American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 26

format wars of the 1950s, other aspect
ratios survived, and still more have emerged
in the years since. For example, 2.0:1 -
known as Superscope when it was introduced in 1954 - has been adopted by
Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC for his Univisium
format, and in the digital realm it has gained
popularity as a good hybrid between 1.85:1
and 2.39:1. Indeed, streaming media giant
Netflix has adopted 2.0:1 as a standard
aspect ratio for some of its original programming.
When high-definition video was
introduced in the 1980s, a new aspect ratio
came with it. Attributed to engineer Kerns
H. Powers, 1.78:1 - aka 16:9 - is the
geometric mean between 1.33:1 and
2.35:1; part of the logic behind the
proposed aspect ratio was that a 16:9 television could show 1.33:1 images and 2.35:1
or 2.39:1 images with a near-equal ratio of
letterboxing or pillarboxing. Much to the
chagrin of many filmmakers, this new aspect
ratio then became the standard for highdefinition video and modern television.
But wait, there's more.
Formed by the major studios in 2002,
the Digital Cinema Initiatives has set the
standards for digital exhibition and introduced the 1.9:1 aspect ratio as a

"container" for spherical digital releases.
1.9:1 is meant to be cropped to 1.85:1 by
theatrical masking. Imax adopted the 1.9:1
aspect ratio as the presentation format for
certain digital venues; 1.44:1 is the ratio for
traditional Imax 15-perf 70mm film presentations, as well as for Imax digital laserprojected presentations when screen size
allows.
A notable aspect-ratio revamp is The
Hateful Eight (AC Dec. '15), for which director Quentin Tarantino and cinematographer
Robert Richardson, ASC pulled the Ultra
Panavision 70 system out of mothballs. Like
the MGM Camera 65 system, Ultra Panavision 70 pairs 65mm film with 1.25x anamorphic lenses to create a 2.76:1 presentation
aspect ratio.
Interestingly, with the advent of highdefinition video and the rising prevalence of
in-home HD "theaters" in the late 1990s
and into the 2000s, television sets once
again had - and continue to have - movie
studios running scared. We've witnessed a
resurgence of 3D movies, an increase in the
number of large-screen Imax venues around
the world, and a widening of the average
aspect ratio for a theatrical release. In 1990,
80 percent of theatrical wide releases in the
U.S. were in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. In 2010,

Left: The 35mm
motion-picture
frame (top) was
reduced to the
"Academy
Aperture"
(bottom) in
order to leave
space on the
film where the
soundtrack
would ultimately
be placed. Right:
The anamorphic
process squeezes
the image
horizontally;
when the film is
then projected
with an
anamorphic
projection lens,
it appears in the
widescreen
2.39:1 aspect
ratio.

26

January 2018

American Cinematographer

only 29 percent were 1.85:1. In those two
decades, there was a clear, straight-line
decline in 1.85:1 movies and an equal
straight-line increase in 2.39:1 movies.
What was formerly reserved for epic
action movies is now the domain of romantic comedies and chamber dramas. In 2016,
71 percent of theatrical releases in the U.S.
were 2.39:1, 20 percent were 1.85:1, and 9
percent were "other" aspect ratios, including 1.78:1 and even the traditional Academy
aspect ratio of 1.37:1.
In the ongoing theatrical format war,
2.39:1 seems to be the dominant superpower. For now.
List of common aspect ratios:
Traditional 35mm/16mm film1.33:1 (4:3)
Academy Standard
1.37:1
Imax film
1.44:1
Full Frame or VistaVision
1.5:1
Standard European widescreen 1.66:1
Digital and HD
1.78:1 (16:9)
Standard U.S. widescreen
1.85:1
DCI flat "container"
1.9:1
Digital widescreen
2.0:1
"Anamorphic" widescreen
2.39:1
Ultra Panavision 70
2.76:1
●



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - January 2018

Contents
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - Intro
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 1
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 2
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - Contents
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 4
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 5
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 6
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 7
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 8
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 9
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 10
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 11
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 12
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 13
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 14
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 15
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 16
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 17
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 18
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 19
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 20
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 21
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 22
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 23
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 24
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 25
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 26
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 27
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 28
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 29
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 30
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 31
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 32
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 33
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 34
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 35
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 36
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 37
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 38
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 39
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 40
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 41
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 42
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 43
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 44
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 45
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 46
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 47
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 48
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 49
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 50
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 51
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 52
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 53
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 54
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 55
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 56
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 57
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 58
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 59
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 60
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 61
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 62
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 63
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 64
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 65
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 66
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 67
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 68
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 69
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 70
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 70a
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 70b
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 71
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 72
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 73
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 74
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 75
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 76
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 77
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 78
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 79
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 80
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 81
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 82
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 83
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 84
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 85
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 86
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 87
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 88
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 89
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 90
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 91
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 92
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 93
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 94
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 95
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 96
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 97
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 98
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 99
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 100
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 101
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 102
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 103
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 104
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 105
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 106
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 107
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 108
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 109
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 110
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 111
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 112
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 113
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 114
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 115
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 116
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 117
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 118
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 119
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - 120
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - January 2018 - Cover4
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