Overview
- 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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Table of contents (83 chapters)
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Front Matter
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THE GLASS CINEMA: The Cinema of Real Motion
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Front Matter
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THE GLASS CINEMA: Apparent Motion, Discovered and Applied
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Front Matter
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THE CELLULOID CINEMA: The 35 mm Medium
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Front Matter
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Keywords
- history of cinema technology
- evolution of cinema technology
- history of motion picture technology
- Huygen's magic lantern
- phenakistoscope
- zoetrope
- praxinoscope
- history of sound in cinema
- development of celluloid cinema
- evolution of 35mm medium
- color in motion picture
- development of widescreen technology
- stereoscopic cinema
- development of 3D cinema
About this book
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.
Reviews
“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) “This extraordinary work by Lenny Lipton is valuable not only because of the quality of its analysis, its breadth, its vision, and its erudition, but also because of its clarity and literary style, so pleasant to read: above all, it has an originality that strongly distinguishes it from its predecessors. What makes Lenny Lipton's book admirable and exciting, one of a kind, is that the author -- one of the great designers of modern 3D -- during his long career has been a technician, director, inventor, and entrepreneur. Thanks to his training and long experience, he has the knowledge of science and the film industry to allow him to approach the long history of cinema, punctuating it with patents, both those that were successful and industrial disasters, magnificent failures and major and minor developments.” (Laurent Mannoni, Curator, Cinémathèque Française, Paris)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Cinema in Flux
Book Subtitle: The Evolution of Motion Picture Technology from the Magic Lantern to the Digital Era
Authors: Lenny Lipton
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0951-4
Publisher: Springer New York, NY
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2021
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-0716-0950-7Published: 08 April 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-1-0716-0951-4Published: 07 April 2021
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXII, 795
Number of Illustrations: 318 b/w illustrations, 259 illustrations in colour
Topics: Optics, Lasers, Photonics, Optical Devices, Electrical Engineering, Screen Studies, History of Technology, History of Science, Computer Graphics