Theatre Design & Technology - Dec 1970 - 10

Screen

EXPO' 70

9' x 12'

. / ' HOrizontal Scanner.
/ ' 16·Surface Polygon
rOlatlon 60.000rpm

Vertical Scanner.
24 ·Surf ace Polygon
rot a Ion 150 rpm

DichroIc Mirror

Mirror

SynchronIZIng Signal
Receiver
Synchronozong Signal

Hitachi Pavilion. Diagram of the laser color television process.

roll ing loop indexes the frame by a gentle roll ing
movement rather than the violent jerking of conventional mechanisms, prints can be run thousands
of times without damage. In addition, the Rolling
Loop positions the frame on fixed registration pins,
thereby making the image much steadier than industry standards require. The film transport mechanism achieves an eight millisecond pull-down of the
large format at the standard 24 fps. and is extremely gentle with the film. Dual 30 inch reel
pairs on an indexing mount permit simultaneous
running of a 20-minute show while rewinding a
duplicated print. The IMEX system is created and
built by Multi Screen Co., Ltd., of Canada. The
25-KW Xenon lamp house is made by Electro Lab.,
using a Ushio lamp. The projection lens, f= 150mm, f /2 with an 80= degree diagonal projection
angle, is made by Canon.
One film shown here is "Tiger Child" by
Canadian filmmaker Donald Brittain: it illustrates
interdependences of all human beings living on
earth, regardless of race, language, culture, and
politics. While the IMEX projection is on the main
screen, the walls of the air dome display a series
of color sl ides by 28-4KW Xenon sl ide projectors
using a 150-frame endless strip. An electronic
cueing system, triggered by the main IMEX projector, is set to control slide projectors, lighting effects, sound effects and other mechanisms.

Inside the cylinder is the Intro Vision, a dark
room with about 500,000 tiny reflective optical
elements blinking and twinkling in the space above
the spectator, accompanied by Toru Takemitsu's
soft, mysterious music. The spectator is seated on
low, comfortable cushions in the middle of this
darkness and is soon drawn into meditation.
Regretably, only a few laser display exhibitions
are found in Expo 70, For example, there is no
display of laser holography probably because the
expense and difficulty are too great in relation to
the limited number of spectators who would be
interested. It has turned out to be an inefficient
display medium. The displays using the laser
beam are the Pepsi-Cola, Toshiba, Textile, and
Steel Pavilions and the most extensive use of the
laser is seen in the Steel Pavil ion,
The Steel Pavilion was built as a permanent concert hall that will be left on the. fair site. The
pavilion is equipped with fine acoustics, sound
system, and lighting. For the exhibition, modern
sculptor Keiji Usami is in charge of the laser execution, which uses five one-watt Argon lasers and
two 50-milliwatt Helium Neon lasers. He incorporates unique methods with a sophicated mechanism of mirrors. The movement of the mirrors, consisting of 32 major patterns, is automatically controlled by a program recorded on punched tape for
each musical composition. Five green Argon lasers

[]ill!] THEATER DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

DECEMBER,1970

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