2.4.2 Super 16mm (HDTV/35mm blowup frame) (Motion Picture Formats - original cinematography)
Description
This article is from the rec.arts.movies.tech FAQ, by Scott E. Norwood snorwood@nyx.nyx.net with numerous contributions by others.
2.4.2 Super 16mm (HDTV/35mm blowup frame) (Motion Picture Formats - original cinematography)
-
super 16mm camera frame: .488" x .295"
In the 1970's, super 16mm was developed as a filming format primarily
for productions which were to originate on 16mm (supported heavily by
Aaton (tm) , the French camera manufacturer), but be ``blown up'' to
35mm for theatrical release (as few commercial theaters have 16mm
projectors). The image was made wider, extending into the far edge of
the film, formerly occupied by an extra set of perforations on camera
film or a soundtrack on release prints (unlike regular 16mm, camera
film for super 16mm shooting must be `single-perf'-i.e. it has
sprocket holes on only one edge, with the other edge left for the
image). This provides a higher-resolution image when the film is blown
up to 35mm, because there is a larger image area, and because there is
less cropping of the image to fit the usual American 35mm aspect ratio
of 1.85:1, or the European ratio of 1.66:1. The disadvantage, though,
is that it is not a projection format, as a single piece of 16mm film
cannot accommodate both the larger image and a soundtrack.
Some producers are shooting TV shows on super 16mm, with the intent of
re-transferring the negatives to videotape when and if high definition
television (HDTV) comes into widespread use. The wider aspect ratio is
very close to the proposed U.S. HDTV standard of 1.77:1 (16/9), and so
super 16mm films could be shown with little cropping, whereas a 1.37:1
picture would either have the top and bottom edges cropped, or the
sides masked inward to fit on an HDTV screen (yielding a very small
picture). Presumably, then, super 16mm is a way for producers worried
about upcoming technological changes in television to `future proof' a
television show, so that it can be presented in any form, with the
highest quality images allowed by the format chosen for future TV
receivers.
16mm film frame: super 16mm film frame: | | | | | O--------------O | |-----------------O| | | Image | | Image area -->| Image || | | Area | | extends to | Area || | O--------------O | edge of |-----------------O| | | film. | | |<----- 16mm ----->| |<----- 16mm ----->|
Continue to:
My Books
