Color41. Color Elucidated42. Color Photography before the Movies43. Urban and the Origins of Kinemacolor44. The Rise and Fall of Kinemacolor45. Additive Color after Kinemacolor46. Subtractive Technologies47. Kelly's Color Microcosm48. TruColor and Cinecolor49. Two-Color Technicolor50. Three-Color Technicolor51. Agfa and Ansco Color52. Eastman ColorSmall Formats53. Early Small Formats54. 16mm55. Kodachrome56. Double 8mm and Super 8The Big Wide Screen
57. The Shape of Screens to Come58. Grandeur et al59. Expanded Screen: The Interregnum Ends60. This is Cinerama61. Cinerama after Waller62. CinemaScope63. 'Scope Variations64. Wide Screen and VistaVision65. Todd-AO66. 65/70mm67. IMAX and PLF ExhibitionThe Stereoscopic Cinema68. Early 3-D69. Polarization Image Selection70. 3-D in the Last Half of the 20th CenturyTelevision71. Vision at a Distance72. Jenkins and Baird73. Farnsworth74. Zworykin75. Broadcasting Begins76. Color Wars: CBS vs. RCA77. High Definition Television78. Film to Video and the VTRElectronic Cinema79. Electronic Cinematography and CGI80. The Origins of Digital Technology81. Post-production and Industry Accommodation82. A Brief History of Electronic Projection83. Digital Projection and 3-D Converge

Review

"The book features a beautiful iconographic apparatus that, together with its author's wide-ranging knowledge of technology and material- oriented approach to the evolution of the medium, make it particularly well suited as a companion to more traditional cinema histories for teachers of film courses and scholars of film technology in general." (Sabrina Negri, Technology and Culture, Vol. 63 (4), October, 2022)"If you're studying computer science with a view to working in animation or movie production, you absolutely should read it. And if you're not, you will find that the pictures and descriptions of the devices that led to what we see in our cinemas today are absolutely fascinating." (G. K. Jenkins, Computing Reviews, July 4, 2022)"His point of view is both authoritative and fascinating … . Lenny Lipton's The Cinema in Flux is richly illustrated, and also contains a bibliography, a list of patents, and an index. It is a most pleasurable read, as the author moves joyfully, eruditely, and eloquently between eras, personalities, and systems. An instant classic, no less." (Laurent Mannoni, Journal of Film Preservation, Issue 105, November, 2021)

Review Quote

"If you're studying computer science with a view to working in animation or movie production, you absolutely should read it. And if you're not, you will find that the pictures and descriptions of the devices that led to what we see in our cinemas today are absolutely fascinating." (G. K. Jenkins, Computing Reviews, July 4, 2022) "His point of view is both authoritative and fascinating ... . Lenny Lipton's The Cinema in Flux is richly illustrated, and also contains a bibliography, a list of patents, and an index. It is a most pleasurable read, as the author moves joyfully, eruditely, and eloquently between eras, personalities, and systems. An instant classic, no less." (Laurent Mannoni, Journal of Film Preservation, Issue 105, November, 2021)

Feature

Chronicles the complete history of motion picture technology from the magic lantern to the current digital era Shows how competing technological, cultural, economic, and legal factors shaped the cinema and TV industries Split into digestible sections and accompanied by plenty of illustrations

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