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  • Hey, what's this?

  • One of Bluto's tricks?

  • I'm in the wrong movie!

  • What is aspect ratio?

  • In regards to movies, aspect ratio is the proportional relationship between the height

  • and width of the image that you see onscreen.

  • But perhaps the more important question iswhy?”

  • Why do some films look like this...

  • While others look like this...

  • Today, most films are presented in 1:85.1 or 2.35:1.

  • These widescreen formats became popular in the 50s.

  • Before then, most films were shot in 1:37.1, also known as the Academy Ratio.

  • Now days, filmmakers can pretty much shoot their films in any aspect ratio they want.

  • Some filmmakers choose an aspect ration based on the time period their film takes place.

  • Others find an aspect ratio that they love and stick with it.

  • Fo example, David Fincher shoots exclusively 2:35.1, which accommodates his sleek cinematography

  • and wide environments.

  • On the other side of that spectrum, Andrea Arnold prefers older, boxier formats to create

  • claustrophobic worlds.

  • The aspect ratio tells more about the film than you may think.

  • A GHOST STORY, for example, is shot in the cramped 1.33:1.

  • This expresses how the main character feels trapped, and we feel the same way.

  • What's really interesting about this particular film is how the corners of the frame are rounded.

  • Invoking the nostalgia on old photograph, this makes the film feel like a memory.

  • THE HATEFUL 8 was shot in the ultra-wide 2.76:1.

  • Not only does this compliment the beauty of the snowy vistas, it also enhances the feelings

  • of paranoia and uneasiness once inside the house.

  • A growing trend in filmmaking is using multiple aspect ratios throughout a single film.

  • Sometimes this is to distinguish different time periods.

  • Other times it's due to switching between Imax and standard cameras.

  • But the most interesting cases are when the change is done to create a feeling.

  • This can be done in a very obvious, self-aware fashion, like in Xavier Dolan's MOMMY where

  • the character literally stretches the screen.

  • The expansion feels like a breath of fresh air as we break confinement.

  • We feel the same release as the character.

  • Or the change can be extremely subtle, like in Trey Edward Schultz's IT COMES AT NIGHT.

  • The film is shot 2.35:1 with 2.75:1 reserved for nightmare sequences.

  • As the film reaches its dreadful conclusion, the screen slowly and painfully closes in

  • on itself until we reach 3:1, which equates to watching the film through a tiny slit.

  • The transition is so subtle that you probably don't even notice it, but you surely feel

  • it.

  • Reality has now become the nightmare.

  • Though it often goes unnoticed, aspect ratio is a crucial element of visual story telling.

Hey, what's this?

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