History Main / AspectRatio

At the start most films and analog television formats around the world had a ratio of 4:3[[note]]Some standards used 5:4 (1.25:1) aspect ratio. This included UsefulNotes/{{Britain}}'s 405 line TV and some computer monitors with 1280x1024 resolution[[/note]] (1.33:1, very close to cinema's "Academy Ratio" of 1.375:1), meaning that the image you see is four units wide and three units tall. Widescreen televisions use 16:9 (1.78:1), but this format didn't really catch on in the USA until UsefulNotes/HighDefinition television broadcasts caught on. Interestingly, most (but not all) UsefulNotes/HighDefinition cameras used for film shoot at a 16:9 ratio.

The most common aspect ratios for feature films today are 1.85:1 (sometimes mistakenly called "16:9") or 2.39:1 (also known as [=CinemaScope=] or "Scope"). Most silent films used the 4:3 aspect ratio, whereas "talkies" used "Academy" ratio of 1.375:1. The latter is the one the UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s set as the standard ratio back in 1932.[[note]]There were scattered examples of pre-[[TheFifties 1950s]] films shot in widescreen. One is the 1927 film ''[[Film/Napoleon1927 Napoléon]]'', whose climax used three projectors side by side, much like Cinerama would use 25 years later. Its aspect ratio was 4:1, which still remains the widest aspect ratio in movie history. Another was ''Film/TheBigTrail'' with Creator/JohnWayne from way back in 1930. It was a BoxOfficeBomb and [[GenreKiller helped kill the widescreen format for 20 years]].[[/note]] It was the uprising of television in TheFifties that led to the film industry seeking out methods of innovation to stay competitive. A lot of attempts at innovation were gimmicky and didn't last long--the first round of 3D, for instance--but two, the increased use of Color film and wider aspect ratios, proved enduring. Various ratios were tried; the widest ratio of all was Cinerama, which used three projectors to display a 2.89:1 image.[[note]]Problems with the synchronization of the three projectors doomed Cinerama as a serious production format, but in terms of sheer spectacle, it was a precursor to IMAX.[[/note]]

[[Platform/{{VCR}} VHS and Betamax]] releases typically used open matte when possible[[note]]This meant if a movie was shot on standard 4-perf 35mm film with a spherical lens, there is more image not present in the theatrical release on the top and bottom, which can be used to fill the 4:3 frame with minimal cropping[[/note]], and P&S when it's not[[note]]Typically for movies shot on anamorphic 35mm. That means the 2.39:1 frame is all the information ever recorded for the movie, and cannot be opened up vertically.[[/note]]. Some letterboxed VHS tapes exist, but are uncommon. UsefulNotes/LaserDisc started releasing letterbox versions of almost every movie[[note]]Only for movies shot natively in widescreen. Academy Ratio and silent movies were exempt.[[/note]] (alongside some P&S versions) in TheNineties, as it was seen as the format of film buffs and A/V geeks.

[[UsefulNotes/{{VCR}} VHS and Betamax]] releases typically used open matte when possible[[note]]This meant if a movie was shot on standard 4-perf 35mm film with a spherical lens, there is more image not present in the theatrical release on the top and bottom, which can be used to fill the 4:3 frame with minimal cropping[[/note]], and P&S when it's not[[note]]Typically for movies shot on anamorphic 35mm. That means the 2.39:1 frame is all the information ever recorded for the movie, and cannot be opened up vertically.[[/note]]. Some letterboxed VHS tapes exist, but are uncommon. UsefulNotes/LaserDisc started releasing letterbox versions of almost every movie[[note]]Only for movies shot natively in widescreen. Academy Ratio and silent movies were exempt.[[/note]] (alongside some P&S versions) in TheNineties, as it was seen as the format of film buffs and A/V geeks.

While P&S and open matte UsefulNotes/{{DVD}}s exist, they are uncommon. DVD was credited with killing P&S and popularizing letterbox, to the delight of film buffs and directors. DVD had two aspect ratio modes: 4:3 and anamorphic widescreen. Both used 720x480 resolution (or 720x576 for PAL/SECAM materials)[[note]]With square pixels, the aspect ratio would be 3:2, or 1.5:1[[/note]]. 4:3 mode was used for 4:3 and Academy Ratio content. Anamorphic mode squeezes a 16:9 image along the horizontal axis and sets a flag bit in the header data, so that if your DVD player and 16:9 TV were correctly set up the image would be restored to the correct width when played back. (If they were not correctly set up, everyone would look alarmingly thin; the reverse was true for 4:3 materials stretched incorrectly, as if they were 16:9, which made everyone look fat - some [[FelonyMisdemeanour absolute monsters]] were apparently completely okay with this because it didn't have those annoying black bars on the sides, and never mind that it turned everyone into later-career Creator/MarlonBrando). On a 4:3 display, the player would generate the letterbox itself. This allowed widescreen images to use more of the available resolution, compared to a 16:9 image letterboxed into 4:3. For native 16:9 content, the letterbox is completely gone.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/133ca62b9f200cf51104c19a1804f17e.png]]

