Aspect Ratios

Q. I keep seeing 4:3 and 16:9 Aspect Ratio. What do all these Aspect Ratios mean?
A. 16:9 refers to the ratio of (picture length) to (picture width). This is the ratio most DVD’s are produced in. In the cinematic release, they are usually in a wider format e.g. 2.35:1 AKA Panavision. The aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 are often seen on DVD boxes when describing what format the movie will be seen in. 1.85:1 is 16:9. Presumably because it’s much easier to say “sixteen by nine” instead of “one point eight five to one”. Below are examples of different aspect ratios and their effect on the picture you see.

Plasma and LCD TV’s have an auto switching capability that detects what the source picture is. Stations that are broadcasting a ‘Widescreen’ picture will be automatically detected and switch the viewing mode of the screen to 16:9 Widescreen. This means your entire TV screen will be filled with the image without any black bars on either the sides, top or bottom.

When an old style 4:3 picture is broadcast your TV will stretch this (if it is in Auto mode) so as to fill the entire screen but the images will appear short and fat. If you select 4:3 mode your image will be correct but you will see a black bar either side. You can choose which you like best. Other manufacturers also have a Zoom function so you can actually zoom into the picture. This fills the screen and removes the black bars but you will loose some of the picture as well.

Cinerama - With aspect ratios of 3.0:1, 2.77:1, 2.75:1, and 2.59:1. When transferred to video in its full Widescreen ratio, this format produced the most "letterboxing" effect. This method of filming actually used three cameras, after which the three images were interlocked together. How The West Was Won was filmed in this format.

For Example: The film How The West Was Won, was filmed in Cinerama, with the three images put together, if you look very close you can see the lines where the three pictures interlock, and the difference in color between the frames. I’m not for sure if they use the Pan and Scan technique or just jump from one section of the film to the other, when I find out I will update this page.

CinemaScope - With aspect ratios of 2.66:1, 2.55:1,and 2.35:1. The aspect ratio started out 2.66:1 but was reduced to 2.55:1 when the addition of sound tracks on the film. This was the most commonly used method of filming movies because it's only major requirement is a special CinemaScope projector lens, which is available at virtually every movie theatre. CinemaScope was originally created by 20th Century Fox, but it is no longer in use. Panavision replaced CinemaScope in the early 70s. The Robe, and Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea were filmed in Cinemascope. *For Example:* On the left Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea in its original Widescreen aspect ratio of 2.55:1 which means the screen is 2.55 times wider than its height, and on the right is an example of the Pan and Scan version, with the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, cut down so it can fit your TV screen.

VistaVision - With aspect ratios of 1.96:1, 1.85:1, and 1.66:1. VistaVision was filmed with a specially designed camera which was mounted on its side and it required a special projector, but its image quality was better than standard 35mm. Vertigo, To Catch a Thief, and North by Northwest were filmed in this format. This film format is still used today, but only for special effects shots, because it gives the film maker a large clean negative to work with, which is especially important if you are adding computer graphic imagery to the shot. Apollo13, Contact, and Twister all used Vista Vision for special effects shots that had computer graphics added to them.

Todd-AO - With aspect ratios of 2.35:1, 2.20:1. This process uses a 65mm negative printed onto 70mm film, with a six-track soundtrack, producing a very high quality picture. Many of the great epics and musicals of the 50s and 60s used this format. Oklahoma, South Pacific and Around the World in 80 Days used the 2.20:1 aspect ratio, and movies in the 70s and 80s like 2001 A Space Odyssey, Dune and Logans Run used the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. *For Example:* On the left Around the World in 80 Days in its original Widescreen aspect ratio of 2.20:1 which means the screen is 2.20 times wider than its height, and on the right is an example of the Pan and Scan version, with the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, cut down so it can fit your TV screen.

Technirama - variable aspect ratio. This process was developed by the Technicolor Corporation, as a way to continue using its three-color process in the wake of competing Eastman Color. It required both a specially developed sideways camera (like VistaVision) and a widescreen lens (like CinemaScope). Night Passage, Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, and Spartacus were filmed in this format.

For Example: On the left Disney's Sleeping Beauty in its original Widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 which means the screen is 2.35 times wider than its height, and on the right is an example of the Pan and Scan version, with the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, cut down so it can fit your TV screen, as you can see the Pan and Scan version cuts off half of one character, and cuts out two others characters.


