Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1978 - 12

"... the Russians are busily experimenting with ways to make viewing
the hologram easier and more visible to large groups of people. "

animation to the holographic image. Six multiplex holograms
were used in the film Logan's Run and other types of holograms were used in other motion pictures. It is important to
differentiate between the actual use of holograms in films and
using the concept of holographic images in the script. By far,
many more science fiction films, like Future World or Star
Wars, use the concept of holographic images without actually
filming the holograms. This is simply because holograms,
although originally three-dimensional, become two-dimensional by the time they are shot and projected on the
screen-just like anything else. Although the concept of holographic images will probably be used much more in the
future, the actual use of holograms in films is almost selfdefeating. The prospects for holography in theatre, on the
other hand, are promising for the hologram can be seen in its
true three-dimensionality. Yet, as with any hologram, there is
always the problem of size and angle of view. In order to be
seen and appreciated in theatre production and/or amusement park settings the holograms must be quite large and the
costs rise proportionately with the size of the hologram.
Probably the most intriguing hologram is the real-image
projection type in which the image appears to be floating out
in front of the hologram. These types of holograms require
some special optics and also demand a hologram which is
usually much larger in size than the object. If the area of the
hologram is not great enough then the entire object will not
be visible simultaneously. The further out the image is projected, the larger the hologram area needed. There are severallarge-format display holograms of this type and the effect
is truly breathtaking. No matter how many I have made myself
or have seen made by others, I always find the image intriguing.
One very important extension of holography is the holographic motion picture. Unlike the multiplex holograms which
begin with a series of two-dimensional images, true holographic movies are made with a laser in the first steps of production and thus make real holograms with both horizontal and
vertical parallax. Much of this work is being done in Russia
where a team of scientists are working with a large pulsed
laser making wide-field holographic motion pictures. This aspect of their work is interesting, but not new. Similar films have
been made at several locations in the United States. What is
new and interesting is that the Russians are busily experi-

"... the Mecca of holographic
walls and floors seems to be Las
1/
yegas ... "

menting with ways to make viewing the hologram easier and
more visible to large groups of people. At present in holographic motion pictures the film size is the screen size because
you must be looking through the hologram film or at the film
in order to see the image. 70mm is the most commonly used
film in holographic movies. Thus it is difficult for more than
just a few people at a time to view a holographic film. It would
take decades for a film company to recoup its costs from
such a diminutive audience. Although we in the United States
have lasers as powerful as the ones used by the Russians, it is
very difficult to divert them from aerospace and/or non-destructive testing work for experiments in motion holography.
But the true creativity of the Russians is their holographic
screen approach. They are projecting one image through a
holographic lens/screen which multiplies the image and also
focuses the entire image into discrete spaces. T his creates
various pockets from which the image spaces are viewable so
that a group of three or four people 20°, 40°, or 60° to the
right of center screen and 20°, 40°, or 60° to the left of center
screen will see the same image with the same parallax, but in
the spaces in-between these pockets, the interstitial areas, no
image will appear. Instead of being able to show the film to
only three or four people at a time, the Russians propose
multiple pockets collectively comprising hundreds of viewers.
This work is still underway.
At present in the entertainment field lasers and holography
are enjoying an increasingly reciprocal or symbiotic relationship. Lasers are used to create the diffraction gratings produced holographically, which mUltiply and direct the beam.
The Russian movie screen for instance is a complex grating
beam. Various types of these gratings are used in laser shows
as special effects such as wide-angle starbursts. Recently,
ways have been perfected to copy these diffraction gratings.
This is done not by photocopying them, but by embossing
them into plastic and vinyl much the same way that a record is
pressed from a master into vinyl, except that the master, in
this case, is a relief image hologram. These gratings come in
relatively large sheets, and when placed together create expansive walls or floors which can break up light into various
rainbow patterns. This grating material has already been utilized in various films, but the Mecca of holographic walls and
floors seems to be Las Vegas where thousands of them have
been utilized at the Flamingo and the Alladin Hotels.
As to the future, I feel that as long as strict precautions are
taken and the risks of accidents minimized, the larger argon
lasers will be used for skywriting and other outdoor events. I
also feel that we will see greater use of the large diffraction
gratings in architecture and set design. We will see larger and
greater diameter multiplex holograms as ways are perfected
of making larger cylindrical lenses which are used in creating
the multiplex images.~

Chris Outwater has been a laser and holography consultant to MGM, Paramount. Warner Brothers, and Disney productions. He is co-author
(with Eric van Hammersveld) of Guide to Practical Holography and is currently teaching at the UCLA Arts Extension.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1978