The idea behind cinerama was that a sense of depth and realism could be achieved through the projection onto a wide curved screen, that included the viewers peripheral vision. The idea originated from motion picture engineer Fred Waller.
[Ref: Drawing of the Broadway Theatre, Encyclopaedia Brittanica]
The screen was built according to the original specifications, with the center 120 degrees curved and the 13 degrees on each side flat. Larger screens didn't usually need to have the sides flattened. Over the years, until the advent of the Super Cinerama theatre design, a great many variations in screen installation were used in order to accommodate architectural features in each theatre conversion.
[Ref: Widescreen Museum, Martin Hart, 1996-2010]
Another contribution to the media and its presentation, Walker came up with the invention of a 360 degree still camera. Piecing a photograph together from a group of scans provided by Peter Rondum, they briefly put the camera on the market, and you were able to achieve photographs such as this below.
[Ref: Widescreen Museum, Fred Waller, Provided by Peter Rondum]
If I were to take anything from Walkers work, it'd be the idea of creating a panoramic still photograph, widening the view and the experience gained from viewing the image, giving it a grander scale. Even if I didn't use it in my FMP. It'd be something I would consider experimenting with in the future.