Ultra Panavision 70 - 2.76:1 aspect ratio. MGM Camera 65 used identical film stocks as Todd-AO for camera negative and prints. Only two films were shown using the anamorphic squeeze in the 70mm print. Other 70mm presentations were done with optical 70mm prints made with the compression eliminated or the quasi-Cinerama 70mm single film system. After Raintree County and Ben-Hur, which used 35mm prints made with letterbox type maskings at the top and bottom of the frame to preserve the 2.76:1 aspect ratio, all other productions used 35mm anamorphic prints with dimensions compatible with CinemaScope. *For Example:* On the left Ben Hur in its original Widescreen aspect ratio of 2.76:1 which means the screen is 2.76 times wider than its height, and on the right is an example of the Pan and Scan version, with the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, cut down so it can fit your TV screen, as you can see you are missing more than half of the picture.

Panavision - With aspect ratios of 2.35:1 and 1.85:1. The Panavision company became the most successful maker of widescreen lenses, and in the 1970s their Panavision lenses became the "standard" for widescreen. CinemaScope was retired in favor of Panavision, and Panavision still makes the lenses for most of the major studio productions today. Panavision also makes lenses for films made with matting as opposed to true widescreen, and these matted films are not necessarily 2.35:1. Another aspect ratio from Panavision is the 1.85:1 or known as 16x9, and is the standard set for HDTV. DVD video format has the 16x9 viewing option, but not all DVD movies are in 1.85:1 aspect ratio, you need a Widescreen Television to select the 16x9 option and if the movie aspect ratio is over the 1.85:1, you will still have the back bars on top and the bottom of the movie, but the bars will not be as wide as they are on a normal Television set.

For Example: On the left Star Wars in its original Widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 which means the screen is 2.35 times wider than its height, and on the right is an example of the Pan and Scan version, with the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, cut down so it can fit your TV screen, as you can see it cuts out Ben and Han, so when they start to talk the camera must pan to the right to see them, and pan back to see Luke, that is where they get Pan and Scan.

Another Example: On the left Lost World in its original Widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 which means the screen is 1.85 times wider than its height, and on the right is an example of the Pan and Scan version, with the aspect ratio of 1.33:1. In this aspect ratio when it’s cut down to fit the TV, it’s not cutting out a whole lot of the movie, but it still isn’t what the director intended.

Super 35 -2.35:1 aspect ratio this process does not involve widescreen lenses, but rather it involves framing the picture to fit the ratio of the screen. The top and bottom of the frame are "matted" out and removed from the picture completely, resulting in a rectangular picture. Some of the older movies made in this format are transferred to video with the top and bottom of the frame restored, so that you actually see more of the picture on video than you did in the theater...but this is not a good thing, because the director did not intend to use the top and bottom of the frame in the first place! This is why people talk about boom mikes appearing on video, when they were never there in the theater. This is more proof that letterboxing is the proper format, because it shows us that the entire video screen is not what the director intended. The Abyss, Aliens, Terminator 2 True Lies and Titanic were all shot in Super 35.

For Example James Cameron shoots the film with the original theatrical aspect ratio 2.35:1 in mind. After that, he transfers the whole movie from the original Super-35 film to a high-resolution digital format. From that it is fairly easy to extract the theatrical widescreen version, as well as a special pan & scan version. Let's have a look at an original Super 35-frame in the middle, the red square indicates the widescreen area, which is naturally the same all the time, and which was visible to the cameraman. The blue pan & scan area, however, can move in any direction and can change in size, too. This means that while in the example the pan & scan version offers more vertical information and loses little horizontal information, that is not always the case. Sometimes Cameron zooms in the picture to better highlight the point he is wanting to make, also it must be noted, that all special effects were shot with an aspect ratio of 2.1:1, and those must naturally be severely panned & scanned. Here are example pictures of both the widescreen version on the left, and the pan & scan version on the right.

Pan and Scan - 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The Pan and Scan is what you see on most VHS Videos, and all TV shows and if you watch movies in this format you are missing about half of the actual movie, in some cases even more, that is why they call it Pan and Scan, because it is necessary to pan and scan the for the point of interest in the movie. Sometimes if they can’t use the pan and scan effectively, they will stretch the image vertically, distorting the image, which gets really annoying.