The most common aspect ratios for feature films today are 1.85:1 (sometimes mistakenly called "16:9") or 2.39:1 (also known as [=CinemaScope=] or "Scope"). Most silent films used the 4:3 aspect ratio, whereas "talkies" used "Academy" ratio of 1.375:1. The latter is the one the UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s set as the standard ratio back in 1932.[[note]]There were scattered examples of pre-[[TheFifties 1950s]] films shot in widescreen. One is the 1927 film ''Film/{{Napoleon}}'', whose climax used three projectors side by side, much like Cinerama would use 25 years later. Its aspect ratio was 4:1, which still remains the widest aspect ratio in movie history. Another was ''Film/TheBigTrail'' with Creator/JohnWayne from way back in 1930. It was a BoxOfficeBomb and [[GenreKiller helped kill the widescreen format for 20 years]].[[/note]] It was the uprising of television in TheFifties that led to the film industry seeking out methods of innovation to stay competitive. A lot of attempts at innovation were gimmicky and didn't last long--the first round of 3D, for instance--but two, the increased use of Color film and wider aspect ratios, proved enduring. Various ratios were tried; the widest ratio of all was Cinerama, which used three projectors to display a 2.89:1 image.[[note]]Problems with the synchronization of the three projectors doomed Cinerama as a serious production format, but in terms of sheer spectacle, it was a precursor to IMAX.[[/note]]

Aspect Ratio can also be an issue with cameraphone footage. Creator/CharlieBrooker has complained about people filming with their phones held upright, producing a tall, narrow image instead of the "correct" widescreen ratio.[[note]]Not all cameraphones actually shoot in 16:9 widescreen--depending on the camera component, the screen dimensions, and the software, ratios can vary from 1.33:1 all the way up to 1.77:1 and beyond.[[/note]] WebVideo/GloveAndBoots would like you to take three minutes to watch their PSA on the subject [[https://youtu.be/dechvhb0Meo here]]. If you want to learn more about the evolution of the Aspect Ratio in movie history, check out [[https://vimeo.com/68830569 this webcast]].

While P&S and open matte UsefulNotes/{{DVD}}s exist, they are uncommon. DVD was credited with killing P&S and popularizing letterbox, to the delight of film buffs and directors. DVD had two aspect ratio modes: 4:3 and anamorphic widescreen. Both used 720x480 resoluton[[note]]With square pixels, the aspect ratio would be 3:2, or 1.5:1[[/note]]. 4:3 mode was used for 4:3 and Academy Ratio content. Anamorphic widescreen mode used VisualCompression to squeeze a 16:9 image on the disc. On a 4:3 display, the player will generate the letterbox itself, whereas on a 16:9 display, the image is stretched to normal. This allowed widescreen images to get more pixels and the letterbox to be smaller. For native 16:9 content, the letterbox is completely gone.

The most common aspect ratios for feature films today are 1.85:1 (sometimes mistakenly called "16:9") or 2.39:1 (also known as [=CinemaScope=] or "Scope"). Most silent films used the 4:3 aspect ratio, whereas "talkies" used "Academy" ratio of 1.375:1. The latter is the one the UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s set as the standard ratio back in 1932.[[note]]There were scattered examples of pre-[[TheFifties 1950s]] films shot in widescreen. One is the 1927 film ''Film/{{Napoleon}}'', whose climax used three projectors side by side, much like Cinerama would use 25 years later. Its aspect ratio was 4:1, which still remains the widest aspect ratio in movie history. Another was ''Film/TheBigTrail'' with Creator/JohnWayne from way back in 1930. It bombed at the box office and helped kill the widescreen format for 20 years.[[/note]] It was the uprising of television in TheFifties that led to the film industry seeking out methods of innovation to stay competitive. A lot of attempts at innovation were gimmicky and didn't last long--the first round of 3D, for instance--but two, the increased use of Color film and wider aspect ratios, proved enduring. Various ratios were tried; the widest ratio of all was Cinerama, which used three projectors to display a 2.89:1 image.[[note]]Problems with the synchronization of the three projectors doomed Cinerama as a serious production format, but in terms of sheer spectacle, it was a precursor to IMAX.[[/note]]

Because the WidescreenShot of a feature film is so often different from that of a television screen, a movie image will not fit squarely within a TV screen when released for home video or shown on broadcast television. In order to get around this problem, the aspect ratio of the film must be altered. There are a few common methods for doing this: PanAndScan (hereby P&S), {{Letterbox}}, OpenMatte, and VisualCompression.

