2.5.5 Super 35mm (production format for release prints of various formats) (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.
2.5.5 Super 35mm (production format for release prints of various formats) (Motion Picture Formats - original cinematography)
A recent development has been `super 35mm,' which, like super 16mm,
extends the photographed image out into the soundtrack area (it uses
the same frame area as old silent movies), and must be optically
printed onto print stock in order to make projection prints. The
possible advantage to this is that it allows a cinematographer to use
`spherical' (standard) lenses to shoot a film which may eventually be
printed in anamorphic. Spherical lenses are less expensive to rent
than anamorphics, and do not have the characteristic optical
distortion which is common to anamorphic lenses. The disadvantage is
that the images are often grainier than those originally shot with
anamorphic lenses, and the optical printing stage is expensive and
adds its own type of distortion.
Super 35mm is also used by some directors and cinematographers because
they feel that it allows for a less problematic full-screen television
version of the film. Because super 35mm negatives carry more picture
than will eventually be projected, a nicer-looking TV version of the
film can be created. This works by manipulating the area of the film
which is displayed on the television screen, using the extra picture
at the top and bottom of the frame to `fill in' areas which would
ordinarily lack a portion of the image, when the TV frame must center
on a specific area at the edge of the theatrical frame.
Super 35mm prints can be 'extracted' from various portions of the
negative. A `top-extraction' or `common headroom' extraction is made
such that the very top frameline of the super 35mm negative
corresponds to the very top frameline of the print. A `symmetrical' or
`center- extraction' print is made such that equal top and bottom
areas are cropped off of the super 35mm negative. The viewfinder
markings are adjusted to match the chosen format.
Interestingly, super 35mm is nearly identical to the `Superscope 235'
process used in by RKO Pictures. The first film to use this format was
Run for the Sun in 1956. This was photographed using almost the same
frame area as Super 35mm, and then optically printed onto CinemaScope
(tm) release prints, leaving extra image area at the top and bottom of
the frame for TV prints.
35mm film frame: 35mm film frame:
(Academy ratio) (1.85:1 ratio)
(note inefficient use of negative space,
which is photographed in the camera,
but not projected)
| | | |
|O -------------------O| |O (unused space) O|
| | | | | ------------------- |
|O | Image |O| |O | Image |O|
| | | | | | Area | |
|O | Area |O| |O | |O|
| | | | | ------------------- |
|O -------------------O| |O (unused space) O|
| | | |
|<-------- 35mm -------->| |<-------- 35mm -------->|
super 35mm/silent film frame: 35mm anamorphic film frame:
| | | |
|O----------------------O| |O -------------------O|
| | | | | | | |
|O| Larger |O| |O | 'Squeezed' |O|
| | Image | | | | Image | |
|O| Area |O| |O | Area |O|
| | | | | | | |
|O----------------------O| |O -------------------O|
| | | |
|<-------- 35mm -------->| |<-------- 35mm -------->|
Vista Vision film frame:
-------------------------- ---
O O O O O O O O /|\
|--------------------| |
| Very Large | |
| | 35mm
| Image Area | |
|--------------------| |
O O O O O O O O \|/
-------------------------- ---
NOTE: The blank space to the left of the image area in the above diagrams
(except for Vista Vision and super 35mm) is reserved for a soundtrack
which is printed on release prints.
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