Pan and Scam for "FIREFLY" **GRRRR, ARRRGH** (1 Viewer)

[Robert Ringwald]

Yup, according to aintitcoolnews.com

A writer stopped by to give some info on the show, and this is what he said...
***
The bummer thing we just found out is that Fox doesn't want to let us air the show in letterbox. Which sucks, big time. Not only are the pilot and "Train Job" in the can in letterbox format, I'm sure you can tell from the 2-hour that this show is an ideal candidate for widescreen. But I guess Fox thinks that America will be turned off by letterboxing. We're all scratching our heads about that. We think our audience will be comprised of pretty savvy viewers -- the kind of folk that love DVDs BECAUSE they show the whole picture and would love to watch a big, badass letterbox show. Alas, Fox does not agree. We're still fighting that battle, but unless we can convince the network that our target audience is sophisticated enough to watch a widescreen show, we're humped. ****

I really hope they change their minds.

 

[MickeS]

I'm confused as to why TV shows are filmed in anything else than 4:3 in the first place. Are they just planning ahead for HDTV and DVD releases?

I agree that the show should be shown in its OAR though.

/Mike

 

[Andrew Beacom]

Robert,

This majorly disappointing to say the least. I was worried about Joss and his apparent dislike of WS but it seems Fox are going to be the issue.

Can't someone show them an episode of Enterprise and it's ratings. Views who will watch Sci-Fi won't turn of because it's in WS. Thats just crap.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Yeah, they are getting ready for syndication runs in HDTV. But most shows aren't being framed for widescreen, so when they are shown full-frame, I don't mind (Buffy, for example is filmed in widescreen, but all the important info is in the 4:3 frame.). But that info clearly demonstrates that FIREFLY is filmed with 16:9 in mind, and that makes me mad...

 

[Jason Seaver]

But I guess Fox thinks that America will be turned off by letterboxing.

I'm not sure why they'd think that; it hasn't hurt "ER" or "The West Wing" at all, and if a viewer is flipping through the broadcast channels (as audience members are wont to do, even with cable) on Friday night, the different shape is gong to be immediately attention-grabbing. And, heck, there's even a certain amount of keeping up with the Joneses to do - both "Farscape" and "Enterprise" are already widescreen (though the latter doesn't make much use of it), which is going to make "Firefly" look somewhat smaller-scale.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Not to mention 'Angel' (a Fox production).

Wake up, Fox!

 

[Jason Seaver]

Well, I figured mentioning the ratings of "ER" - the country's top-rated show - was more persuasive than mentioning those of "Angel" ("one of the WB's most popular shows!" is sort of a backhanded compliment).

 

[todd s]

Well, maybe like "24" Fox will release this show after the first season on dvd in widescreen.

 

[Martin Rendall]

Petition!!

 

[John Berggren]

I wonder why Fox is such a holdout on widescreen presentations. NBC, UPN, WB all do widescreen with great success. They should let the directors and producers broadcast in the AR they film in or prefer.

Is there a way to convince Fox from a fan perspective?

Their broadcast division is quite removed from their home video division, which seems to have it's stuff together.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Their broadcast division is quite removed from their home video division, which seems to have it's stuff together.

The various divisions of News Corp can be really autonomous.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Snail mail letters and phone calls will work, anything else will not

 

[Nigel McN]

...Stargate, Sopranos,...

....man just look at the huge list of unsuccessful shows in widescreen,.....