[[AspectRatioSwitch Multiple aspect ratios]] have been occasionally used by directors and game designers and like for cinematic reasons. For example, in ''Film/TheGrandBudapestHotel'' Academy Ratio is used for some scenes to convey it's the olden days (since in cinema it has started to fall into disuse in favor of widescreen in TheFifties), and video games might have cutscenes in 21:9[[note]]21:9 is an approximation of ultrawide aspect ratios.[[/note]] Meanwhile, ''Film/{{Brainstorm}}'' [[https://youtu.be/FWcc6Xdo0z0 switched between two ratios]]; the "real world" sequences were filmed in spherical 35mm and have a 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The "Brainstorm" sequences were shot with Super Panavision 70 and are in 2.20:1 aspect ratio.

Almost no monitor, movie or video has that ratio precisely (2.33:1). They may be 64:27 (4^3:3^3, 2.37:1), the mathematical third step in TV aspect ratios, 2.40:1 (12:5), or anything in between.[[/note]] to give the appearance of being a movie (21:9 being the closest aspect ratio to 2.39:1). There are a couple of reasons to do this; first, changing the aspect ratio alerts the player that they are no longer in control of what is happening and can just watch the story; second, if the cutscene is pre-rendered, the black bars compress down to almost zero (or can be omitted from the encode and added in again at playback), letting you drop the bitrate on the compression slightly, shaving a small amount off the overall file size - which, if you have many hours of cutscenes, can add up to a significant space saving.

[[AspectRatioSwitch Multiple aspect ratios]] have been occasionally used by directors and game designers and like for cinematic reasons. For example, in ''Film/TheGrandBudapestHotel'' Academy Ratio is used for some scenes to convey it's the olden days (since in cinema it has started to fall into disuse in favor of widescreen in TheFifties), and video games might have cutscenes in 21:9[[note]]21:9 is an approximation of ultrawide aspect ratios. Meanwhile, ''Film/{{Brainstorm}}'' [[https://youtu.be/FWcc6Xdo0z0 switched between two ratios]]; the "real world" sequences were filmed in spherical 35mm and have a 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The "Brainstorm" sequences were shot with Super Panavision 70 and are in 2.20:1 aspect ratio.

[[AspectRatioSwitch Multiple aspect ratios]] have been occasionally used by directors and game designers and like for cinematic reasons. For example, in ''Film/TheGrandBudapestHotel'' Academy Ratio is used for some scenes to convey it's the olden days (since in cinema it has started to fall into disuse in favor of widescreen in TheFifties), and video games might have cutscenes in 21:9[[note]]21:9 is an approximation of ultrawide aspect ratios.

Because the WidescreenShot of a feature film is so often different from that of a television screen, a movie image will not fit squarely within a TV screen when released for home video or shown on broadcast television. In order to get around this problem, the aspect ratio of the film must be altered. There are a few common methods for doing this: PanAndScan (hereby P&S), {{Letterbox}}, open matte, and VisualCompression.

For example, most analog television formats around the world have a ratio of 4:3[[note]]Some standards used 5:4 (1.25:1) aspect ratio. This included UsefulNotes/{{Britain}}'s 405 line TV and some computer monitors with 1280x1024 resolution[[/note]] (1.33:1, very close to cinema's "Academy Ratio" of 1.375:1), meaning that the image you see is four units wide and three units tall. Widescreen televisions use 16:9 (1.78:1), but this format didn't really catch on in the USA until UsefulNotes/HighDefinition television broadcasts caught on. Interestingly, most (but not all) UsefulNotes/HighDefinition cameras used for film shoot at a 16:9 ratio.

The most common aspect ratios for feature films today are 1.85:1 (sometimes mistakenly called "16:9"; generally used for comedy, drama, or other small scale projects without much emphasis on set design or scenery) or 2.39:1 (also known as [=CinemaScope=] or "Scope"; generally used for action, science fiction, "epic scope", and other large scale projects). Most silent films used the 4:3 aspect ratio, whereas "talkies" used "Academy" ratio of 1.375:1. The latter is the one the UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s set as the standard ratio back in 1932.[[note]]There were scattered examples of pre-[[TheFifties 1950s]] films shot in widescreen. One is the 1927 film ''Film/{{Napoleon}}'', whose climax used three projectors side by side, much like Cinerama would use 25 years later. Its aspect ratio was 4:1, which still remains the widest aspect ratio in movie history. Another was ''Film/TheBigTrail'' with Creator/JohnWayne from way back in 1930. It bombed at the box office and helped kill the widescreen format for 20 years.[[/note]] It was the uprising of television in TheFifties that led to the film industry seeking out methods of innovation to stay competitive. A lot of attempts at innovation were gimmicky and didn't last long--the first round of 3D, for instance--but two, the increased use of Color film and wider aspect ratios, proved enduring. Various ratios were tried; the widest ratio of all was Cinerama, which used three projectors to display a 2.89:1 image.[[note]]Problems with the synchronization of the three projectors doomed Cinerama as a serious production format, but in terms of sheer spectacle, it was a precursor to IMAX.[[/note]] One should keep in mind that wider aspect ratio is not necessarily largest. Creator/{{IMAX}} Grand Theatres (GT), known by movie buffs as "true" IMAX theaters, have the largest screens in the world, but only has a ratio of 1.43:1. Think of it as being both taller and wider.

