The Main World's R&D Works in the Field of Holographic Cinematography

The method of a holographic screen with focalizing zone was offered by D.Gabor (Great Britain) in 1960. This method was based on the application of a holographic screen, which should focalize reflected from it light (coming from a projector) in zones, where the viewers supposed to watch the three-dimensional image from. This method was unsuitable for projection of the holographic images, because the offered screen did not focalize such images in space. This method can be used only for projection the stereoscopic images. The given method has not received any practical use (US Patent № 347911).

For the first time the holographic filming was made by M.Lehmann (USA) in 1966. The images of lifeless objects were shot on the 35 mm holographic film stock. The reproduced holographic film-image had a very small size and could be watched only by one viewer. Thereby this method couldn’t be used in practice (Handbook of Optical Holography. H.J.Caulfield, Academic Press, New York, 1979, 10.3.6).

The method of a disseminating slice was offered and researched by K.Hains and D.Brumm (USA) in 1967. In this method an object was lighted up by laser, and the holographic filming was made on a film stock through a light-diffusing slice, for example, with tiny-structured raster. The projection of the holographic film was made through the same slice. An experimental check of this method, made by its authors, showed that the method had a key disadvantage – low signal-to-noise ratio. Therefore this method was not suitable for practical use. (Proc. IEEE, 1967, p.15).

The method of manufacturing holograms with filming in non-coherent light through a set of lenses was offered by V. Pole (USA) in 1968 (US Patent № 5588877). This method was based on filming of a 3D object in several aspects of angle in regular light with the subsequent transfer of the raster image into holographic image. A disadvantage of this method is that it allows shooting only small objects and it has no capability of displaying the 3D images for large audiences.

The method of the overlarge spherical lenses was offered and researched by E.Leith, D.Brumm, S.Hsiao (USA) in 1972. In this method the holographic filming of object (illuminated by laser light) was made on film through a lens of very large diameter – about the sizes of screens used at cinema theaters. The projection of holographic film was made also through a lens of very large diameter about the same size. This method has a key disadvantage stipulated by excessively small size as of the shooting scene and viewed image. For this reason this method has not received any practical use (Appl. Opt, 1972, v.11, p.2016).

The method of super-large-scale cylinder lenses was offered by D.Johns (USA) in 1970. This method was similar to the method of overlarge spherical lenses (described above) being different from the latter one only by implementation of the cylindrical lenses instead of spherical. The given method has not received any practical use for the same reason of the excessively small angular sizes of the image. (US Patent № 36255884).

The method of holographic filming of the objects, moving on an ellipse, was offered by R.Kurtz (USA) in 1973. This method is suitable only for very restricted cases, when the shooting object goes on an ellipse. That precludes the broad application of this method (Applied Optics, v.12, 1973, p.2815).

The method of a large-size spherical mirror (for projection of the holographic images) was offered by U. Denisyuk (Russia) in 1974. This method was based on usage of a mirror (with a spherical reflecting surface) of very large sizes – about the sizes of screens used at cinema theaters. This method has the same key disadvantage of the small angular sizes of the image, as well as the method with application of lenses of overlarge sizes (by E.Leith, D.Brumm, S.Hsiao). Besides all, the indicated systems do not allow to show the holographic image even to a small group of the viewers simultaneously. The pointed disadvantages preclude any practical use of the offered methods. (Bild und Ton, H. 3, 1974, 71.

The method of holographic filming and projection with a set of flat mirrors was offered and researched by T. Okoshi (Japan) in 1976. In this method an object is illuminated by laser light, which is reflected from the object and routed to holographic film stock by mirrors. In projection the restoring beam of laser light is routed onto a hologram. The diffracted by hologram beam of light, reflected from mirrors, forms in space a 3D image of the original object. A disadvantage of this method is the low light efficiency at filming. The audience is very small as well; it is limited by a few viewers. The offered method allows filming and showing only for the objects of very small sizes. Therefore this method is not suitable for practical use. (Proc. IEEE, 1977, v.120; 1980, v.68).

The filming of a short holographic motion picture was executed by C.Eizykman and G. Fihman (France) in 1985, utilizing a chamber with continuous motion of a 126 mm width holographic film stock. The information on a holographic film projection method was not published.

The holographic filming and projection to a spherical mirror screen was made by P.Smigilsky, H.Fagot, F.Albe (France) in 1986 (L’Electronique Industrielle, 1986, № 100). The shooting was made on the 35 mm film stock with frequency 24 frames per second, using a pulse garnet laser. This work pursued the method offered U. Denisyuk (see above). For the reasons mentioned above this particular direction can not be utilized for the theatrical motion pictures.

The experimental system of holographic motion pictures with the usage of retroreflecting screen was designed and researched by K.Higuchi, J.Ishicava, S. Hiyama (Japan) in 1995. The retroreflecting screen had a capability of reflecting rays of light, dropping on it, in the straight opposite direction, due to the tiniest transparent balls, posed on its surface, with a high factor of refraction. In this system the holographic image valuably can be wholly seen only by one viewer simultaneously. Therefore this system has no potential application for the movie theaters.

In 1999 in Denmark P. Ramanujam made three-dimensional holographic filming of the objects of rather small sizes. The detailed data about this system hasn't been published. According to the indirect data this system was not intended for the public motion pictures.