User:Tranquitas/Multi-image

Multi-image is the now largely obsolete practice and business of using 35mm slides projected by multiple projectors onto one or more screens in synchronization with music. Multi-image productions are also known as multi-image slide presentations, slides shows and diaporamas and are a specific form of multimedia or audio-visual production.

One of the hallmarks of multi-image was the use of the wide screen panorama. Precisely overlapping slides were placed in slide mounts with soft-edge density masks; when the resulting images were projected, the images would blend seamlessly on the screen to create the panorama. By cutting and dissolving between images in the projectors, animation effects were created in panorama format.

Description

Multi-Image presentations were a unique form of communication to audiences of various sizes, to meet a variety of communication and entertainment needs. In general, multi-image can be defined as being:

• Based largely on analog production tools and technologies including art and audio production and film-based photography.
• Multi-disciplinary in terms of the types of skills required to create and stage multi-image presentations.
• Venue driven; multi-image presentations had specific requirements for the spaces they were staged in.

The use of projected photographic images such as lantern slides for entertainment has a longing history, dating back to the early 1800s. In 1908 L. Frank Baum had a traveling show that included slides, film, and actors describing the land of Oz. Throughout the years improvments in techology took place and applications for slides as a form of entertainment continued to expand. During the 1960s slides started to use automated syncronization of the audio and the slides and found use in instructional environments.

Multi-Image Business

Multi-image as a business thrived during the 1970 and 1980’s. Multi-image presentations ranged from single projector shows run by an audio cassette, such as in a Caramate projector-viewer[1] to large projected events for business meetings and conventions where multiple shows would be presented and often were rear-projected by 24 or more projerctors.

Creating and presenting multi-image productions involved a relativley large number of specialized skills, equipment, and facilities to produce. Largely driven by economic considerations as well as to gain the flexibility to make changes and to present in a wider range of situations, multi-image has almost entirely replaced by video presentations and by readily available computer based technologies such as using laptop computers running PowerPoint and projecting through digital projectors.

During the height of multi-image a number of types of businesses were directly engaged in the industry which employed thousands of specialists that ranged from producers and designers, writers, artists, typesetters, photographers, photo lab technicians, audio technicians, programmers, staging specialists as well as others associated with these disciplines.

A professional organization, The Association for Multi-image International (AMI) was created and had numerous active chapters around the world. The AMI held an annual convention and multi-image competition. Other organizations such as the National Audiovisual Association (NAVA) which held the COMMTEX International trade show and publications such as the Audio visual Communication Review strongly supported the multi-image industry.

Multi-image presentations were produced through a wide range of companies, including:

• Companies that specifically were established as multi-image production companies and could offer full services to clients. Most of these companies have either closed or changed their business model to focus on marketign or event planing, video, or computer based presentations.
• Companies specializing in creating multi-image work where the creation of multi-image consisted of only a portion of the overall work of the company such as ad agencies, marketing, and creative production companies.
• Companies who specialized in one or more of the general disciplines used in the production of multi-image and offered multi-image as a service, such as photographers and photo labs.
• Individual contractors who served as producers, directors, designers or provided other talent needed to create multi-image presentations.

Many large corporations had within their company multi-image production divisions or production units set up to produce multi-image slides and productions for use by those companies. Educational institutions also made extensive use of multi-image.

An entire industry grew around supplying the tools and equipment neeeded to supply and support the multi-image production.

• Corporations who manufactured and sold basic equipment used in the production of multi-image, such as 35mm slide projectors, film, slide mounts, soft-edge density masks and other items. The list of suppliers for the multi-image industry was extensive with a number of companies attaining international importance for the products they produced.
• Manufacturers of multi-image optical slide cameras and slide projector programming hardware. Specialized highly precise camaera systems were developed for the multi-image market, featuring pin-registered film movements capable of making multiple exposures, controlled back-lit color light sources, motorized multi-axis compounds for precies positioning opf artwork, and long-roll film loads. Slide projector programming computers and dissolve equipment and software was developed to synchronize the slides with the audio by providing precise time control over slide tray positioning and lamp fade rates to create multi-image animation.
• Other major types of hardware, materials and services were used in multi-image production such as photo typesetting machines, film processors, slide projector stands,shipping cases, projection screens, audio production and playback equipment, and staging scaffolds and lighting rigs. Since most large productions were shown a limited number of times, in order to archive and distribute the presention and to show the production to potential clients a video transfer often was made, requiring specialized equipment. Several companies developed around providing transfer services to multi-image producers.

Multi-Image presentations were largely venue driven and requiring sufficient space for projection and control over lighting in the projection and view space. Numerous companies provided staging equipment and staff to run the presentations. Hotels, convention centers, and other venues specifically were set up to meet the requirements of the presentations and the audience experience. Schools and businesses frequently maintained multi-image services within their institutions which were staffed with AV specialists. Smaller presentations such as single projector slide synchronized shows often were duplicated for wider distribution. Photo processing labs specialized in creating duplicate slide sets.

