Syke, sike, psch, sych, or plain of white wall

I have heard the permanent seamless background in a photography referred to as a

syke, sike, psch, sych? Anyone else heard this? If so, how is it spelled and

what does it mean. Thanks in advance for any info you can provide. Chuck Green

That's "cyc," short for "cyclorama." You can read up a little on the original use <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclorama" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. For practical purposes, think of it as a wrap-around background surface. Sometimes arcing to the floor, and sometimes shaped sculpturally (in a curve) rather than flat along the wall's vertical surface.

And of course, for the more current use of the term, you can <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclorama_%28theater%29" target="_blank"><b>read this</b></a>. It's perhaps more commonly used in a theatrical context.

A cyclorama, or "Cyc" is a cylindrical background, typically used to create a white void type

space for movies, such as in the prison sequences of THX 1138. The may also be a

painted scenic or colored background and often extend onto the studio floor. In practice,

such backdrops are not usually a 360 degree cylinder; they are usually 180 degrees or less

(although, we did build a 12' diameter, 360 degree black cyc for a film on one occasion).

 

Cycloramas were often used to depict historical scenes in massive 360 degree views

during the late 19th century. See the Atlanta Cyclorama: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Cyclorama

 

This backdrop is separate creature from a seamless paper photographic background.

Typing while Matt was responding...

You win, though, Robert, for having actually BUILT one!

Yeah, not fun.

 

And...added to the shot list that morning by the director. Not fun.

 

Took about 12 hours to build (in the dining room of a suburban house), did fifteen takes

of a 90 second Steadicam shot, tore it down, spent the next three hours rigging the

lighting for the shots actually SCHEDULED in the dining room.

 

Not.

 

Fun.

Many thanks gentlemen. Chuck

So an infinity cove is a cyc? At least in the UK?