P&S vs Widescreen: Flash tutorial (1 Viewer)

[Ryan Wright]

I've seen lots of static OAR tutorials, but I've yet to see one that I feel really captures what P&S does to a movie. So, I spent about 6 hours between last night and this morning creating an animated tutorial in Flash. I'm hoping this will help convert at least a few "full screen" zealots, and give everyone here something to show the Joe Six Packs of the world.
Comments, suggestions, etc, are all welcomed. Please, let me know if you think this is an effective tool for the masses.
The tutorial is now a permanent fixure on my web site and can be viewed at:
http://www.ryanwright.com/ht/oar.shtml. (232KB, 1.5 minutes long)
The sound compression really did a number on my voice, but it's still easy to understand.
Anyway, let me know what you think...
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-Ryan (http://www.ryanwright.com )
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes.
That way, when you do criticize them, you'll be a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

 

[EugeneR]

Great Job! But your voice sounds like you're about 12.

[Edited last by EugeneR on November 10, 2001 at 12:30 PM]

 

[Oswald Pascual]

Kudos to you Ryan! Excellent job!
Now if we can get more folks that don't understand this to view it, maybe it would help. From what I hear some Blockbuster Video VP's and District managers should see this as well.
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Ozzie

 

[Dan Hitchman]

Although, you state a theater screen is 16x9 (1.78:1). Most are actually, at full curtain extension, 2.35:1 and the example you give (Star Wars) is a 2.35:1 Panavision movie. You would be losing approx. 45% of the picture due to panning and scanning using, again, the movie example you decided on. 1.78:1 (16x9) is the chosen HDTV broadcast ratio, not a theatrical ratio.
You ought to do one for 1.85:1 ratio movies too. Aliens is a good example since it was hard-matted to its intended theatrical ratio in-camera. They have to crop the sides if they cram it into a 4:3 TV ratio.
Another would be showing how a 2.35:1 ratio movie still needs to have some black bars on the top and bottom in order to fit a 1.78:1 widescreen HDTV.
Good job!
Dan
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[Edited last by Dan Hitchman on November 10, 2001 at 12:56 PM]

 

[DaveF]

(duplicate)
[Edited last by DaveF on November 10, 2001 at 01:16 PM]

 

[DaveF]

Great job Ryan!
Now, after all my hard gif animation work, I've got Flash envy

 

[Jack Briggs]

The question is, How to get people of the J6P variety over to Ryan's site? It needs a descriptive URL--and it must be intelligible to persons who've never heard of the phrases "pan and scan" and "OAR" and such.
But I concur: good job!
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[Ryan Wright]

The question is, How to get people of the J6P variety over to Ryan's site?

I'm not sure on that one. I'm going to add some meta tags to my HT page and setup a better introduction to the tutorial, in hopes that people will stumble across it. The biggest reason I made it is so I, and others here, can show it to others. The next time I hear someone whining about black bars, rather than frustrate myself trying to explain it, I'm going to give them the URL so they can actually see the process in action.
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-Ryan (http://www.ryanwright.com )
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes.
That way, when you do criticize them, you'll be a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

 

[Kevin Coleman]

The first thing I would do is get in touch with Ron or Parker and see if they will let you post a link on the front page of the forum. E-mail Bill Hunt at the digital bits also, he might put a link to it up on his site.
I think that is a very nice piece of work and does a good job of explaining pan n scan. I agree that we should not get too complicated on it keep it simple. JSP has a very short attention span.
Kevin C.

 

[MichaelPe]

Great job, I really liked it!
However, I would replace the simple rectangle with an actual image of a standard 4:3 television set. I think this would get the point across a lot faster than if you just show differently-sized rectangles. Just a suggestion.
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[Sam R. Aucoin]

Ryan:
I doubt if this could have been explained any better
I wish other sites, such as The Digital Bits, would link (if you permit them) to your example to explain what exactly occurs.
The thing I particularly like about your audio description is that you readily admit that a WS presentation results in the shrinking of the frame, but the result is a full 1/3 or more of the picture being seen at any given time.
Good job!

 

[Ryan Wright]

I wish other sites, such as The Digital Bits, would link (if you permit them) to your example to explain what exactly occurs.

