“Expanded Cinema”: Chapter 7 Holographic Cinema

In this chapter, Youngblood examines the wonders of holographic cinema through his explanation of its creation and development. He begins by providing some background context concerning the first successful holographic motion picture of fish in an aquarium at the Hughes Research laboratories in April 1969 by Dr. Alex Jacobson and Victor Evtuhov. He makes a strong comparison between the holographic cinema of 1970 to the conventional cinema that existed in the 1900s. Youngblood views holograms as the next great technological advancement and even predicted that they would be common place by the year 2000. He didn’t however, predict the high cost of holograms which has made them uncommon during this century. 

Youngblood examines and clarifies any misconceptions relating to holographic cinema through his clear and scientific explanation of how holograms work. He first defines “Wave-front Reconstruction” by comparing it to lensless photography that does not form any optical image. The chapter continues to define “Wave front/ Wave diffraction” as a pattern of light waves bouncing off the subject captured on a photosensitive surface without passing through the lens to form an image. He compares this process to the circles formed by pebbles thrown in water. The collection of these circles and interference patterns result from intersecting trajectories make up the wave front of light from the object. 3-Dimensional images are created effectively when the wave front can be “frozen” or stored. 

The chapter continues to explain the inventions and history that led to the development of holograms. The author acknowledges the work of Dr. Dennis Gabor, who discovered the secret to the capture and reconstruction of waves. In the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, Dr. Gabor discovered that waves are described by both intensity and frequency. He explained that normal optical photography only measure the waves of objects and not the frequency. Frequency, however, is necessary for the reconstruction of a 3-Dimensional image. The hologram was even named after the Greek word for whole “holo” to emphasize the need for both frequency and intensity. Gabor argued that light waves lose the cohesiveness the farther away they travel. Cohesive light is necessary for the 3-D images and the ideal for light waves would consist of them being at the same frequency. In addition, “cohesive” means in regards to the distance over which its waves remain in sync with each other. Sunlight, for example, possesses a short cohesive length. Youngblood also acknowledges the importance of the groundbreaking work done by Dr. Theodore Maiman in regards to the development of the laser. In 1960, Dr. Maiman invented a coherent beam of light that was operated on the same wave length and called it the laser after the term: Light Amplification by Simulated Emission of Radiation. In 1965, Emmett N. Leith and Juris Upatnieks modified Dr. Maimans technique to create the first 3-Dimensional image. The duo derived two beams from one laser through their effective use of a prism. The first beam, or subject beam, illuminated the object while the other, the reference beam, interfered with the first to create a pattern that could be “recorded on a photographic plate”. The image was rebuilt through the use of another beam that was directed at the hologram from the same position as the reference beam. The beam that emerged from the film formed the shape of wave fronts that had been reflected from the original object. 

Youngblood explains that 3-D and stereoptic illusion are different because of the concept of “parallax.” Parallax is the apparent displacement of perspectives when one object is viewed from different angles. The author argues that having a large photographic plate allows objects to be large enough to provide a comfortable peripheral perspective. He highlights that holography allows the viewer to see different areas of the picture depending on their angle of approach. He addresses “panoramic holography” and the viewing affect on the audience. Youngblood argues that the audience would always have to be small for these viewing with no more than two people because the viewing affect would be that of looking through a small window. 

Before the the world’s first real-time holographic film made by Dr. Jacobson and Evtuhov, artificial animation had created holography. Separate holograms of a single object were placed into tiny vertical strips and the illusion was created as people moved their head from side to side or the plate was moved by the laser beam horizontally. Youngblood goes on to define the three types of lasers used in holography that are identified “by the active element whose atoms are electronically charged to generate light.” The first is the Helium-neon laser which cannot be pulsed because it is a strictly continuous wave. Next is the argon-laser, which cannot meet the nanoseconds needed to form holograms. Lastly is the ruby laser, which creates a red and grainy image that is not incredibly cohesive.

Youngblood comments on the misconception that holograms are physically touchable. Instead, holograms create a virtual image that can be seen across from the viewer. In contrast, the real image focuses on the side of the film closest to the watcher and requires a unique optical system to watch. He comments on its current use in Japan through the puppet theatre. Holograms can also be produced through computers according to Youngblood. Kinoform is a type of holographic computerized projection that uses a computer-controlled and, “a laser interference system to create this pattern on plates or film.” In his concluding statements, Youngblood emphasizes the importance of the use of technology and the arts in collaboration with one another to progress our society.