History Main / Letterbox

Compare VisualCompression, WidescreenShot.

Contrast PanAndScan.

See also {{Eyedscreen}} for where letterboxing is used as a temporary effect.

This term refers to a method of fitting a widescreen movie to the AspectRatio of a TV screen (usually converting 16:9 to 4:3). This is done by shrinking the original frame until its width matches that of the 4:3 frame; the side effect is that the movie's ''height'' is now considerably less than that of the TV screen, resulting in black bars at the top and bottom, forming a "box" around the film (it's rather like watching the film through a mail slot or "letter box", hence the term). Naturally, this is less of a concern with films that are not very wide to begin with -- say, 1.85:1 -- or on modern TV sets with wider 16:9 screens.

Now to get ''really'' fancy: When this is done horizontally (that is, an image created in 4:3-ratio is shown on a wider screen such as 16:9 with black space at the sides), it is known as "pillarboxing", after a type of upright mailbox used in England. And "windowboxing" occurs when an already-letterboxed image is pillarboxed, or vice versa, forming a black "picture frame" around the image. There's even a "smilebox" format for certain [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinerama Cinerama]] titles, which simulates the curvature of the screen with concave lines at the top and bottom of the image.

It gets wilder when some films are shot in 4:3 knowing that they'll be exhibited in 16:9; movie projectors have a scrim that block the upper and lower parts of the frame. A film that is shot in this manner has two basic options: 1) Simply make sure that nothing plot-relevant ends up in that dead space that will be blocked off, or 2) Make use of that space for lighting rigs or other equipment that will simply be obscured. The latter becomes a problem if said film is shown in 4:3 on television without the aforementioned scrims, because some of the effects are spoiled; for example, ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure'' infamously has the "bike chain" visual gag showing the container with a false bottom, ''Film/TheBloodWatersOfDrZ'' with the fish creature's visible sneakers, or ''Film/TwelveToTheMoon'' with the visible lighting rigs on the "moonscape". Some films like ''Film/{{Moonstruck}}'' are shot in 4:3 knowing they'll be in letterbox on the screen and 4:3 on television, meaning the 4:3 version is actually superior and no PanAndScan is needed (as long as they go for option 1).

Although letterboxing preserves the entirety of the picture as it was shot, that picture is ([[CaptainObvious obviously]]) much smaller than a pan and scan transfer, which can be somewhat disconcerting on smaller television sets. Further, some viewers claim to be distracted by the empty black bars on the screen, preferring that the screen be filled with picture. Again, modern wide-screened TV sets help diminish this problem somewhat, although films shot in even wider formats (such as vintage [=CinemaScope=], Todd-AO, Ultra Panavision 70, and Cinerama releases from the 1950s and '60s) are usually letterboxed rather than cropped even in the "widescreen" home video releases.

It gets wilder when some films are shot in 4:3 knowing that they'll be exhibited in 16:9; movie projectors have a scrim that block the upper and lower parts of the frame. Some films like ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure'' suffer when shown in 4:3 on television because some of the effects are spoiled, infamously with the "bike chain" visual gag showing the container has a false bottom. ''Film/TheBloodWatersOfDrZ'' had the same problem where the fish creature's sneakers could be seen. Some films like ''Film/{{Moonstruck}}'' are shot in 4:3 knowing they'll be in letterbox on the screen and 4:3 on television, meaning the 4:3 version is actually superior and no PanAndScan is needed.

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<<|CameraTricks|>>

Although there was some consumer resistance to the format in the early years, it has now become virtually the norm for home video, and to wish for pan and scan instead is the mark of a rube dumb enough to spend the same amount of money for up to 33% less picture. Many newer movies released on home video actually make use of that dead space, having captions and subtitles appear in the black bars rather than within the frame itself. Even without such considerations, there are a number of commercials and TV shows that are formatted for letterbox presentation because it gives them a classy look like a big-budget feature film.

It gets wilder when some films are shot in 4:3 knowing that they'll be exhibited in 16:9; movie projectors have a scrim that block the upper and lower parts of the frame. Some films like ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure'' suffer because some of the effects are spoiled, infamously with the "bike chain" visual gag showing the container has a false bottom. ''Film/TheBloodWatersOfDrZ'' had the same problem where the fish creature's sneakers could be seen. Some films like ''Film/{{Moonstruck}}'' are shot in 4:3 knowing they'll be in letterbox on the screen and 4:3 on television, meaning the 4:3 version is actually superior and no PanAndScan is needed.

It gets wilder when some films are shot in 4:3 knowing that they'll be exhibited in 16:9. Some films like ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure'' suffer because some of the effects are spoiled, infamously with the "bike chain" visual gag showing the container has a false bottom. ''Film/TheBloodWatersOfDrZ'' had the same problem where the fish creature's sneakers could be seen. Some films like ''Film/{{Moonstruck}}'' are shot in 4:3 knowing they'll be in letterbox on the screen and 4:3 on television, meaning the 4:3 version is actually superior and no PanAndScan is needed.

