3-D Inventor, Writer, Director, Cameraman
EDUCATION
– 1943 – CORNELL UNIVERSITY – Pre-Engineering
– 1944 – UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO – Liberal Arts – Bachelor of Philosophy
– 1947 – ACADEMIE JULIENNE, PARIS, France – Painting,
– 1947 – UNIVERSITY OF GENEVA, Switzerland – Philosophy
– 1948-50 CENTRO EXPERIMENTAL DI CINEMA, ROME, Italy – Diploma in Film Direction
– 1958 – ANNENBERG SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION, Univ. of Pennsylvania – Master of Communication Arts
MILITARY SERVICE
– 1945 – US ARMY – Infantry,
– 1947 – MEDICAL CORPS – General Field Hospital, Marseille, France – Ran all Motion Picture Services and Base Motion Picture Theater.
– 1947 – Honorable Discharge
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
– DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA (DGA) – Director
– INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THEATRICAL AND STAGE EMPLOYEES – Director of Photography
TRAVEL
Mort traveled and worked throughout the United States, Europe, and Central America. He lived 1-1/2 yrs in France, 3 yrs in Mexico, 5 yrs in Italy, 6 months each in Taiwand in Mainland China. As a result of these travels he is fluent in French, Spanish and Italian.
TEACHING
– 1958 – ANNENBERG SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Course in History of Film
– 1959 – CLUMBIA UNIVERSITY – Course in Documentary Film Production
– 1978 – UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, EXTENSION – Cinema of the Future
– 1994 – CAL STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH – Seminar on Virtual Reality
PAPERS
– “ENTER THE EXPERIENTIAL REVOLUTION” – CYBERARTS – Miller Freeman
– “MORT HEILIG’S RESPONSE” – Computer Graphics – Vol 28, Number 2
– “CINEMA OF THE FUTURE” – Published in 1955 in “Expacios”, re-published in 1992 in “Presence” , MIT Press Read Online
– “THE LEARNING WALL” – Dubnoff School of Education (1971) Read Online
– “PSYCHICAL DESIGN” – Annenberg School of Communication, Univ. of Pennsyl. (1960) Read Online
– “BLUEPRINT FOR A NEW HOLLYWOOD” – (1971) Mort Heilig, self published READ ONLINE
CONSULTING
THE DUBNOFF SCHOOL OF EDUCATIONAL THERAPY, NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA – Designed and built “The Learning Wall Room”, a special media room, featuring a large life-size rear projected scren image, with which students interact.
WALT DISNEY ENTERPRISES (WED), BURBANK, CA – Designed special effects, illusions, interactive experience rooms, and the “Thrillerama” 3-D theater. Largely responsible for awakening Disney’s interest in 3-D
WRATHER ENTERTAINMENT CORP. , BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Consultant and assistant to Project Director to the Howard Hughes “Spruce Goose” exhibit in Long Beach, CA, Developed show concepts for the “Queen Mary”
GARY GODDARD PRODUCTIONS (now LANDMARK), HOLLYWOOD, CA – Designed special effects for theme park attractions.
TEENAGE WORLD’s FAIR INC, CENTURY CITY, CA – Cheif designer (never built)
STEREOGRAPHICS INC., SAN RAFAEL, CA – 3-D Director-Cameraman on several StereoGraphics demo films, helped design 3-D Video Camera.
SONY PICTURES CORP., CULVER CITY, CA – 3-D Cameraman , evaluating use of 65mm PanaVision-StereoVision 3-D camera, and IMAX 3-D cameras for Sony’s “Wings of Courage” large-screen 3-D production.
AWARDS
– Two Fullbright Scholarships
– NBC President’s Award
– Italian Government Prize
– Annenberg Motion Picture Fellowship
– Foothill College, Palo Alto, CA – Third Prize
– Cine Foundation, Venice – Premio San Giorgio
– American Film Festival – Honors
– International Documentary Film Festival, Oberhausen – Fist Prize
– Three Cine Goldn Eagle Awards
– International Science Fiction Festival, Trieste – Diploma
– Nicola Tesla National Film Festival, Belgrade – Special Diploma
– Villa Dolic, Spain – Diploma
– Auteurs Award, Cannes Film Festival, France, 1974
– Long Island International Film Festival – First Prize, Golden Glove Award for Best Feature Film: ” ONCE”
– International Award Winning Selection of the Mid-80’s Product design, By Sandra Edwards and Editors of ID (Industrial Design) Magazine
INVENTIONS
Mort Heilig has designed over one hundred inventions. The following are some that have been built.
SENSORAMA MOTION PICTURE PROJECTOR – A closed loop 35 mm projector capable of projecting a 10 minute 35mm film 16,000 times (the formerrecord was 2000 times)
SENSORAMA 3-D MOTION PICTURE CAMERA – Side-by-side dual film 35mm 3-D motion picture camera, with two 400 ft magazines. This camera is small enough to be hand-held.
THRILLERAMA THEATER – Rear Projected 3-D motion picture system with live actors in front of the screen, interacting with teh 3-D images on the screen.
HASSELBLAD 3-D CAMERA MOUNT- Designed for shooting large 3-D stills with side-by-side Hasselblad cameras.
HASSELBLAD 3-D CAMERA MOUNT- Designed for shooting large 3-D stills with side-by-side Hasselblad cameras.
PIG PIX 3-D VIEWER – A still viewer, that presents large peripheral 3-D images, which can be folded flat and sent through the mail.
MOTOCRUISER – A gas powered 3-wheel stand up scooter, with folding handle, that fits into the trunk of a car
POWERSKOOT – An electric battery powered 3-wheel sit down scooter that folds and fits into the trunk of a car.
TWINBLADE ROLLER SKATES – Rollerskates that combine some of the best features of in-line and quad (four-wheel) skates.
ROLLERHANDS – Rhand weights that provide skaters with upper body exercise, rear view mirrors, and shock absorption in the event of a fall.
PATENTS
TELESPHERE MASK – First patented head-mounted display, with stereoscopic (3-D) TV, wide vision and true binaural sound.. 1960 READ ONLINE
EXPERIENCE THEATER – A motion picture theater that gives a large audience an illusion of reality, via 3-D motion pictures, with peripheral imagery, directional sound, aromas, wind, temperature variations and body tilting. 1969 READ ONLINE
SENSORAMA SIMULATOR – A simulator for one to four people that provides an illusion of reality. 1962 READ ONLINE
SUPERCRUISER SCOOTER – A four wheel, foot-powered scooter, with dual drum brakes, and quick-folding handle. 1985
ALL TERRAIN SKATEBOARD – A skateboard with four 8-inch pneumatic tires and an up-and-down foot deck. 1989