The multi-image industry as a whole was impacted by the growth of personal computing. Software presentation and photo and graphics editing programs have allowed a wider range of communicators quick and easy access to the tools and technologies needed to present information. Digital photography has reduced the need for laboratory services and complex equipment, all of which has quickly brought a close to the multi-image industry.

Multi-Image Production Technologies

The art and business of multi-image drew from many older existing technologies, the creative uses of those technologies essentially made it a new form of communications art drawing on a diverse set of skills. When a multi-image project was initiated, various overall mangement roles were required to provide direction, planning, and project management. These roles generally involved the activities similiar to those found in other media industries, such as creative, visual, overall, and technical director, producer, production manager, and writer. Often individuals with the various production skills would fill these roles as well as performing their production roles. Multi-image productions in general were deadline driven and it was common that the production process would be non-linear, allowing for multiple activities to take place with overlapping roles.

The actual production generally included the creation of artwork and photography, editing together the audio portion of the presentation which often included voice-over, creating the slides from the artwork, assembling the slides in mounts, and programming the presentation. On completion of the production, the multi-image show was staged. Staging involved set up and alignment of the projectors, creating the viewing environment through lights and sound staging, and running the show.

Art and Design

Multi-image was in large part a visual medium and the visual quality of a presentation was based on using photographs or artwork created for use in the presentation as source material. 35mm slides could be used directly as they were originally taken. Often the original photographs were masked or duplicated for positioning and sizing. In some instances, 35mm cameras modified for pin-registertion were used to create animated sequences. 35mm slide film has high resolution and color range and are based on grain and dye-clouds rather than on a raster pattern, which often is preceived as being more realistic, uniform, and detailed.

Artwork produced for multi-image presentations in general was based on one of two forms of top-lit reflective copy artwork, materials that were produced and copied directly to slides to be used in the production or color or image separated layered photomechanical art that would be copied to high-contrast masks which were then used to create slides.

Flat art was created by using a variety of standard graphic illustration techniques, using pen and ink, airbrush, paints, from clip art, colored paper, transfer lettering such as Letraset, and by copying from existing materials on a copy stand or on optical slide camera. Cel art, such as found in cel animation was also used.

<<more work to do here>>

• Interchangable art pieces - cel art, photomechanical art, Pin registration and grid.
• Typesetting methods
• Flat art copied to create color and image separated printing masks

Color separated art using basic principles from photomechanical art used in offset printing and silk-screen printing Dr Ph.Martin's dyes foreground/background, layers,

• Assembling images on the optical camera by printing with light
• Role of computer graphics in creating slides

Cel animation, back lighting, pin registered overlays from animation and print, phototypesetting, photography, storyboards, types of tools and materials used, rubylith

Audio Production

Tape, razor edits, rocking and rolling, rights management, sync tracks, voice overs

Printing with Light

masking, cameras, light, compound moves, film, photography, processing, spectrum of equipment sprockets

Assembly and Programming

Masking and slide assembly, light tables, projector timing, programing to the music, equipment

On the Road

Room environment, room lighting, scaffolding and stands, drapes and lights, alignment, show-time, theatric special effects like pyrotechnics, breakaway screens, breakdown and optical transfers

Notiable Multi-Image Names

Companies specializing in Multi-Image

• Caribiner International
• Eyesongs[2][3]
• Image Stream (Los Angles, CA)
• Jack Morton Worldwide[4]
• Jam Handy Organization[5].
• Maritz[6]
• Media Loft
• Metavision [7]
• Multivision Productions[8]
• Odyssey Visual Design[Odyssey_Productions]
• Photo Synthesis
• Watts Silverstein (Seattle, WA)

Multi-Image Hardware and Supplies

• Arion
• Audio-Visual Labratories (AVL)
• Chief Manufacturing Inc.[9]
• Clearlight[10]
• Dataton
• Dicomed[11]
• Double M Industries
• DSC Labs[12]
• Eastman Kodak(projectors)[13]
• Forox
• Gepe
• Hope
• Homrich
• Hostert
• Image Marketing Corp[14]
• Kreonite
• Marron Carrel (Maron)
• Multivision
• Oxberry[15]
• Sickles (Mangum Sickles)
• Slidemagic (Maximillian Kerr Associates)
• Slide Transfer Service, Inc.
• Wess Plastics[16]
• Wing-Lynch

Notable Individuals in Multi-Image

• Andre Proulx[17]
• Bob Rowan
• Brien Lee[18]
• Christopher Korody[19]
• David Incencio
• Doug Mesney[20]
• Gar Benedick[21]
• Graham Emonson
• Jack Hollingsworth[22]
• Julien Biere[23]
• Keith Lanpher[24]
• Ken Burke[25]
• Marlyn Kulp
• Roger L. Gordon
• Ted Evans[26]
• Ted Iserman
• Todd Gipstein[27]
• Tony Korody[28]

External links

• Migration Productions