It gets wilder when some films are shot in 4:3 knowing that they'll be exhibited in 16:9. However, some films like ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure'' suffer because some of the effects are spoiled, infamously with the "bike chain" visual gag showing the container has a false bottom. ''Film/TheBloodWatersOfDrZ'' had the same problem where the fish creature's sneakers could be seen. Some films like ''Film/{{Moonstruck}}'' are shot in 4:3 knowing they'll be in letterbox on the screen and 4:3 on television, meaning the 4:3 version is actually superior and no PanAndScan is needed.

It gets wilder when some films are shot in 4:3 knowing that they'll be exhibited in 16:9. However, some films like ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure'' suffer because some of the effects are spoiled, infamously with the "bike chain" visual gag showing the container has a false bottom. ''Film/TheBloodWatersOfDrZ'' had the same problem where the fish creature's sneakers could be seen. Some films like ''Film/Moonstruck'' are shot in 4:3 knowing they'll be in letterbox on the screen and 4:3 on television, meaning the 4:3 version is actually superior and no PanAndScan is needed.

It gets wilder when some films are shot in 4:3 knowing that they'll be exhibited in 16:9. However, some films like ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure'' suffer because some of the effects are spoiled, infamously with the "bike chain" visual gag showing the container has a false bottom. ''Film/TheBloodWatersOfDrZ'' had the same problem where the fish creature's'sneakers could be seen. Some films like ''Film/Moonstruck'' are shot in 4:3 knowing they'll be in letterbox on the screen and 4:3 on television, meaning the 4:3 version is actually superior and no PanAndScan is needed.

It gets wilder when some films are shot in 4:3 knowing that they'll be exhibited in 16:9. However, some films like ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure'' suffer because some of the effects are spoiled, infamously with the "bike chain" visual gag showing the container has a false bottom. ''Film/BloodWatersOfDrZ'' had the same problem where the fish creatures' sneakers could be seen. Some films like ''Film/Moonstruck'' are shot in 4:3 knowing they'll be in letterbox on the screen and 4:3 on television, meaning the 4:3 versions actually superior and no PanAndScan is needed.

This term refers to a method of fitting a widescreen movie to the AspectRatio of a TV screen (usually converting 16:9 to 4:3). This is done by shrinking the original frame until its width matches that of the 4:3 frame; the side effect is that the movie's ''height'' is now considerably less than that of the TV screen, resulting in black bars at the top and bottom forming a "box" around the film (it's rather like watching the film through a mail slot or "letter box", hence the term). Naturally, this is less of a concern with films that are not too wide to begin with -- say, 1.85:1 -- or on modern TV sets with wider 16:9 screens.

Some movies came to VHS with letterboxing employed only on the opening and end credits, since presenting those sequences in PanAndScan would have resulted in some actors' or crew members' names becoming obscured from the viewers. The studios occasionally tried to make the shift less distracting by replacing the black bars with patterns similar to the background of the ArtisticTitle or the CreativeClosingCredits.

Although there was some consumer resistance to the format in the early years, it has now become virtually the norm for home video and to wish for pan and scan instead is the mark of a rube dumb enough to spend the same amount of money for up to 33% less picture. Many newer movies released on home video actually make use of that dead space, having captions and subtitles appear in the black bars rather than within the frame itself. Even without such considerations, there are a number of commercials and TV shows that are formatted for letterbox presentation because it gives them a classy look like a big-budget feature film.

This term refers to a method of fitting a widescreen movie to the AspectRatio of a TV screen (formerly 4:3). This is done by shrinking the original frame until its width matches that of the 4:3 frame; the side effect is that the movie's ''height'' is now considerably less than that of the TV screen, resulting in black bars at the top and bottom forming a "box" around the film (it's rather like watching the film through a mail slot or "letter box", hence the term). Naturally, this is less of a concern with films that are not too wide to begin with -- say, 1.85:1 -- or on modern TV sets with wider 16:9 screens.

Although there was some consumer resistance to the format in the early years, it has now become virtually the norm for home video and to wish for pan and scan instead is the mark of a rube dumb enough to spend the same amount of money for up to 33% less picture. Many newer movies released on home video actually make use of that dead space, having captions and subtitles appear in the black bars rather than within the frame itself. Even without such considerations, there are a number of commercials and TV shows that are formatted for letterbox presentation because it gives them a classy look like a big-budget feature film. (Many of which, amusingly, wound up windowboxed after the switch to widescreen, digital TV.)

