Educating the masses on OAR, business card style (1 Viewer)

[Jason Harbaugh]

Since it is apparently becoming a battle of trying to educate the J6Ps about original aspect ratio and how 'Full Screen' doesn't mean full image that was shot I figured I would make a couple printable demonstrations. They can be resized to business card size so the next time you see someone purchasing a fullscreen copy of a dvd that you know was shot widescreen then just show them this and hopefully they will understand.

Ok so I was bored and had some time on my hands.

 

[Alex Spindler]

Excellent work.

 

[Rob T]

LOL
nice Ghostbusters card.

 

[Nate Anderson]

Yes, I would have to say I prefer the Ghostbusters one. Egon was ALWAYS the one who was cropped out. Poor Harold Ramis.
------------------
"This is not a drill. This is the apocolypse!"
Link Removed

 

[Ben Motley]

Jason, I have just sent off a letter of recommendation to the Nobel committee, suggesting that you be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This idea could only serve to quell the fires between J6P, the senseless hordes of Blockbuster's minions, and adamant HTF enthusiasts. Great idea, excellent work my friend. I want to order a box of at least 500 now!
------------------
"Who made it?! The Shark!?!"
Please sign this Hammer Films petition, thanks!
http://www.petitiononline.com/Hammer/petition.html

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

Thanks for the compliments. I haven't really posted here but I frequent the board alot and post regularly on avsforum. I noticed a trend of people wanting to inform the casual dvd purchaser (j6p) and no one really had a great way of doing it without ripping up their dollar bill or just putting them down for being so ignorant or bullheaded. Figured you could walk into Best Buy, notice someone purchasing a P&S dvd while you are shopping. Ask them if they know what P&S means. If they say, I hate those black bars because it cuts off the picture. Just point to the handy little card and say "No, actually you cut off Egon and Winston." Pictures speak louder than words.
I'll continue to make more. The best examples are ones that show characters being cut out or the meaning actually being altered instead of just a little scenery. I'm going through all of my DVD's that have both versions on them. I have a good one from Dark City that shows a blue ball of electricity all by itself in the P&S version. The two characters actually controlling that 'ball' are both cut out.
Nate,
I love the commentary on Ghostbusters. Harold cheers that he is finally back in most of the movie.

 

[DaveF]

Jason,
Could you provide the original file for download, in some commonly readable format (Word, Illustrator, etc.)? that would be great. I'd like to print a few of the Ghostbuster cards for myself, with some minor changes for my own tastes.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

They were done in photoshop (.psd) with layers. I can post a link to that file if you like. It is around 2.5mb. I'll zip it though. I take it you would want the Ghostbusters one?

 

[David Lambert]

Excellent work!
I gotta point something out, though.
Ghostbusters is not a title that some stores are only stocking a MAR edition of, is it?
In fact, there isn't a separate, MAR-only DVD on the market for Ghostbusters. It's only available in OAR. The Special Edition, anamorphically enhanced, has been the only DVD version on the market and I've seen it for sale or rent everywhere, including Wal-Mart and Blockbuster.
When you get down to it, Ghostbusters is a terrific SE with loads of supplements, streeting for $15 in most places. A great example of how we want to represent DVD to the masses: Original Theatrical Presentation, great supplements with original ideas (video commentary), at an AWESOME price!
I don't think it'll help the HTF pro-OAR position for us to print up these Ghostbusters cards - as wonderful as they are - and try to insinuate that the named retailers are refusing to sell an OAR widescreen version. We won't convince people without honesty and accurate facts!
I'd say we're on the right track, though, and the card for The Mummy Returns is perfect! We ought to stick to titles like TMR, that are available in different AR versions as separate SKUs , and which certain retailers only carry the MAR version SKU, refusing to stock the OAR version SKU as well.
Other examples of 2-SKU (1-for-each-AR) DVD's (last 2½ on the list still not out yet):

