Re: I packed my bag and in it I put
Posted by:
skiffle (---.range217-44.btcentralplus.com)
Date: March 31, 2003 04:11PM
Cunningly, widescreen in cinema terms, is not the same as when referring to TV, video or DVD.
Films are shot in 3 formats.
Academy (also known as Standard), is the 4:3 almost square format. Was the industry standard until the mid 50's. Fits nicely onto shape of average telly.
Widescreen. This is about twice as wide as the Academy format. When viewed on standard telly, some of the picture will be lost to either side, but not enough to make a huge difference.
Scope. Filmed with an anamorphic lens, which squeezes the image onto a frame the same size as for wide and academy. If you look at a frame of a scope film, the figures will be distorted, long and thin. Must be projected through an anamorphic lens, to make image look right.
Scope films are roughly three times as wide as high - classic letterbox shape. If you try to impose a letterbox on a square (TV), it won't fit. The left and right sides of letterbox do not coincide with square. Anything that is happening in left and right sides of letterbox will not appear on your TV screen.
solution a: pan and scan. TV editor keeps film at full height of square telly and chooses which bit of whole picture to show. Hence shots of people talking to noses appearing at edge of screen. (rest of person attached to nose is somewhere to side of your telly). Also responsible for Jackie Chan being attacked by feet and hands only; rest of stuntman's dramatic action is now taking place off-screen
solution b: To show film in 'widescreen'. Film is shown at full width and height. This means there is area of square TV screen not in use. However, you can now see everything that was actually filmed. You get *all* of the scenery/action and the film remains the way the director intended.
Watching a film like 'The Good, Bad & Ugly' in pan & scan is rather like holding a 6" frame in front of the Mona Lisa and viewing the picture through that, bit by bit.