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Topic: History of Aspect Ratio in Cinema
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Mitchell Dvoskin
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 128
From: West Milford, NJ
Registered: Jun 2008
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posted July 02, 2013 12:18 PM
Interesting for what it is, but certainly not complete or entirely accurate.
CinemaScope was introduced in an aspect ratio of 2.55, mag stereo only, no optical track. It was not until several years later that Fox relented to the will of theatre owners and allowed mag/optical prints, reducing the width to 2.35 to allow room for the optical track. Since the mid 1990's, the SMTPE standard for 35mm scope is 2.39, slightly cropping the top/bottom to allow for sloppy splices.
The video does not mention 1.75, which was the MGM and and Disney widescreen ratio, and SuperScope which was 2:1 anamorphic with black bars on the left/right side of the picture for those theatres that did not have the proper aperture plates. There were also 2:1 flat prints from RKO.
VistaVision was natively 1.66, but was filmed with a "safe" area that allowed it to be projected anywhere from 1.37 to 2.35. Theatres that had horizontal VistaVision projectors could control the width via aperture plates reduced the frame width while maintaining the frame height. In the print downs to 4 perf vertical 35mm, a frame marker that looked like a superimposed "t" and "F" was printed at the top right beginning of every reel, as in indicate to the projectionist as to align the top of the frame for each aspect ratio.
An interesting article by film historian Bob Furmanek can be found here.
The following is from film histiorian Jack Theakston:
Those interested in reading about how any why SMPE passed this standard can read about it here.
Also, this video makes it seem like Paramount invented the 1.85-1 ratio with VistaVision, overlooking the fact that Universal debuted it a month after SHANE.
Another interesting article: Technicians Strive For Standard Aperture Size (1929)
Unrelated...
quote:
Also the four perfs per frame are still used today,thanks to him.
While Mr William Friese-Greene had a primitive working camera before Edison, that may have used 4 perf film (I say may because don't know), Edison patenting 35mm/4 perf film standardized it's use in the USA, and as a result, eventually the rest of the world.
[ July 02, 2013, 06:33 PM: Message edited by: Mitchell Dvoskin ]
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