Pan and scan? (1 Viewer)

[Dan Whalen]

Not sure if this is in the right area, so if a mod needs to move it go ahead. Anywho, I've seen a lot of reference to pan and scan. What in the hell is it? I have noticed that everyone talks bad about it, but I can't seem to find anything that tells me what it is. So what's the deal?
Dan

 

[Adam Barratt]

Pan and scan is a general description of the process used to convert a widescreen image, as seen in theatres, into the roughly square shape required to completely fill a standard television screen.
This process discards much of the content of the original composed frame ('chopping off' much of the picture), altering the intended composition of the cinematographer.
Around these parts it's very much frowned upon. Widescreen or 'OAR' (Original Aspect Ratio, as in the ratio intended by the film's makers) is the preferred viewing method.
Take a gander here for a little tutorial.
Adam

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Ryan's animated explaination that Adam linked to above is excellent. But the link doesn't seem to work right now (and when it does it takes a while if you are on a slow connection).
If you're looking for a basic text explaination, here's one:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/home/wsfaq.html
-V

 

[Jack Briggs]

Bear in mind, also, that this debate is not applicable to films that were shot in the Academy Ratio of 1.37:1--that is, most films made before the advent of widescreen cinema in the early 1950s.

Consider this: With an extreme widescreen film such as Ben-Hur, which has an aspect ratio of almost three times the width to the height, pan-and-scan will lob off well more than fifty percent of the image.

 

[Dan Whalen]

Ah, now I understand. So are all full screen movies like this? Or is pan and scan different from full screen (like a full screen version instead of widescreen version of a DVD)?

Dan

 

[Jack Briggs]

Yes, the two are different--but the labeling on DVD keepcases is not always accurate.

A fullframe film is one that has been composed for and shot in the Academy Ratio of 1.37:1. Citizen Kane, The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, and other films made prior to 1952 are therefore fullframe. These films are not ruined by being transferred to video and shown on a conventional 4:3 (or, more accurately, 1.33:1) display.

Some films are still composed for fullframe, but are often matted for display at commercial cinemas. For example, Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut was shot in 1.37:1. The fullframe DVD transfer is faithful to the director's vision--but so is the 1.85:1 presentation.

Anything else that was shot in widescreen, though, yet is shown in 4:3, is pan and scan.

 

[Ryan L B]

lets just say this, if you watch a movie on major networks like NBC, HBO, CBS, ABC, ECT, it is most likly going to be in Pan and scam.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

lets just say this, if you watch a movie on major networks like NBC, HBO, CBS, ABC, ECT, it is most likly going to be in Pan and scam.

That isn't necessarily true. As Jack pointed aout above: we have to be mindful of how the film was composed and shot initially. Just because a film is square doesn't mean something is missing: it might have very well started out square.
If you tune in TNT and see THE WIZARD OF OZ and notice that it fills the 4:3 screen (it is square)- this isn't Pan and Scan. Wizard of Oz was shot using the Academy Ratio, during an era when that format was still popular for film.
As has been stated (and linked to) above- modern movies are usually rectangular (some more rectangle than others). In order to fit this rectangle into the square that is your TV set, either parts of the image has to be cut off or the image has to be put on with dead unused space at the top and bottom.
If you're interested in more info rlated to widescreen aspects and how they apply to various home video, you could do some reading here:
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articl...c/welcome.html
http://www.widescreen.org/index.shtml
http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/
http://hkfanatic.com/widescreen/
These sites offer excellent examples and explanations of the various processes involved. The digitalbits link also includes a great guide to understanding ANAMORPHIC ENHANCEMENT on DVD, a very important feature.
-V

 

[Ryan L B]

what I meant was if you watch any movie after 1970 with a few exceptions, it will be in pan and scam

 

[Wes C]

Are all full screen DVDs Pan and Scan??

Unless of course they were filmed in 1.33:1. I searched but couldnt totally figure this out.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

No. There are actually 2 ways to get 4:3 from widescreen sources.

Some are pan and scan (losing image area)- but some are open matte- which means they were shot square 1.33:1 on the film with the top and bottom intended to be matted for theatrical exhibition. The mattes are removed for home video- which sometimes means revealing camera flaps, boom mics, dolly tracks and more stuff you were never intended to see.

Wes, I have merged your post in this existing P&S thread.

If you have clarification questions about P&S, please post in the current thread rather than posting another.

Thanks

-V

 

[Wes C]

So on DVD's that are both Widescreen and full-screen, is the full screen side pan & scan?

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

So on DVD's that are both Widescreen and full-screen, is the full screen side pan & scan?

Maybe, maybe not. Although PAN&SCAN has been used by some to just mean "it has been modified from its original aspect ratio".

Some fullscreen transfers are Pan&Scan type, some are open matte- many are a combination of both processes (a little cropping at the sides, a little more picture at the top and bottom).

Either way, it's modified, which is not preferred.

-V