By Malak Abas
Is HBO ruining movies?
One of the more subtle facets of filmmaking is the choice of aspect ratio, or the width-to-height ratio, of films. The most commonly used aspect ratio, 1.85:1, is similar enough to the screen shape of HD TVs and laptops, so the film image can pretty much fill them in their entirety.
However, when a film is shot in a wider aspect ratio than 1.85:1, those same viewing tools becomes less compatible, and rather than the image filling the whole screen, there are typically black bars placed above and below the frame to ensure that the entire shot is visible.
As explained in a new video essay by Patrick Willems, cable channels (now also streaming services) HBO and Starz actually scale their film presentations to ensure that they fill the entire screen, rather than include those black bars. And by doing this, they’re ruining movies.
The article The Integrity of Aspect Ratios appeared first on Film School Rejects.
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