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16:9 is always 16:9

24.208.213.190

Posted by Hamronia on October 15, 2002 at 09:56:36

In Reply to: When is 16:9 not 16:9 ? posted by kyzyltuva on October 15, 2002 at 07:29:20:

But it's not the only theatrical film ratio. If the director wants to go for an epic feel or very wide shots, he/she will opt for 2.35:1, which is wider (and thus narrower) than 16:9. (See my post below.) You were watching a 16:9 OAR film on a 16:9 display.

Original aspect ratios (OARs) are not standard in the filmm industry. Our old TV sets were 4:3 because most films until the early 1950s were released in that aspect ratio. With the advent of free TV boadcasting, studios hit upon widecsreen films as a method of giving the consumer "more" thus luring tham back to movie theaters. So we had all variety of widescreen formats - cinerama, cinemascope, etc.

Most theatrical films today are released in either 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 (not 70mm, that's too expensive, films like LOTR and Star Wars are shot in 35mm or Super 35. AOTC was shot on HD video. If you want to have the rare 70mm experience, go see the re-release of Lawrence of Arabia.) 2:35 is skinnier (wider) than 16:9. That's why you see narrow bars top and bottom on a 16:9 display. You'd see very large bars top and bottom on a 4:3 set.

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