Hollywood Movies

SankarKrishna · September 22, 2004

hi

Can you please tell me what is the screening format in the Movie theaters here. Is that 35mm or Cinemascope? You can also email me at skrishnaswamy@ercot.com

Thanks

Krishna

David Mullen ASC · September 22, 2004

CinemaScope IS 35mm...

35mm projection in first-run theaters mainly comes in just two types: matted widescreen using spherical lenses (usually the sound aperture is matted to 1.85 : 1) or anamorphic widescreen (CinemaScope), which is 2.39 : 1 when unsqueezed by the anamorphic projector lenses. Most theatrical releases are one or the other, and the ratio is about 50/50 so all theaters can show either.

A few art house cinemas and museums can show the barely matted, non-widescreen, 1.37 : 1 Academy Aperture 35mm format.

GWilliamPatrickB · October 17, 2004

hi

Can you please tell me what is the screening format in the Movie theaters here. Is that 35mm or Cinemascope? You can also email me at skrishnaswamy@ercot.com

Thanks

Krishna

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For the most part the "format" is 35mm in 185 or anamorphic 2.40:1 some super 35 (it has no set standard and consequently you must shoot a framing leader as with 3 perf and check with your lab)

At present not too much is done in 65mm for 70 release

GWPB

Landon D. Parks · October 20, 2004

I know this does not concern me. But I must ask, Is'nt standard american widescreen 1:1.85 and European wide screen 2.39 : 1? I know all my local theaters has 1:1.85 screen's. Would'nt that mean that to project 2.39:1 would mean that you would only be using the center portion of the 1:1.85 screen's?

Please, Someone clear this up for me....

Phil Rhodes · October 20, 2004

Hi,

Your local theatres almost certainly have variable masking which accomodates either 2.39 or 1.85. Both formats are commonly shown worldwide. Only if you want to project Academy ratio (1.33 or so) or 16mm native 1.66 will you usually have problems, and even then it's not hard to find a place that'll fudge some kind of solution with black flats (We projected Academy last night.)

Phil

Landon D. Parks · October 20, 2004

Ok, what is the difference between 2.35: 1 and 2.39: 1?

I just read IMDB's tech info on Anamorphic photography, and it appears that a lot of shows that I've seen in my theaters where shot Anamorphic. But yet the fit in the 1:1.85 screen fine.

Is what your saying where the basically just "Chop" off the sides of the 2.39: 1 image when projected to get a 1:1.85 image out of it?

David Mullen ASC · October 20, 2004

The screen generally has moveable black side panels to allow scope or flat projection, so you might think they are fitting both formats onto one sized screen when actually the screen has been resized before you come into the theaters (since scope movies are preceded by scope trailers.)

Scope projection is currently 2.39 : 1; however, it varies from theater to theater from 2.20 to 2.39. I've seen it as bad as 2.00 : 1 (with 1.85 films chopped top & bottom to fit 2.00 : 1 as well) but only in the smallest screen of a huge multiplex.

On average, most theaters will show most of the scope frame. More often, the problem is with 1.85 films, which sometimes get shown miscentered vertically, showing mic booms, etc. 2.39 scope prints can't be too vertically misframed because there is so little space between each frame, unlike 1.85.

J. Lamar King IMPOSTOR · October 20, 2004

They don't chop anything off. If they are, complain big time. Next time you go to the theatre notice that the shape of the screen changes. Theatres have moveable curtains around the screen and they change its shape to fit either 1.85 or 2.40.

I see David beat me to it...