Although letterboxing preserves the entirety of the picture as it was shot, that picture is ([[CaptainObvious obviously]]) much smaller than a PanAndScan transfer, which can be somewhat disconcerting on smaller television sets. Further, some viewers claim to be distracted by the empty black bars on the screen, preferring that the screen be filled with picture. Again, modern wide-screened TV sets help diminish this problem somewhat, although films shot in even wider formats (such as vintage [=CinemaScope=], Todd-AO, Ultra Panavision 70, and Cinerama releases from the 1950s and '60s) are usually letterboxed rather than cropped even in the "widescreen" home video releases.

Although there was some consumer resistance to the format in the early years, it has now become virtually the norm for home video and to wish PanAndScan instead is the mark of a rube dumb enough to spend the same amount of money for up to 33% less picture. Many newer movies released on home video actually make use of that dead space, having captions and subtitles appear in the black bars rather than within the frame itself. Even without such considerations, there are a number of commercials and TV shows that are formatted for letterbox presentation because it gives them a classy look like a big-budget feature film. (Many of which, amusingly, wound up windowboxed after the switch to widescreen, digital TV.)

Now to get ''really'' fancy: When this is done horizontally (that is, a 4:3-ratio image is letterboxed within a wider screen such as 16:9), it is known as "pillarboxing", after a type of upright mailbox used in England. And "windowboxing" occurs when an already-letterboxed image is pillarboxed, or vice versa, forming a black "picture frame" around the image. There's even a "smilebox" format for certain [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinerama Cinerama]] titles, which simulates the curvature of the screen with concave lines at the top and bottom of the image.

This term refers to a method of fitting a widescreen movie to the AspectRatio of a TV screen (commonly 4:3). This is done by shrinking the original frame until its width matches that of the 4:3 frame; the side effect is that the movie's ''height'' is now considerably less than that of the TV screen, resulting in black bars at the top and bottom forming a "box" around the film (it's rather like watching the film through a mail slot or "letter box", hence the term). Naturally, this is less of a concern with films that are not too wide to begin with -- say, 1.85:1 -- or with newer TV sets with wider screens.

Now to get ''really'' fancy: When this is done horizontally (that is, a 4:3-ratio image is letterboxed within a wider screen such as 16:9), it is known as "pillarboxing", after a type of upright mailbox used in England. And "windowboxing" occurs when an already-letterboxed image is pillarboxed, or vice versa, forming a black "picture frame" around the image. There's even a "smilebox" format for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinerama Cinerama]] titles, which simulates the curvature of the screen with concave lines at the top and bottom of the image.

Now to get ''really'' fancy: When this is done horizontally (that is, a 4:3-ratio image is letterboxed within a wider screen such as 16:9), it is known as "pillarboxing", after a type of upright mailbox used in England. And "windowboxing" occurs when an already-letterboxed image is pillarboxed, or vice versa, forming a black "picture frame" around the image. There's even a "smilebox" format for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinerama Cinerama]] titles, which simulates the curvature of the screen with concave shapes at the top and bottom of the image.

Now to get ''really'' fancy: When this is done horizontally (that is, a 4:3-ratio image is letterboxed within a wider screen such as 16:9), it is known as "pillarboxing", after a type of upright mailbox used in England. And "windowboxing" occurs when an already-letterboxed image is pillarboxed, or vice versa, forming a black "picture frame" around the image.

<<|CameraTricks|>>

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/letterbox.jpg
[[caption-width:267:The black bars at the top and bottom of the screen are normal for this format.]]

Although letterboxing preserves the entirety of the picture as it was shot, that picture is ([[CaptainObvious obviously]]) much smaller than a PanAndScan transfer, which can be somewhat disconcerting on smaller television sets. Further, some viewers claim to be distracted by the empty black bars on the screen, preferring that the screen be filled with picture. Again, modern wide-screened TV sets help diminish this problem somewhat, although films shot in even wider formats (such as [=CinemaScope=], Todd-AO, and Ultra Panavision 70) are usually letterboxed rather than cropped even in the "widescreen" home video releases.

Although letterboxing preserves the entirety of the picture as it was shot, that picture is ([[CaptainObvious obviously]]) much smaller than a PanAndScan transfer, which can be somewhat disconcerting on smaller television sets. Further, some viewers claim to be distracted by the empty black bars on the screen, preferring that the screen be filled with picture. Again, modern wide-screened TV sets help diminish this problem somewhat, although films shot in full CinemaScope (an even wider format) are usually letterboxed rather than cropped even in the "widescreen" home video releases.

Many newer movies released on home video actually make use of that dead space, having captions and subtitles appear in the black bars rather than within the frame itself. Even without such considerations, there are a number of commercials and TV shows that are formatted for letterbox presentation because it gives them a classy look like a big-budget feature film. (Many of which, amusingly, wound up windowboxed after the switch to widescreen, digital TV.)

See also {{Eyedscreen}}.

Compare VisualCompression; contrast PanAndScan.