The Mareorama was an entertainment attraction at the 1900 Paris Exposition. It was created by Hugo d'Alesi (fr), a painter of advertising posters, and was a combination of moving panoramic paintings and a large motion platform. It is regarded as one of the last major developments in the technology of panoramas, shortly before the medium became obsolete.
Between 1892 and 1900, many attractions were successful for the first time in the form of pantomimes lumineuses. For instance, in 1894, people could see moving photographs in Thomas Edison's kinetoscope and, starting in December 1895, they could see the first Lumière brothers' films. Seeing the success that it had generated, many entrepreneurs tried to incorporate moving images into their already existing amusements, because the recreational qualities of the moving images by themselves were not totally appreciable. So, instead of thinking that the images in movement threatened the panoramas of that time, entrepreneurs initially incorporated films on their panoramic screens with great enthusiasm. [1]
[2] Exhibited at the Paris Exposition in 1900, the attraction was located inside a building in the amusement section, on the Champ de Mars, at the corner of Quai d'Orsay and avenue de Suffren. [3] The Mareorama simultaneously developed two panoramas in motion to the delight of the spectators, who placed themselves among them to create the illusion of being on the deck of a ship.
The two paintings were continuous images of the sea and shoreline from the trip. They were each 750 m (2,460.63 ft) long and 13 m (42.65 ft) tall. [3] To create them, d'Alesi sketched the highlights from a year-long trip he took between Villefranche and Constantinople. [4] [5] He then directed a large team of decorative and scene painters for eight months, to transfer the sketches onto the 19,500 m² (around 210,000 square feet) of canvas. [5] Mounted on large cylinders supported by floats, and driven by hydraulic motors, the two canvases unrolled past the spectators over the course of the simulated journey. The upper edge of each canvas was hooked to small trolleys on a rail and reinforced with a thin steel band to prevent sagging. The cylinders themselves were concealed by curtains and props.
Spectators stood on a platform which represented the deck of a steamship, complete with smoking funnels and steam whistles. In order to give it a rolling and pitching motion, it was mounted on a 5 m (16 ft) square iron frame on a gimbal. A combination of hydraulic cylinders, chains, and electric motors allowed the platform to pitch by up to 50 cm (20 inches) from horizontal, and to roll by up to 20 cm (8 inches).
The realism of the attraction derives both from the theme they represent and from the technology that puts passengers in the middle of things and the simulated movement. There was even a Mareorama that lasted half an hour and accommodated seven hundred spectators at a time, which offered a plausible itinerary to several ports. Among these we find a simulated voyage from Villefranche to Constantinople, passing by Sousse, Naples, and Venice [3] .It was a sensory journey both in time and space. Mareorama, in that way, turned the spectators into "passengers" of a ship, since it simulated the emotion of traveling by sea with moving images, by consisting of a 33 m (around 108 ft) long [3] replica of a steamship and 2 panoramas (one for the port side, one for the starboard) on large rollers.
[6] The sensation of approach and detachment is experienced in an effect of the kinematic telescope: the physical limit of the city, on the edge of the sea, becomes a frame that widens. An open visual space. The views of a city that follow the course of a river that traverses its architecture also provide a cinematic diversity of perspective and movement: a first view of the city from a distance, then it gets closer to your heart and, finally, it moves away. In the words of architectural historian Renzo Dubbini, as one moves with the flow of the current, "the view is regulated by a continuous flow of images that changes constantly. The observation point moves along a succession of the innumerable points of view that make up a geographical route ".
The different scenarios reproduced reality in different ways. Whether relying on the optical illusions generated by the spectators, making references to other realistic genres such as the wax museum, or mechanically simulating the movement with a motion platform. Or whereas, juxtaposing multiple forms by accumulation, such as painted panoramas, moving images or live performances. [7] In order to add to the illusion of a sea voyage, fans created an ocean breeze, which whistled in the rigging. Lighting effects created day- and night-time, as well as flashes of lightning. There were also sounds of the ship's screw and the steam siren. Seaweed and tar provided an olfactory element of the simulation. Overall, the whole experience was complemented by actors portraying deck hands, rushing about, "ostensibly to help anyone who may suffer from mal de mer ". Finally, to impact in all senses at once and obtain the most realistic effect possible, they also presented a symphony composed by H. Kowalski [3] played by an orchestra that could not be seen while the images were represented in the Mareorama. In this way, the sensorial direction of the panorama was multiplied.
This is how a technological march towards an increasingly perfectly realistic reproduction was created and eventually, towards the invention of cinema. However, having said that, in the end the cinema ended up eclipsing the popularity of the panoramas in the early years of the 20th century.
Panoramic paintings are massive artworks that reveal a wide, all-encompassing view of a particular subject, often a landscape, military battle, or historical event. They became especially popular in the 19th century in Europe and the United States, inciting opposition from some writers of Romantic poetry. A few have survived into the 21st century and are on public display. Typically shown in rotundas for viewing, panoramas were meant to be so lifelike they confused the spectator between what was real and what was image.
A panorama is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in the 18th century by the English painter Robert Barker to describe his panoramic paintings of Edinburgh and London. The motion-picture term panning is derived from panorama.
The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next. It was held at the esplanade of Les Invalides, the Champ de Mars, the Trocadéro and at the banks of the Seine between them, with an additional section in the Bois de Vincennes, and it was visited by more than 50 million people. Many international congresses and other events were held within the framework of the Exposition, including the 1900 Summer Olympics.
