Widescreen vs. Full Screen Movies
Well, I have been reading a lot about converting DVD's to media players lately. I am planning on buying a Zune and would like to put my movie collection on it. I won't bore you with my findings, lets get onto some more interesting topics.
There is a lot of debate on whether widescreen (aka letterbox) or full screen (aka Pan and Scan) is better. This isn't a very heated topic to be sure, but an important one. There are several reasons for both wide screen and full screen that I can see, so lets discuss them.
1. There are things in the side we may need to see
Lets use an example from my childhood. I have been a fan of Star Wars ever since I was a little boy. I can still remember my parents talking on the phone with the video rental store telling them that we did indeed intend to return the Star Wars movie we had rented, we just wanted to watch it a few more times. Well, in A New Hope after Luke finds R2-D2 wandering in the desert they come across some sand people. Luke looks through his binoculars and sees two Banthas, and then a second later one of the sand people comes into frame and Luke comments on him. (see image below)
Well, this scene has always confused me as a kid. The copies of Star Wars I had were full screen, so I saw the following image.
As you can see, no sand people. The edges are cut off to make the wide screen movie fit into a television screen. This was the norm for the time and few people even thought about it. However, it wasn't until the Star Wars movies were re-released in theaters that I figured out why I couldn't see the sand person. Most of the action takes place in the center, true. But there are still things in the sides we need to see or would like to see.
2. The artistic value of space
Art often uses space to convey information. For example, below is a very common image of a boat on the ocean.
Now, what is the condition of that boat? If you are a westerner you probably think that the boat is in trouble. I always have. That is because of the way we read. Most languages based on or influenced by Latin read left to right. Since upper left is the starting position we are programmed to think that is a position of power. But Asians read right to left. Lets see the same image but from an Asian perspective.
Now the boat doesn't appear to be in as much danger. The wave in still in the upper position but now on the right, the weaker position. Movies do the same thing. If someone enters the shot from the left they seem to have more power because of it. When you cut the sides of the image off you lose a lot of the left-right perspective. Many times it is lost completely. When a movie is converted to full screen the "right" way the image is cropped to show where the action is. So if two people are on the screen, one on the left in the "power" position and the other on the right in the "weaker" position, the full screen version would have a cut to show each person as they spoke when the original didn't have that cut. The positional effect is lost.
3. You can see a larger image better
Well, lets look at the argument for full screen. Wide screen movies on a standard television have to be made smaller than they would be in smaller screen, sacrificing detail for being able to see the whole image. HD TV's sometimes lessen or eliminate this problem depending on the DVD. If it says something to the effect of "optimized for 16:9 or widescreen televisions" or you are using one of the HD disc formats (HD-DVD or Bluray) you are set.
So, those are the three factors I can see. If you have any others let me know.
Images copyright Lucasfilm and their use to illustrate the point above is believed to qualify as Fair Use in the United States.
There is a lot of debate on whether widescreen (aka letterbox) or full screen (aka Pan and Scan) is better. This isn't a very heated topic to be sure, but an important one. There are several reasons for both wide screen and full screen that I can see, so lets discuss them.
1. There are things in the side we may need to see
Lets use an example from my childhood. I have been a fan of Star Wars ever since I was a little boy. I can still remember my parents talking on the phone with the video rental store telling them that we did indeed intend to return the Star Wars movie we had rented, we just wanted to watch it a few more times. Well, in A New Hope after Luke finds R2-D2 wandering in the desert they come across some sand people. Luke looks through his binoculars and sees two Banthas, and then a second later one of the sand people comes into frame and Luke comments on him. (see image below)
Well, this scene has always confused me as a kid. The copies of Star Wars I had were full screen, so I saw the following image.
As you can see, no sand people. The edges are cut off to make the wide screen movie fit into a television screen. This was the norm for the time and few people even thought about it. However, it wasn't until the Star Wars movies were re-released in theaters that I figured out why I couldn't see the sand person. Most of the action takes place in the center, true. But there are still things in the sides we need to see or would like to see.
2. The artistic value of space
Art often uses space to convey information. For example, below is a very common image of a boat on the ocean.
Now, what is the condition of that boat? If you are a westerner you probably think that the boat is in trouble. I always have. That is because of the way we read. Most languages based on or influenced by Latin read left to right. Since upper left is the starting position we are programmed to think that is a position of power. But Asians read right to left. Lets see the same image but from an Asian perspective.
Now the boat doesn't appear to be in as much danger. The wave in still in the upper position but now on the right, the weaker position. Movies do the same thing. If someone enters the shot from the left they seem to have more power because of it. When you cut the sides of the image off you lose a lot of the left-right perspective. Many times it is lost completely. When a movie is converted to full screen the "right" way the image is cropped to show where the action is. So if two people are on the screen, one on the left in the "power" position and the other on the right in the "weaker" position, the full screen version would have a cut to show each person as they spoke when the original didn't have that cut. The positional effect is lost.
3. You can see a larger image better
Well, lets look at the argument for full screen. Wide screen movies on a standard television have to be made smaller than they would be in smaller screen, sacrificing detail for being able to see the whole image. HD TV's sometimes lessen or eliminate this problem depending on the DVD. If it says something to the effect of "optimized for 16:9 or widescreen televisions" or you are using one of the HD disc formats (HD-DVD or Bluray) you are set.
So, those are the three factors I can see. If you have any others let me know.
Images copyright Lucasfilm and their use to illustrate the point above is believed to qualify as Fair Use in the United States.
Comments