Lights, Camera, Action! History of the Rotoscope Invention

Kathleen Seale, coordinator of the SHSMO’s Rolla and Springfield Research Centers digs into a unique SHSMO collection that details a 1950s film technology developed by two Rolla theatre owners Rowe Carney and Tom Smith. Their invention of the rotoscope used a special single camera for filming and a cinema system to project movies in a 180-degree spectrum on a curved screen. The rotoscope was ahead of its time and well before the IMAX motion picture technology emerged. Seale’s presentation includes historic film clips shot in Rolla, Mo. using the rotoscope. Experience the “thrills and chills” of archiving this collection and learn more about these lesser-known Missouri innovators. Sponsored by Missouri Humanities.