Projections and immersion

The creation of an immersive environment through the use of projections has been prevalent in what is termed as “expanded cinema” since the invention of the stereopticon in 1894. This device aligned sixteen slide projectors in a semi circular room, curtained on the opposite side, changing the images in rapid succession. While this did not create a faultless image, it did pave the way for film projectors to break out of the traditional setting of a single image on a flat wall.

Using similar techniques, in 1900 the Cineorama; ten film projectors linked to create a 360 degree image was featured at the world exhibition in Paris. This marked the beginning of immersive environments at World trade fairs, which continued from this point to use prototypes in technology to create or show artificial worlds, be it through wall long, hallway length projections, such as Futurama in 1939, or Teleview, in 1921, which introduced 3D films to the American public.

While the 360 degree environment was not built on in a mainstream environment, coverage of 180 degrees was brought to the American public by Fred Waller. His Cinerama cinemas utilised three projectors in a semi circle, with filming undertaken by three cameras, with a slight overlap in their field of view. The audience however, were not in the curved section of the screen, meaning the curvature was unnecessary, as a flat screen would serve the same goal. None the less, the cinemas hosting the specially designed equipment proved popular, at their peak in the early sixties numbering over one hundred worldwide.

The next step towards immersion was the Sensorama Simulator. The device communicated not only visually, but hapticly, vibrating and letting off chemicals whose smells corresponded with the images in front of the viewer. The machines hosting the equipment were normally confined to theme parks however, as the experience was only relayed directly to the viewer, and not applicable for a wider audience seeking a social experience as well as an immersive one. Some traditional cinematic experiences attempted to bring some of these elements into their shows; Earthquake (1974) and The Tingler 1959) included specially designed vibrating seats, and Polyester (1981) gave out cards which gave of smell when scratched, to be used at certain points of the film.

Looking to immersion, the Omnimax cinema projected onto a huge overhead sphere, so the coverage was 160 degrees of the viewer’s vision. The company behind the Omnimax, IMAX, run cinemas with huge screens, where the audience must wear 3D glasses, creating immersive illusions in front of them.