Changing OAR in "Heat"? (1 Viewer)

[Doug_L]

The title doesn't really get my point across. Just re-watched Heat the other night, and there are a few shots that look, well, squeezed from side to side. Kind of the way a 16:9 enhanced DVD would look played on a 4:3 monitor - everybody looked skinny (but not nearly as skinny as 16:9 in 4:3 frame). It was subtle, but noticable.

Here's the weird part: the aspect ratio DIDN'T change. The top and bottom of the frame (ie: where the black bars begin) stayed in the same place on my television. It was consistently 2.35:1, or 2.20:1, or whichever is truly accurate for this pic, I'm not sure.

Anybody hear about this before? Is it possible that they re-framed some shots to retain composition? Is that even possible? Is this a side-effect of the filming process? Could this be what Mann intended?

Sorry I can't remeber the specific scenes. I'll check it out again and post if anybody's interested enough to check this out for themselves. I'm kind of hoping this is a known problem.

My setup is as follows:

Pioneer 525 DVDP, outputting 16:9 information,

Connected by Ultralink S-Video cables, to

Loewe 32" Calida (4:3 AR) with auto 16:9 squeeze enabled

Video Essentials calibrated,

Overscan is 3-5%

Thanks.

 

[Michael Reuben]

I don't remember anything like this, on either the DVD or the LD. Without specific scene references, it's hard to comment further. It's worth noting, though, that the lenses used in filming can introduce many kinds of distortions, some major and some minor. That may be all you're seeing.

M.

 

[Bjoern Roy]

Yes, i have never gotton to the bottom of this, but there are lots of scenes in the Heat DVD where the picture is considerable stretched vertically. And i didn't find it subtle. Have not seen the LD, so i can't comment on that.

 

[Carlo_M]

Specific scenes would help. I think I may have a widescreen VHS hanging around somewhere, I could take a look at that as well as my current DVD (which I bought because I like the movie but haven't had a chance to sit down and watch it all the way through).

 

[JeremySt]

Could be due to lens choices in particular scenes. When anamorphic lenses are used in the photography process, there is always some sort of geometric distortion. Ecspecially if the subject is not centered within the composition of the frame. Example: if the camera is stationary, an a person walks from screen left to screen right, they appear to get skinnier towards the outer edges of the frame, if a wide lens is used.

just a thought.