Why the aspect ratio change from 4:3 to 16:9 to even wider formats?
It's a common trait of older movies to be shot in 4:3 aspect ratio. Found a list of 4:3 movies, they're all very old (like, before 1960s).
Eventually, it became common for 16:9 ratios to be found. From the wiki:
Since 2009 it has become the most common aspect ratio for televisions and computer monitors, and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television. It is also used universally (16:9) as the ratio for mobile phone screens. This has replaced the old 4:3 aspect ratio.
More recently, movies and series have become even wider, using ratios of 2.4:1. Here's a small list, for example, including Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, American Beauty, etc.
What motivated this change to wider formats?
Is it based on camera hardware, is it based on human perception (i.e., because we have eyes side by side, a wide image is better for us), is it budget related, or what?
Best Answer
The initial motivation was to compete with television, after that it was more like an arms race
The original aspect ratio for film was based on an arbitrary choice in the very early days of cinema based on the standard 35mm film used. The resulted in several decades where 1.33 (4:3) was the standard modified (almost imperceptibly) to the academy ratio of 1.37 to accommodate optical recording of sound on part of the film.
Things stayed with this until television became popular. This worried the cinema industry as TV was taking their audience. So they decided to fight back by doing something TV could not do: offer "bigger" images in a different aspect ratio. The first way to do this was Cinerama (first used in 1952) which produced a ratio of 2.59 by using three conventional cameras both to film and to project. This was successful but expensive. The fact that it was a success spurred an explosion of innovation driven by the desire for "bigger" pictures (or wider ratios than TV) but constrained by the cost of the various systems. This was effectively an arms race of new technology constrained by cost.
Paramount first responded (in 1953) by releasing movies in 1.66 ratio by cropping academy shot film and projecting on a bigger screen (but this compromised image quality to get a wider picture). In 1953 an old invention, the anamorphic lens, was used to shoot wide screen on conventional film. This was CinemaScope which had a ratio of 2.35. This was followed by other innovations like VistaVsion in 1954 which gave a 1.85 ratio.
Innovation didn't stop there. in 1954 some studios started to use 70mm film to give ratios of 2.2 and even 2.76 with anamorphic lenses (as used for the MGM 65 process in Ben Hur).
Since then innovation has continued in an attempt to balance the cost with the desire to have non-TV ratios.
When TV started to catch up in the 1980s with new video standards a new compromise ratio was developed for video production that would minimise the empty space on screens when movie ratios were shown on TV (and eventually DVD and higher definition broadcasts such as HDTV). This was a ratio of 1.78 (16:9) and this is what most small screens and digital video formats such as 4K are now based on.
The proliferation of formats was initially driven by the need to do better than TV but became an arms race of new formats driven by the need to trade off the technology and production cost of new formats with the benefits of non-TV ratios.
Most of the facts here are derived from this excellent video by FilmMakerIQ.com which is well worth watching for more detail.
Pictures about "Why the aspect ratio change from 4:3 to 16:9 to even wider formats?"
Why does the aspect ratio change?
When TV started to catch up in the 1980s with new video standards a new compromise ratio was developed for video production that would minimise the empty space on screens when movie ratios were shown on TV (and eventually DVD and higher definition broadcasts such as HDTV).Why are 4:3 and 16:9 Not the same?
The 16:9 aspect ratio creates a frame that's 78% wider than it is tall. The 4:3 aspect ratio, on the other hand, creates a frame that's 33% wider than it is tall. The difference between these two aspect ratios is that 16:9 records more information horizontally, while 4:3 records more vertically.Why did aspect ratios become wider in the 1950s?
During the early 1950s, Hollywood studios tried new techniques in the face of declining attendance in movie theaters. One strategy was to increase the size of the screen and projected image, especially as a way to combat the growing popularity of television's much smaller screen.When did the aspect ratio change?
It wasn't until the early 2000s that 16:9 (1.78) televisions hit the market in masses, and changed the aspect ratio game forever. No longer was widescreen a format only for film, but now it was a television format too.Aspect Ratio: Convert 4:3 to 16:9 using Adobe Premier
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Brett Sayles, Karolina Grabowska, Anete Lusina, William Fortunato