Past
The idea for Pro Cyc was born out of the frustration and ingenuity of one man, Fritz von Tagen, as he embarked on the construction of his dream studio nearly 20 years ago. As one of the Northwest's most promising new photographers in the early 1980's, Fritz had always dreamed of having his own cyclorama studio. The time finally came in 1986 when he purchased a vacant lot in downtown Portland, Oregon and began construction on a brand new office building which would also house his dream studio, an 18' high 3-wall cyclorama with a full 5' cove radius. The investment of time and money was great, and construction workers labored for weeks building the studio with plywood and drywall materials. During the construction phase, Fritz lamented several times that there just had to be a better way to build one of these.
About a year later, Fritz was devastated when the entire cyc was ruined by a water mishap during a large photo shoot. With the agony of the previous cyc construction still fresh in his mind, Fritz had the idea to design a mold for the curved sections and build the studio out of fiberglass (a few current Pro Cyc modules are still made from fiberglass, but most are now made using high-impact ABS plastic). The plan was a phenomenal success, and the original Pro Cyc studio was installed in late 1987. The studio was in high demand as a rental studio in downtown Portland, Oregon for over two decades. Customers such as Freightliner, Nike, Adidas, and Steinway, among many others used the versatile studio. Until the day the building was sold in late 2011 it had over 400 coats of paint on its surface and still looked as smooth and even as the day it was installed.
Present
Fritz could not have conceived at that time just how revolutionary his patented molds were, and that 20 years later Pro Cyc would be the world's leading manufacturer of modular cyclorama background systems. In addition to serving as a backdrop for countless studio photographers, Pro Cyc systems are 
now in wide use in broadcast media studios, video and post production sites, government installations, universities and art institutes, and Pro Cyc has become the preferred virtual set backdrop for many of the nation's leading companies in the Virtual Reality industry (see our Portfolio/Client List section for a short list of some of our clients).
Our current product line consists of two 18" radius systems (1.5EZ and 1.5FS), five 36" radius systems (3EZ, Super 3EZ, 4FS, 4BI, and 4QS), our huge 5' radius system (System 5), our Tabletop MiniCyc, Pro Matte™ Cyc Flooring, and the brand new (introduced in October 2007) MyStudio® line of personal tabletop photo studios. The systems can be either built in to existing walls with minimal construction effort, or they can be built to stand alone. Our freestanding systems are very easy to assemble, and depending on size, can also be disassembled, moved, and reassembled at a different location with relative ease. System 4QS can even have a heavy duty caster assembly on it's leg supports which, when activated, allow the studio to be rolled around on wheels!
Pro Cyc prides itself on the durability of each module, and because each module is produced from precision molds with extremely tight tolerances, each piece is guaranteed to be smooth and consistent, ensuring a smooth installation. We work personally with each and every customer to make sure that you are getting the best solution to meet your needs, and our engineering department can custom design a cyclorama solution to meet the needs of the most specialized and demanding situation. With such a combination of versatility, durability, and ingenuity, there is simply no other solution like Pro Cyc on the market today. Our cycloramas can also be painted and used as a green screen or blue screen. And that should be expected; after all, we invented the modular cyc!
Future
Our research and development department is constantly working on new ideas and products to meet the ever-changing needs and demands of today's media and high-tech industries. In 2004 we introduced an exciting and revolutionary new cyc flooring, Pro Matte™ Cyc Flooring, which greatly improves the ease and speed of installation on several of our systems. We spent several years developing the technology (believe it or not, it is quite complex) and since it's release we have been thrilled with the response and demand from our customers. It is no exaggeration when we say there is no product out there like it. Then, to the joy of eBayers everywhere, in October 2007 Pro Cyc entered the "personal" studio market with the revolutionary MyStudio® line (pictured right), bringing cyc technology down to the scale of a desktop, and instantly shattered the barrier to professional quality catalog product photography.
Feedback and suggestions from our customers are essential in helping us stay on the cutting edge of our industry, and we value your input. Please don't hesitate to contact us. We would love to hear from you with any comments or suggestions you might have, or to discuss your particular needs for high quality, cost effective cyclorama backgrounds.