The Cage final cut?

[Kor]

Intriguingly, although the original 'contingency plan' for The Cage to shoot 10 minutes extra material to pad it out to feature length for screening in theatres, *has* become reality: 'The Menagerie' is effectively exactly that, and IIRC a few old stories from this very forum, has even been screened in movie theatres, via digital projection.
...

Yes, the TOS-R version of 'The Menagerie' had a special one-night theatrical showing, I think back in '07. It was fun to see TOS on the big screen in any form. I was disappointed that they didn't have any souvenirs or mementos, though.

Kor

 

[GNDN18]

Yes, the TOS-R version of 'The Menagerie' had a special one-night theatrical showing, I think back in '07. It was fun to see TOS on the big screen in any form. I was disappointed that they didn't have any souvenirs or mementos, though.

Kor

It was a barebones presentation. I think I've mentioned this elsewhere, but the big screen was not kind to the production-run footage. It was never intended for theatrical viewing and the workmanship showed. The '64 film, however, was solid. The Talosian cages were especially well built. Overall, though, it was a great night at the cinema.

 

[feek61]

We had a couple of shows and both were sold out. It really was fantastic seeing TOS on the big screen; it looked great.

 

[tomswift2002]

It was a barebones presentation. I think I've mentioned this elsewhere, but the big screen was not kind to the production-run footage. It was never intended for theatrical viewing and the workmanship showed. The '64 film, however, was solid. The Talosian cages were especially well built. Overall, though, it was a great night at the cinema.

You also have to remember that 60’s TV shows weren’t that high on detail either as a lot of detail was lost in the video chain process.

 

[GNDN18]

You also have to remember that 60’s TV shows weren’t that high on detail either as a lot of detail was lost in the video chain process.

Just so. That’s why the production values of “The Cage” were so noteworthy. It really looks like a movie on the big screen.

 

[Maurice]

I dunno. The planet cyclorama [EDIT: backdrop] looks like a painting when viewed HD. The rocks look like boxes covered in foil. It looks good for what it is, but it isn't quite motion picture quality.

 

[Christopher]

I dunno. The planet cyclorama looks like a painting when viewed HD. The rocks look like boxes covered in foil. It looks good for what it is, but it isn't quite motion picture quality.

Did the cyclorama in Forbidden Planet look any less like a painting? Lots of '50s and '60s motion pictures had fake-looking alien planet sets.

 

[alchemist]

Are we not confusing "cyclorama" with "backdrop?" Ralph Senesky and others refer to the blank white curtain circling the back of the stage or sound stage as the cyclorama.

 

[Maurice]

Are we not confusing "cyclorama" with "backdrop?" Ralph Senesky, and others, refer to the blank white curtain circling the back of the stage or sound stage as the cyclorama.

Yeah, generally. That was a mistake on my part because I first wrote about the painted backdrop versus the cyc used in series production, but when I cut out part of it I left the wrong word. Mea culpa.

 

[alchemist]

No problem. And thanks, Obi Wan, you've taught me well.

 

[Maurice]

More specifically—for anyone unfamiliar—a cyclorama is a featureless, seamless and typically curved surface used to create "infinity" spaces or the illusion of there being no background, or to act as a featureless screen for effects work, like a greenscreen cyc.

 

[diankra]

More specifically—for anyone unfamiliar—a cyclorama is a featureless, seamless and typically curved surface used to create "infinity" spaces or the illusion of there being no background, or to act as a featureless screen for effects work, like a greenscreen cyc.

As can be seen in episode 1 of the Doctor Who story The Mind Robber (where the join between floor and screen is rather visible on DVD), and more regularly on Blue Peter.

 

[johnnybear]

The story for the Mind Robber was that the TARDIS crew had landed in a world of Fiction, diankra! So when viewed like that it doesn't really matter so much!
JB

 

[Christopher]

The story for the Mind Robber was that the TARDIS crew had landed in a world of Fiction, diankra! So when viewed like that it doesn't really matter so much!
JB

No, the first episode was a prelude before they arrived in the Land of Fiction. The previous serial had been cut short by an episode, so they hastily slapped together a very short (about 18 minutes) interim episode where the characters were stuck in an empty void outside of time and space. So since there was supposed to be absolutely nothing there (except the TARDIS crew themselves and the random robots menacing them, recycled from an earlier BBC production), the visible join between the cyclorama and the stage floor kind of stood out.

