ASPECT RATIO/SCREEN PROPORTION:

(SORRY - I need to upload examples)

No one used the widescreen more dynamically than director Sergio Leone, as in the widescreen version of A Fistful of Dollars (1964, above left). Clint Eastwood's legendary "Man with No Name" has arrived in town, only to be challenged by a group of outlaws. Notice how Leone spreads his action across the entire frame to enhance the tension and visual impact. But in the full frame version the action is crowded into the frame, resulting in a much less dramatic image.

In a shot from Blade Runner (1982) Deckard (Harrison Ford) talks with Rachel (Sean Young). Note director Ridley Scott's composition and imagery in the widescreen version. In the full frame version, much of the visual impact is lost and fully half of the conversation.

The relationship between the width of a film image and its height is known as its aspect ratio, and from the early days of film (starting in the late-1890s) until the early-1950s, almost all films had a standard aspect ratio of approx; 1.33:1. In other words, the image was 1.33 times as wide as it was tall (another way to denote this is 4x3, 4 units wide for 3 of height).

This became known as Academy Standard (when it was recognized formally by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the 1930s). Almost every classic film you can think of from this period of time appeared in this ratio.

Academy Standard is shaped like your old TV set because in the early 1950s, the National Television Standards Committee selected Academy Standard as the official aspect ratio for broadcasting in the US. Once TV captured the imagination of America, the Hollywood film industry was faced with a problem: theater attendance declined dramatically. They began making changes to their movies.

After the 1950s... Experiments with 3D and widescreen in films had been occurring since the early 1920s, but it was in the '50s they really took off. 3D was a passing fad, but widescreen was here to stay. In 1953, 20th Century Fox introduced CinemaScope; it eventually gave way to Panavision, the most-used widescreen process today.

Widescreen dominates American filmmaking in a variety of aspect ratios. But there are two 'standardized' ratios that are by far the most common: Academy Flat (1.85:1) and Anamorphic Scope (2.35:1). Other less used ratios include 1.66:1 and 2.20:1 (70mm).

In the case of Academy Flat, the film is 1.85 times as wide as it is tall (often referred to as 'Flat'). Anamorphic Scope is even wider, 2.35 times as wide as it is tall (called 'Scope').

There can be no doubt that widescreen films convey much more dynamic imagery, with the wider aspect ratio working to enhance the dramatic impact of the film. Most serious film enthusiasts prefer the letterbox format, in which the ENTIRE film image is presented, and black bars fill the unused screen area at the top and bottom of the frame.

The letterbox presentation of a 1.85:1 film (left) and a 2.35:1 film (right) on a Standard 4x3 TV. While some picture resolution is sacrificed, the original widescreen composition is preserved.

Widescreen vs. Full Frame (2.35:1 Ratio Films): Some comparisons between widescreen and full frame presentation of Scope films. All of the examples shown are freeze frames.

The IMAX aspect ratio is 1.43:1 approximately. It depends who you ask.