• Stuart Little
  The Mummy
  Jaws
  Jurrasic Park
  Lost World: Jurassic Park
  102 Dalmations
  Charlotte's Web
  Santa Claus: The Movie
  Airport
  Remember the Titans
  Silence of the Lambs
  Cats & Dogs
  Willie Wonka - 30th Annversary Edition
  The Princess Diaries
  How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Hey! Another thing we can do is get screencaps/digitalpics from Laserdisc versions in LBX format and compare to the existing MAR-only DVD's. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, anyone?
Also, it will do no good to compare the OAR vs. MAR issue on DVD titles that (like The Muppet Movie, Shrek, The NeverEnding Story, and Men in Black for example) the stores sell you both versions with one purchase. It doesn't give the consumer a chance to make a choice and vote with their $$'s. The stores can't help but carry the OAR version, right?
One last though: may I suggest that we dispense with terms like "Pan and Scam" and "Crop and Chop". It might keep a few folks from taking it seriously. Why don't we stick to "professional-sounding" terms. MAR (Modified Aspect Ratio) sounds great to me when I'm trying to persuade someone that non-OAR is wrong.
All of this is just my own opinion, so take it or leave it. The design work you've done here looks great, though!
I've been toying with the idea of registering a domain name along the lines of "www.oaryes.org" or something. Thoughts?
------------------
DAVE/Memphis

MORE TV ON DVD, PLEASE!

 

[Jeff]

Nice job!
You should also put a web site address that shows more comparisons.
BTW, stick with the Ghostbusters one or another, The Mummy won't work.
Jeff

 

[David Lambert]

The Mummy won't work

What's wrong with it? A tiny bit cluttered, but otherwise it looks fine to me.
------------------
DAVE/Memphis

MORE TV ON DVD, PLEASE!

 

[Ricky f]

That is just AWSOME
Print out a million, go to a high building and throw them everywhere, Kind of like She-Devil style
Regards,
Ricky
------------------

www.petitiononline.com/UncutDVD

 

[Calvin Watts III]

Now This is a great idea!!!
I can print up some,and hand them out with my cable access show card.
Speaking of my cable show, I'm working on a segment on showing just what the difference is between P&S and widescreen. Something along the lines of the Die Hard 5-Star segment.
Hey,any little bit helps,right?

Calvin
------------------
"Never give up!!! .......... Never surrender!!!!!!!!!."

 

[David Susilo]

Great work! Really love the Muumy version, though. Especially because it's just been recently released.

 

[David James]

Great stuff Jason. Are the pictures actually taken from the OAR and P&S versions or "approximations"?

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

David,
You are right about the Ghostbusters one. It is a great OAR DVD and shows clearly how much of a benefit the format serves. The only reason I picked it is because I always had this picture ingrained in my head of only seeing 2 or 3 ghostbusters during the movie everytime I watched it on TV. This always seemed weird to me since way back when I didn't understand OAR and P&S. I do think it serves the purpose well though, even if it is a little fudged. If it did come out in a P&S or MAR as you put it(I like that too) I'm sure stores like Walmart and Blockbuster etc would try to only carry the P&S version like they are now with more and more new releases. Luckily for us and the entire DVD community the studios didn't even make that an option. Guess Harold Ramis was tired of not being shown.
Thanks for all the sudgestions and everyone can take this idea and make their own etc. I would like to do one of Cats & Dogs (if I can find a WS version of it) since that is the latest controversy.
Quick question. Weren't Jurrasic Park and Lost World shot in open matte except for the special fx shots? If so then that might not be a good one to compare.
To answer the other questions. The pictures are from OAR dvd's and the P&S cutout was taken from reference to VHS copy of Ghostbusters and an educated guess for TMR. I looked at the P&S version of the first Mummy and took a screen shot and overlaid that as a reference.
The other idea I had was to make a two sided card. One side would have the entire screenshot unaltered in OAR. On the other side it would just be the P&S cutout and then the writing on the sides with no picture. Harder to printout but maybe a little cleaner and uncluttered.
Web address is a great idea. Maybe widescreen.org. or the link to the digitalbits Widescreen-O-Rama.

 

[Luis A]

Excellent work Jason. L

 

[Scott-C]

Jason,
Very nice! I think this is a great way to get the message out to the masses.
------------------
Scott

 

[Nathan Spillman]

Ghostbusters was the first movie I ever noticed the unnatural scanning of the picture for some odd reason, and watching it for the first time in OAR, I noticed things I'd never seen before which I'm sure every one of you knows here.
If someone is on the edge, this is the perfect movie to show them. Everyone knows it well, and the vast majority of people only know it well from video and/or cable.
I've convinced two or three people myself using it.
-Nathan Spillman

 

[Anthony_J]

Great work!!!
One thing - When I start handing these things out, I'm going to change the tag at the bottom to read "Support Widescreen Movies" or something similar, instead of "Support OAR".
I don't think most people understand that OAR = "Widescreen" and it might help to make the distinction between P&S and OAR a little clearer.
Just a thought, but otherwise outstanding concept.