 

[johnnybear]

Yes, I meant the story as a whole rather than just episode one! The episode and most of the ones in this story all came in around the 18-20 minutes which was unusual for Doctor Who which normally went to 22, 23 or even 24 minutes before the end credits!
JB

 

[MAGolding]

Maurice said:

I dunno. The planet cyclorama [EDIT: backdrop] looks like a painting when viewed HD. The rocks look like boxes covered in foil. It looks good for what it is, but it isn't quite motion picture quality.

Christopher said:

Did the cyclorama in Forbidden Planet look any less like a painting? Lots of '50s and '60s motion pictures had fake-looking alien planet sets.

SCENE MISSING said:

Are we not confusing "cyclorama" with "backdrop?" Ralph Senesky and others refer to the blank white curtain circling the back of the stage or sound stage as the cyclorama.

Maurice said:

Yeah, generally. That was a mistake on my part because I first wrote about the painted backdrop versus the cyc used in series production, but when I cut out part of it I left the wrong word. Mea culpa.

Maurice said:

More specifically—for anyone unfamiliar—a cyclorama is a featureless, seamless and typically curved surface used to create "infinity" spaces or the illusion of there being no background, or to act as a featureless screen for effects work, like a greenscreen cyc.

According to Wikipedia:

A cyclorama view of Cornell University from McGraw Hall embracing 360 degrees (1902)
A cyclorama is a panoramic image on the inside of a cylindrical platform, designed to give viewers standing in the middle of the cylinder a 360° view, and also a building designed to show a panoramic image. The intended effect is to make viewers, surrounded by the panoramic image, feel as if they were standing in the midst of the place depicted in the image.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclorama

19th century cycloramas often depicted 360 degree views of cities and landscapes and famous battles.

It seems to me that the definition of cyclorama that has been used by countless millions of people is much stronger and more valid than the definition of cyclorama used ins shop talk by professionals in a limited business.

Therefore Maurice's original use of cyclorama was more correct that his correction to backdrop, even though I doubt that the one in "The Cage" was actually 360 degrees.

And as to Maurice's statement that:

I dunno. The planet cyclorama [EDIT: backdrop] looks like a painting when viewed HD. The rocks look like boxes covered in foil. It looks good for what it is, but it isn't quite motion picture quality.

I have enjoyed many old movies despite noticing that backgrounds in some scenes were matte paintings. You can even notice that they are matte paintings in TV viewings with lesser resolution than in movie theaters. I'm sure that the movie audiences in the 1960s were quite familiar with and accepting of matte paintings, and equally so TV audiences.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matte_painting

 

[Christopher]

I have enjoyed many old movies despite noticing that backgrounds in some scenes were matte paintings. You can even notice that they are matte paintings in TV viewings with lesser resolution than in movie theaters. I'm sure that the movie audiences in the 1960s were quite familiar with and accepting of matte paintings, and equally so TV audiences.

Right. After all, before there was film and TV, there was live theater. The first generation or two of film/TV viewers also had experience with live theater and saw movies/TV as an extension of it, so they weren't bothered by things like stagey-looking sets or roles being recast. Modern audiences have less familiarity with live theater, so they don't have that same skill at suspending disbelief or using their own imaginations to go beyond what they're shown.

 

[Maurice]

I'm a film guy and I've been on sets, and I'm going to use film terms. The fact is that in the film biz words mean specific things to the crew and filmmakers, whether or not those terms are known to or used by audiences in the same manner. An apple [box] is a "manmaker" if it's used a particular way. Sure, people outside the biz say pieces of set dressing are props but they aren't to anyone on a set. And, yes, a cyc can be a blank backdrop or a scenic background, but mostly I hear people use "cyc" for the former and not for the latter in order to differentiate them. It's a clothespin to you, on a set it's a C-47—or a C-74 if it's upside down.

Googling something doesn't make someone an expert. I've corrected (with citations) too many Wikipedia articles to trust its accuracy without drilling down to see if the cited sources (if any) are even accurate.