Anyone who wishes may link to it. In addition, I will make the .swf available to anyone who asks, so that they may put it on their own site.
I'm already working up a new, interactive tutorial. I don't expect it to be finished for a few weeks at the earliest, but this one is going to be amazing when I'm done. I'm sticking live video, sound effects, etc, in it... (plus, I get to learn Flash while I'm at it)
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-Ryan (http://www.ryanwright.com )
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes.
That way, when you do criticize them, you'll be a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

 

[Michael D. Bunting]

Ryan - Great Job!
I'd love to add this to my web site. Please email me the .swf file and I'll put it up as soon as I can. I have never used shockwave before - but I can learn if I need to do so to be able to post this demo.
Thanks
Link Removed is my site - notjing great just yet - but I hope to really start adding to the content this winter.
Mike
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[Scott H]

Nice job.
As Dan Hitchman indicated though, technically there is no 1.78:1 35mm projection standard in the U.S. While the screens are matted to just about any AR with curtains, U.S. 35mm projection standards are exactly 1.37; 1.66; 1.85; and 2.39:1, no matter the OAR. The 'widescreen' TV 1.78:1 AR is not directly related to feature film ARs.
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[Edited last by Scott H on November 11, 2001 at 03:21 AM]

 

[Richard_Huntington]

Don't change a thing. It's terrific. I just emailed the link to about two dozen people.

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"My wife actually prefers widescreen"

 

[Voon Jiet]

I love it! Absolutely great! The real test is to show the tutorial to a J6P, and when I showed the tutorial to some friends of mine, they actually got the message.
Great work Ryan. I will make this presentation mandatory viewing to all my pals who come over to my place to watch DVDs in future. Never underestimate the importance of education
[Edited last by Voon Jiet on November 11, 2001 at 11:16 AM]

 

[Will K]

Sweet! Excellent work!

 

[Steve_Ch]

Simply fantastic, short and sweet, I think this is the perfect level for casual users and if they really are interested, they can always follow your audio lead to come here.

 

[DarrenA]

quote: The thing I particularly like about your audio description is that you readily admit that a WS presentation results in the shrinking of the frame, but the result is a full 1/3 or more of the picture being seen at any given time.[/quote]
This is still backwards thinking. Since the example of Star Wars was given then I will use it as the example. StarWars was shown in the theaters at 2.35:1 (2.40:1 actually), and therefore to Pan & Scan the movie properly means to alter the image by cutting off the sides and ENLARGING or zooming the image to fit the height of a 4:3 television.
To keep repeating that widescreen images are reduced (shrinking) is deceptive as widescreen is the normal frame, Pan & Scan is the altering of the original image. This is the reason that Pan & Scan movies have a message before the movie begins stating that "This film has been modified to fit your television".
As I have posted before, a Pan & Scan version of a 2.35:1 movie looks softer and more out of focus than it's widescreen counterpart because of the enlarging and zooming that is taking place during the Pan and Scan process.
Here's an example of the Pan and Scan process with the Mask of Zorro...
Original 2.35:1 widescreen image on 4:3 display

4:3 Pan and Scan Window on 2.35:1 image

4:3 Pan and Scan image area enlarging for 4:3 display

4:3 Pan and Scan image fitting 4:3 display

Though this is just a representation, this illustrates the lack of sharpness and focus lost during the Pan and Scan process.
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DarrenA
The Academy Home Theater
[Edited last by DarrenA on November 11, 2001 at 02:17 PM]

 

[Scott H]

I just don't understand... I truly applaud Ryan's effort and ambition, and all HT folks who passionately explain why letterboxing preserves intended ARs. But nearly every single explanation or sample page I have seen includes errors in making their point, and if unchanged this one will too. Folks are quick to correct J6P, but are often in error themselves when doing so. It seems that many think these are minor issues, but they are not - it is doing a disservice and confusing people.
I believe the best approach is to be simple and accurate. This example is pretty simple and the graphics are accurate, but referring to a theater screen (implied presentation) as 16:9 is wrong. And every person that views this sample and carries that belief away now has a fundamental misunderstanding of all this. You and I understand that here we are seeing a c2.40:1 Star Wars image on a 1.78:1 widescreen TV, but someone less familiar may not get that, and when they acquire their 16:9 TVs, and then get Star Wars on DVD, they are going to freak when they discover it doesn't fill their screen. And who shares the responsibility for that?
Again, an otherwise excellent job Ryan. But I implore you to make corrections to it before disseminating it.
Regards
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My DVD Library
Runaway production? No thanks. Where I've filmed, benefiting local economies: AL, CA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, MN, MO, MT, NV, OH, OR, TX, WA, WY.