How to get the 2:35 Aspect Ratio?

M

mouver

Hello People!

I have a question and maybe some of you can help me. ;)


See, all the great movies in the cinema usually have a 2:35 Aspect Ratio, right?
So, of course I would love that my film got it aswell.

The problem is that my camera doesn't give me the option to choose the aspect ratio I want while shooting. It's always in an 16:9 ratio.

I know, that I could crop the top and the bottom of the film in post-production to get the cinema letterboxing but that's not what I want!

I want to visualize and frame my picture in the right aspect ratio while im shooting. But I find it really difficult to do when my camera-live-view doesn't show letterboxes.

How are the big film companies doing it? Do they have cameras that allow them to choose different aspect ratios?
It's so important for framing the picture correctly, so how can I do it? Is there an option for a little filmmaker like me?
 
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Few things:

-All the great movies in the cinema have varying aspect ratios which happen to include 2.39:1. There are many modern and old classics that were shot 1.77:1, 1.85:1, 4:3 or other variations.

-The 2.39:1 is (was) primarily derived from using anamorphic lenses. An anamorphic lens 'squeezes' the field of view of a particular lens onto a frame of film, or a digital sensor at a ratio of (most commonly) 2:1. 4-perf 35mm motion picture film (which is the most commonly used for 35mm capture) has a 4:3 aspect ratio. When you use a 2:1 squeezed anamorphic lens on a 4:3 film frame, when you de-squeeze it later in post you end up with an aspect ratio of ~2.39:1. Therefore, to get the appropriate aspect ratio you generally need to use a camera that has a 4:3 sensor. Alternately, some modern anamorphic lenses have 1.33x squeeze versions available which can be used on a 16:9 sensor and give you the appropriate aspect ratio when de-squeezed.
If you decide to go this route, you will require a camera or monitor that has a de-squeeze function or a ground glass that can be fitted with a de-squeeze, otherwise you will see 'squeezed' very tall images that are very difficult to frame up.

-You can crop a 'normal' spherical lensed picture to a 2.39:1 aspect ratio easily in post. These decisions should be made in pre- (as you've done) because you need to frame appropriately, knowing that you'll be cropping out the top and bottom of the frame.

-Many cameras allow you to show 'frame lines' that you can set to your desired aspect ratio, and they are literally coloured lines that show you where your desired frame will be. It does nothing to the actual footage, so you still need to crop later, but you will be able to frame appropriately.

-Many monitors have frame lines available to allow you to frame up.

-If your camera does not have frame lines and you don't have an external monitor (or yours doesn't have frame lines either), you can download and print a frame guide. You frame up the guide square to camera, and fill the frame with the guide. You can then use the guide to put tape over the top and bottom of your monitor to cover the parts that will be cropped out. Most rental houses that have a testing bay will have one of these.

Lastly, using a particular aspect ratio can be an aesthetic creative choice that should be designed in conjunction with your story and film and what works best for it. It can also be purely a technical choice. Aspect ratio has little to no bearing on a film's worth - classic films are so because of their storytelling, and would still be classics even in other aspect ratios. Selecting a wider aspect ratio will not automatically make your film look 'better' or 'more cinematic' nor more 'like a classic' - it is purely a creative and/or technical choice.
 
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@jax_rox
First off I wanna thank you for your great answer!
It really helps me a lot to get an good overview over this topic.

- So..the most professional way of achieving a particular Aspect Ratio would be to use an anamorphic lense, right? I guess that's the way most Hollywood Studios are doing it.
Just a little guestion: Are there anamorphic lenses for achieving different types of Acpect Ratios (for example an 1.85:1 ratio)? Or are they all giving you a 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio?

- Yeah, cropping a picture in Post is possible of course. But like a said, it's really hard to visualize and frame the shot while shooting. That's the reason I really don't like that option and it seems really unprofessional.

-Frame lines on a seperate monitor sounds like a really good option to me. I think a lot of professional productions are shooting that way if I'm not mistaken.
Do you know if there are monitors with frame lines for any DSLR Cameras?
 
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mouver said:
....................

- Yeah, cropping a picture in Post is possible of course. But like a said, it's really hard to visualize and frame the shot while shooting. That's the reason I really don't like that option and it seems really unprofessional.

-Frame lines on a seperate monitor sounds like a really good option to me. I think a lot of professional productions are shooting that way if I'm not mistaken.
Do you know if there are monitors with frame lines for any DSLR Cameras?
Click to expand...

The problem in point 1 is solved with point 2.
Decent external monitor with HDMI often have guide lines.
 
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Sorry, missed this reply

mouver said:
the most professional way of achieving a particular Aspect Ratio would be to use an anamorphic lense, right?
Click to expand...

Well, sort of. Using anamorphic lenses gives a film a very unique look which also happens to have the effect of making the aspect ratio 2.39:1. It's not necessarily the most 'professional' way to do it - certainly there are many Hollywood films that have simply cropped a 2.39:1 frame on a spherical lens capture, going way back even to when you would mask the film projector to 'crop' your frame.

The background on anamorphic lenses and aspect ratios is, I feel, important to understand as it gives you a frame of reference as to why we might choose to use a particular aspect ratio. Aspect ratios is both a creative and technical decision, but it's important to understand it as that choice, rather than simply opting for a 2.39:1 crop because it looks 'more cinematic' (as some are wont to do).

mouver said:
Are there anamorphic lenses for achieving different types of Acpect Ratios (for example an 1.85:1 ratio)? Or are they all giving you a 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio?
Click to expand...
I guess in theory you could put a 1.33x anamorphic lens on a 4:3 sensor, but you would end up getting a 16:9 frame, rather than 1.85:1. 1.85 is always cropped (or masked when it was the days of film).

mouver said:
- Yeah, cropping a picture in Post is possible of course. But like a said, it's really hard to visualize and frame the shot while shooting. That's the reason I really don't like that option and it seems really unprofessional.
Click to expand...
It's also hard to visualise the frame if you shoot on anamorphic and don't have a de-squeeze. All these things require a little extra work to get them right. You can shoot a framing chart and tape up your monitor, but most ideal is to shoot on a monitor (or camera that has monitoring options that allow it) that shows you the frame lines

mouver said:
Do you know if there are monitors with frame lines for any DSLR Cameras?
Click to expand...
There are plenty, but it depends on what you're willing to spend. Many affordable monitors offer frame lines, but they all offer different features that may or may not be useful to you.
When you're researching options in your budget range, make sure you look to see if the particular monitor has options for frame lines.
 
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I used to shoot on a T2i back in the days before Magic Lantern. I bought an LCD screen protector that fit my camera and drew lines on with a ruler and sharpie. That's the poor man's method to visualize the framing.
 
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If you don't want permanently write on your screen.

Did you know that many old movies were actually shot in 4:3 but framed for 16:9? The same can apply to the other ratios... just remember that your story should still be engaging.
 
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