The Technirama Process - Technicolor 100

Fighting to remain relevant after the demise of three-strip color photography, Technicolor entered the widescreen market with its own process. In 1957, it launched the large-format Technirama widescreen system in which the film was run horizontally through the camera instead of vertically, creating a larger, higher resolution film frame.



On top of this, an anamorphic lens optics compressed the image horizontally to facilitate even wider compositions. Technirama’s improved image quality heralded a more expansive cinema experience, enabling the production of historical epics such as Spartacus (1960) and El Cid (1961).

This video was produced by George Eastman House as part of the eastmanhouse.org/technicolor100 website that celebrates 100 years of Technicolor through highlights from related collections at the museum.



Text, image and video via George Eastman House