Widescreen

Is anyone here scared to admit that a high amount of modern films are shot on 35mm film (i.e. 4:3)? Yes its true. A lot of films made now (a recent example is scary movie 2) are made in 4:3 then matted to 2:35:1 for the cinema then is opened up to 4:3 for TV and video/DVD release. And this is even true for some british films.

Well because I have cable TV, I don't get widescreen on BBC News 24. So when all you guys get it, I get the presenter as close up to the screen as possible, and some of the picture cut off! For example, when the weather presenter is standing presenting, all I get is half of his/her body on the screen! This is very very annoying!

Thats how I watch news 24- and im on digital. I dont really like watching it that way, but its the only way I consider it watchable on my 28' 4:3 set.

(Edited by james2001 at 4:25 pm on Oct. 14, 2001)

Most movies are shot on 35mm, but use special anamorphic lens to squash the widescreen image on the film. A lens in the projector 'unsquashes' the picture to fill the wide screen. For example you will see mentions of 'Panavision' lens in credit sequences. Widescreen television uses the same principle of anamorphic pictures using a standard 4:3 frame.

Of cousrse some productions may fake a widescreen image by masking the frame top and bottom - could be many reasons for wanting to do this - cost being a major one I guess.

Have a moan at your cable operator then!

Gary is it analogue cable or digital cable?

Id say its analogue cos we had it in 4:3 on analogue from mid-1999 (before then it was 14:9)