Should Directors film at 16:9

Johnnytoxic

Johnnytoxic

Johnnytoxic

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For the simpletons I am talking about black bars on your Widescreen TVs when watching films.

Ok before you all bite my head off I would just like to state I watch movies however the director intended them to be. But I do get a more enjoyable experience when a movie uses all of my tvs pixels ( usually disney movies )

Would it be so much to ask if directors started their vision at 16:9. It in my eyes is a great standard and is suitable for all.

**puts flame suit on preparing for the OAR loyalists**
 
Uh no??

its only got the black bars on your tv because you haven't set it up right. It's called fit to screen or automatic?

however if it was filmed in 16:9, a lot of older TV (especially CRT's) doesn't support AR Correction, so would cause more problems than solve.
 
SGCWill said:
Uh no??

its only got the black bars on your tv because you haven't set it up right. It's called fit to screen or automatic?

however if it was filmed in 16:9, a lot of older TV (especially CRT's) doesn't support AR Correction, so would cause more problems than solve.
Click to expand...

Like I say im not one to zoom in when I know the sides are missing. I will watch it with black bars if it means seeing all of the frame.

I mean if the director started from the beginning with a 16:9 ratio in mind.
 
SGCWill said:
Uh no??

its only got the black bars on your tv because you haven't set it up right. It's called fit to screen or automatic?

however if it was filmed in 16:9, a lot of older TV (especially CRT's) doesn't support AR Correction, so would cause more problems than solve.
Click to expand...

played many 2.4:1 hd-dvd's or blurays have you? its nothing to do with the settings, its the aspect ration the film is shot in. It's not something you can sort with a simple 'fit to screen' because 99% of the sets out there dont allow you to adjust the aspect ration on 1080p material, they only allow you to zoom and cut the edges off the picture. who wants to to that? the reason we have widescreens is to avoid that very problem.
 
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I really hate 16:9 tellies. I have one now and I have a choice of 4 channels that display properly out of over 100 and all my DVDs bar about 2 of them all play back all my favourite movies out of proportion. Yeah by all means try and palm me off with the old "it's not set up properly" b.s. but all my kit is now 16:9 and I've tried every combination of the settings.

What it all boils down to is we have 100 years of TV and the rest of the world in 4:3 and us with 16:9, so the majority of what we watch is out fo proportion or broadcast stretched or squashed. It's ridiculous.

And they squash the British Isles now so they can fit it on the screen when they do the weather report. I bet kids will grow up thinking our country is actually that shape :rolleyes:
 
Aye if a film is shot in 2.39:1 there's no way you can see the whole thing as it's meant to be seen without black bars. You have to lose some of the picture or distort the image as far as I know?

Given that I've never heard of a tv with a 2.39:1 aspect ratio it would make more sense to shoot in 16:9!
 
johnnyfive said:
Like I say im not one to zoom in when I know the sides are missing. I will watch it with black bars if it means seeing all of the frame.

I mean if the director started from the beginning with a 16:9 ratio in mind.
Click to expand...

no, not zoom, if the source is 4:3 it can be stretched to 16:9, and still look ok, but if it's changed from 16:9 to 4:3 then it'll look squashed.

in your case, it appears as a "letterbox" the solution would be to film in 4:3, not 16:9.

edit: OP didnt mention that it were set resolution HD content on a non adjustable player and television, otherwise I would have said "Why don't you just buy a specific TV to watch a specific ratio; you can obviously afford an HD/BlueRay player"
 
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Plus if you 'Fit to Screen' a 2.35:1 Ratio DVD to a 16:9 TV (be it LCD, Plasma or CRT) everything will look stretched (Tall Gangly People etc..) or if you Zoom you cut off the Left and Right of the Frame!...

Just turn off you lights when viewing 'Cinemascope' Movies and you'll never notice the Black Bars!..

Plus on the Starwars Trilogy (of 6 parts) the Alien Subtitles were in the Bottom Black Bar!.. Made it easier to read em!!. :cool:
 
16:9 is an apt medium between 4:3 and 2.35:1... If you had a 2.35:1 television, 4:3 material would approximately take up a small square in the centre of the screen... Likewise on 4:3 sets, 2.35:1 material takes up barely half the screen.

Shooting everything in 16:9 is an option, but artistically, it's up to the director what aspect ratio they want to go for.
 
Since I don't have access to a camera capable of shooting 16:9 yet, I shoot 4:3, think carefully about my framing, and crop to 16:9 in post. 2.39:1 is the standard for cinema releases, which are most often shrunk down with black bars at 16:9 for DVD.

The human field of view is wider than it is tall, and I personally find 16:9 or 2:39:1 more pleasing that SD 4:3.
 
so much for standards eh...

its annoying that you can buy a "widescreen" 16:9 TV so you can watch films as they were ment to be watched... yet directors insist on making films 2.35:1 which makes watching thoughs films on a brand new 16:9 LCD a horrible expereience.

its even worse on a monitor as most widescreen pc monitors are 16:10 which gives more black bar.
 
Andri said:
so much for standards eh...

its annoying that you can buy a "widescreen" 16:9 TV so you can watch films as they were ment to be watched... yet directors insist on making films 2.35:1 which makes watching thoughs films on a brand new 16:9 LCD a horrible expereience.

its even worse on a monitor as most widescreen pc monitors are 16:10 which gives more black bar.
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I'd much rather see a film at the cinema which is 2:39:1 than 16:9. I don't mind black bars on my 16:9 television if it means I'll get the whole experience the DoP intended.
 
Someone should just make 2.35:1 TVs for people's home cinema setups.

one of the harry potter films has a DVD release that's 4:3 and it just looks wrong.

But I would prefer if there were less black bars on films - be it by a standard aspect ratio for filming or DVD release, it would be great.
 
Where did that 2.35:1 ratio come from? Did some genius decide "I know we'll **** everyone off and make a camera and film which isn't capable of displaying on a standard tv set?"

what about 16:10 TV's as well where'd they come from too?
 
This is ONE of the reasons why I still have an old CRT - most of the flatscreen moniters you get these days are bloody widescreen, and sorry, but I just don't like viewing my movies like that.
 
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