Panoramic photography is a technique of photography, using specialized equipment or software, that captures images with horizontally elongated fields of view. It is sometimes known as wide format photography. The term has also been applied to a photograph that is cropped to a relatively wide aspect ratio, like the familiar letterbox format in wide-screen video.
Audio-Animatronics is the registered trademark for a form of robotics animation created by Walt Disney Imagineering for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequently expanded on and used by other companies. The robots move and make noise, but are usually fixed to whatever supports them. They can sit and stand but usually cannot walk. An Audio-Animatronic is different from an android-type robot in that it uses prerecorded movements and sounds, rather than responding to external stimuli. In 2009, Disney created an interactive version of the technology called Autonomatronics.
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.
A motion simulator or motion platform is a mechanism that creates the feelings of being in a real motion environment. In a simulator, the movement is synchronised with a visual display of the outside world (OTW) scene. Motion platforms can provide movement in all of the six degrees of freedom (DOF) that can be experienced by an object that is free to move, such as an aircraft or spacecraft:. These are the three rotational degrees of freedom and three translational or linear degrees of freedom.
Cinéorama was an early film experiment and amusement ride presented for the first time at the 1900 Paris Exposition. It was invented by Raoul Grimoin-Sanson and it simulated a ride in a hot air balloon over Paris. It represented a union of the earlier technology of panoramic paintings and the recently invented technology of cinema. It worked by means of a circulatory screen that projects images helped by ten synchronized projectors.
The Trans-Siberian Railway Panorama was a simulated train ride, using a moving panorama, first exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition. The panorama itself is also known as The Great Siberian Route: the Main Trans-Siberian Railway.
The best-known pleorama was a 19th-century moving panorama entertainment where the viewers sat in a rocking boat while panoramic views on painted canvas rolled past. The word has sometimes been used for other entertainments or innovations.
The Battle of Gettysburg, also known as the Gettysburg Cyclorama, is a cyclorama painting by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux depicting Pickett's Charge, the climactic Confederate attack on the Union forces during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.
Spinning tunnels—which are also known as vortex tunnels or rotating tunnels—are devices used at haunted attractions and amusement parks. When people walk through the center of a spinning tunnel they can experience vertigo and a loss of equilibrium as their brains receive conflicting signals from their bodies and senses. Also a pseudo force (imaginary) is felt by us when walking through the tunnel since the brain tries to make sense of the things happening around us, hence a pseudo centrifugal force is felt by us
The moving panorama was an innovation on panoramic painting in the mid-nineteenth century. It was among the most popular forms of entertainment in the world, with hundreds of panoramas constantly on tour in the United Kingdom, the United States, and many European countries. Moving panoramas were often seen in melodramatic plays. It became a new visual element to theatre and helped incorporate a more realistic quality. Not only was it a special effect on stage, but it also served as an ancestor and platform to early cinema.
The Globe Céleste was an icon of the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris, similar to the Eiffel Tower. It was constructed in the shape of a large globe and stood close to the Eiffel Tower. It was in the form of a blue and gold sphere, 45 meters in diameter, on which were painted the constellations and signs of the zodiac. The sphere rested on a base about 18 meters high, made up of four masonry pillars that housed staircases and elevators, giving access to a flower-decked terrace at the top of the globe that was "catered for armchair space-travellers: spectators leaned back in easy chairs while panoramas depicting the solar system were rolled past."
An elevator or lift is a type of cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems such as a hoist, although some pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston like a jack.
A panoramic painting captures all 360 degrees of a scene, as viewed from inside the center of the circle. Typically shown in rotundas for viewing, Romantic Era panoramas were intended to be so lifelike that the viewer became confused as to what was real and what was image.
The Leipzig Panometer is an attraction in Leipzig, Germany. It is a visual panorama displayed inside a former gasometer, accompanied by a thematic exhibition. The current theme is "Carolas Garten". The Panometer was created in 2003 by the Austrian-born artist Yadegar Asisi, who coined the name as a portmanteau of "panorama" and "gasometer". He opened another Panometer in Dresden in 2006. His panoramas are also displayed in Berlin, Pforzheim, Wittenberg, Hanover and Rouen.
A Flying Theater is a themed entertainment technology and adjacent show style. It is a type of simulator ride which consists of one or several motion systems and a large screen. This type of attraction is also known as Panoramic Flying Theaters. The illusion of flight is created through motion that is synchronized with a film. Sound and special effects are combined with the film to create realistic flying experiences.
The Bourbaki Panorama is a circular panoramic painting depicting the internment of the French Armée de l'Est in neutral Switzerland at the end of the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War. The army, led by General Charles-Denis Bourbaki had been defeated in the field while attempting to raise the Siege of Belfort and fled to Switzerland. The Swiss admitted the French soldiers, and local villagers and the Swiss Red Cross provided aid.
The Rue de l'Avenir was an electric moving walkway installed at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. It ran along the edge of the Exposition site, from the Esplanade of Les Invalides to the Champ de Mars, passing through nine stations along the way, where passengers could board. It was designed by architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee and engineer Max E. Schmidt, designers of The Great Wharf Moving Sidewalk installed at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, the first-ever moving walkway.