Why are many movies still filmed using the "scope" aspect ratio (2.39:1) despite film no longer being widely-used?

Why are many movies still filmed using the "scope" aspect ratio (2.39:1) despite film no longer being widely-used? - Smiley black boys watching funny video on laptop on bed

Question:

Today, in the cinema industry, pretty much all theaters use digital projectors for exhibition. D-Cinema standard calls for the 2K chips (most widely-used) to have 2048x1080 resolution; thus, "scope" aspect ratio is 2048x858 (1.76 megapixel) while "flat" aspect ratio is 1998x1080 (2.16 megapixel). 4K chips have more pixels but the same ratio. Scope movies have an effectively lower resolution as a result.

Additionally, when we consider in-home viewing, nearly all TVs and HD projectors are made with a 16:9 aspect ratio, which is narrower than even theatrical widescreen (1.85:1), and thus, either requires cropping or letterboxing to fit the screen. Scope movies are even more disadvantaged here.

Thus the question: while the most common displays in theaters and in the home are closer to the theatrical "flat" ("widescreen") format, and the number of pixels used to display that image would be greater if the movie was filmed in flat, a very large number (perhaps majority?) of movies today are filmed and distributed using the scope aspect ratio. Some recent examples:

  • The Invisible Man - Scope
  • Wendy - Flat
  • Burden - Scope
  • Call of the Wild - Scope
  • Brahms: The Boy II - Scope
  • Emma - Flat
  • Fantasy Island - Scope
  • Downhill - Scope
  • Ordinary Love - Scope
  • The Photograph - Scope
  • Sonic the Hedgehog - Scope

Of these last three weeks' worth of movies, just two were formatted in flat. Does anyone know why this is? Is it just industry inertia (see background), or is there more to it?

Background:

Back in the days of film, the industry had evolved to utilize essentially two aspect ratios. The first, known as "flat" or "widescreen", was 1.85:1 and took up roughly 1/2 of a frame of film.

Cinemascope, or just "scope" as we call it (2.39:1), used an anamorphic lens during filming to compress the image horizontally, such that it used almost 100% of the full frame. This came along with complicated optics on the projection side which were expensive and difficult to get in focus, but the result was an objectively higher-quality picture (both resolution and brightness were better).

Even though the picture quality of scope was better with film, the aspect ratios of screens didn't necessarily correspond to this. In the theaters where I worked, most houses had the screen get smaller for scope due to how the room was laid out. Our two largest houses, however, both had "native" scope screens, with the masking brought in on the sides to exhibit flat pictures. I still see the same today when I go to the movies - some auditoriums are formatted for flat to have a larger screen, while others are formatted for scope.

Along with this, I'm guessing (though I don't have solid numbers) that about 70% of the movies traditionally were filmed using scope, and that percentage would jump even higher - maybe to 90% if you took out kids/family films (which were mostly shot using flat). It is clear that there is a substantial tradition in the cinema of using the scope format.






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Why are movies filmed in aspect ratio?

The standard size for high definition widescreen televisions and most computer monitors, 16:9 is the most common aspect ratio used today. It is generally associated with video shot for TV and the Internet since film aspect ratios are typically wider in order to achieve a more cinematic look.

Are most movies in 2.35 1?

1.85:1 is the aspect ratio of about 20% of the most popular movies. 2.4:1 (rounded up from a more precise 2.393:1), is the aspect ratio of the most popular movies made after about 1972 and increasingly the aspect ratio of streaming content. 2.35:1 is the aspect ratio of many movies before 1972.

What aspect ratio is 2.39 1?

2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. Also known as Panavision or CinemaScope, 2.39:1 is a popular aspect ratio for major movie releases. Historically, this aspect ratio was actually 2.35:1, but it switched to 2.39:1 in the 1970s. It is also commonly rounded up to 2.40:1.

Are all movies 2.35 1?

Most contemporary films are done in formats wider than 16:9, and quite a few of them are made in 2.35:1. Accordingly, some home theater enthusiasts are opting for a 2.35 format screen. In this type of set up, all 2.35 films are shown in full-frame super widescreen with no black bars.



Understand ASPECT RATIO - Become a BETTER FILMMAKER and EDITOR (The History of Widescreen)




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Ketut Subiyanto, Sam Lion, Ketut Subiyanto, Andres Ayrton