While P&S and open matte UsefulNotes/{{DVD}}s exist, they are uncommon. DVD was credited with killing P&S and popularizing letterbox, to the delight of film buffs and directors. DVD had two aspect ratio modes: 4:3 and anamorphic widescreen. Both used 720x480 resoluton[[note]]With square pixels, the aspect ratio would be 3:2, or 1.5:1[[/note]]. 4:3 mode was used for 4:3 and Academy Ratio content. Anamorphic widescreen mode used VisualCompression to squeeze a 16:9 image on the disc. On a 4:3 display, the player will generate the letterbox itself, whereas on a 16:9 display. the image is stretched to normal. This allowed widescreen images to get more pixels and the letterbox to be smaller. For native 16:9 content, the letterbox is completely gone.

The most common aspect ratios for feature films today are 1.85:1 (sometimes mistakenly called "16:9"; generally used for comedy, drama, or other small scale projects without much emphasis on set design or scenery) or 2.39:1 (also known as [=CinemaScope=] or "Scope"; generally used for action, science fiction, "epic scope", and other large scale projects). Most silent films used the 4:3 aspect ratio, whereas "talkies" used "Academy" ratio of 1.375:1. The latter is the one the UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s set as the standard ratio back in 1932.[[note]]There were scattered examples of films from the dawn of the talkie era shot in widescreen. One is ''Film/TheBigTrail'' with Creator/JohnWayne from way back in 1930. It bombed at the box office and helped kill the widescreen format for 20 years. Another was the 1927 film ''Film/{{Napoleon}}'', whose climax used three projectors side by side in a 4:1 aspect ratio, much like Cinerama would use 25 years later.[[/note]] It was the uprising of television in TheFifties that led to the film industry seeking out methods of innovation to stay competitive. A lot of attempts at innovation were gimmicky and didn't last long--the first round of 3D, for instance--but two, the increased use of Color film and wider aspect ratios, proved enduring. Various ratios were tried; the widest ratio of all was Cinerama, which used three projectors to display a 2.89:1 image.[[note]]Problems with the synchronization of the three projectors doomed Cinerama as a serious production format, but in terms of sheer spectacle, it was a precursor to IMAX.[[/note]] One should keep in mind that wider aspect ratio is not necessarily largest. Creator/{{IMAX}} Grand Theatres (GT), known by movie buffs as "true" IMAX theaters, have the largest screens in the world, but only has a ratio of 1.43:1. Think of it as being both taller and wider.

Because the WidescreenShot of a feature film is so often different from that of a television screen, a movie image will not fit squarely within a TV screen when released for home video or shown on broadcast television. In order to get around this problem, the aspect ratio of the film must be altered. There are a few common methods for doing this: PanAndScan, {{Letterbox}}, open matte, and VisualCompression.

[[UsefulNotes/{{VCR}} VHS and Betamax]] releases typically used open matte when possible, and pan and scan when it isn't. Some letterboxed VHS tapes exist, but are uncommon. UsefulNotes/LaserDisc was similar in this regard, but adopted letterbox formats more commonly in TheNineties, as it was seen as the format of film buffs and A/V geeks.

While pan and scan, and open matte UsefulNotes/{{DVD}}s exist, they are uncommon. DVD was credited with killing pan and scan and popularizing letterbox, to the delight of film buffs and directors. DVD had an anamorphic widescreen functionality, which squeezed a 16:9 image into a resolution of 720x480, allowing widescreen images to get more pixels and the letterbox to be smaller. 4:3 content was squished into the same resolution.

Unfortunately, some older [=DVDs=] that advertise themselves as {{Letterbox}} are actually designed for 4:3 screens and will not "fill" newer TV sets, despite matching the aspect ratio on a smaller scale. This is because they were released when DVD was taking off in the late [[TheNineties 90's]] and almost no one had a widescreen computer monitor or TV screen. Some newer widescreen televisions have a zoom function for this, though the zoomed image may seem pixelated or blurry.