Morton Heilig
Encyclopedia
Morton Heilig was a thought-leader in Virtual Reality
(VR). He applied his cinematographer
experience and with the help of his partner developed the Sensorama
over several years from 1957, patenting it in 1962.
It was big, bulky, and shaped like a 1980-ish arcade game. The Sensorama
was quite impressive for 1960 technology. The game gave the player the experience of riding a motorcycle on the streets of Brooklyn. The player felt the wind on their face, the vibration of the motorcycle seat, a 3D
view, and even smells of the city.
Morton wanted to create “cinema of the future.” The Sensorama
was doomed, however, from the high costs of the filmmaking. The problem was not that the apparatus addressed the wrong senses; the business community just couldn't figure out how to sell it. He was not able to find the amount of funds necessary to create new 3-D films “obtained with three 35 mm cameras mounted on the cameraman.”
Morton is buried at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery
in Mission Hills
, Los Angeles
, California, USA.
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
(VR). He applied his cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
experience and with the help of his partner developed the Sensorama
Sensorama
The Sensorama was a machine that is one of the earliest known examples of immersive, multi-sensory technology. Morton Heilig, who today would be thought of as a “multimedia” specialist, in the 1950s saw theater as an activity that could encompass all the senses in an effective manner, thus...
over several years from 1957, patenting it in 1962.
It was big, bulky, and shaped like a 1980-ish arcade game. The Sensorama
Sensorama
The Sensorama was a machine that is one of the earliest known examples of immersive, multi-sensory technology. Morton Heilig, who today would be thought of as a “multimedia” specialist, in the 1950s saw theater as an activity that could encompass all the senses in an effective manner, thus...
was quite impressive for 1960 technology. The game gave the player the experience of riding a motorcycle on the streets of Brooklyn. The player felt the wind on their face, the vibration of the motorcycle seat, a 3D
Stereoscopy
Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
view, and even smells of the city.
Morton wanted to create “cinema of the future.” The Sensorama
Sensorama
The Sensorama was a machine that is one of the earliest known examples of immersive, multi-sensory technology. Morton Heilig, who today would be thought of as a “multimedia” specialist, in the 1950s saw theater as an activity that could encompass all the senses in an effective manner, thus...
was doomed, however, from the high costs of the filmmaking. The problem was not that the apparatus addressed the wrong senses; the business community just couldn't figure out how to sell it. He was not able to find the amount of funds necessary to create new 3-D films “obtained with three 35 mm cameras mounted on the cameraman.”
Morton is buried at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery
Eden Memorial Park Cemetery
Eden Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery located at 11500 Sepulveda Boulevard, Mission Hills, California, in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles.-Notable interments:*John Brown , actor*Lenny Bruce , comedian...
in Mission Hills
Mission Hills
-California:* Mission Hills, California, in Santa Barbara County* Mission Hills, Los Angeles, a community within Los Angeles* Mission Hills, San Diego, an old subdivision in north-central San Diego-Elsewhere:* Mission Hills, Kansas, in Johnson County...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California, USA.