1 The Director of Photography – an overview

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Aspect ratios when
shooting for television
The nature of the problem
There has been a problem in recent years as to how to ‘future-proof’
television programmes that might be transmitted in the old 4 � 3 aspect
ratio but will, at some time, need to be repeated in the intermediate
14 � 9 aspect ratio or, eventually, in the 16 � 9 aspect ratio that has
become the new international standard.
The whole argument should really be turned on its head, as both
Super 16 mm film cameras and Digi Beta cameras happily shoot in an
aspect ratio either exactly, or very close to, the 16 � 9 aspect ratio.
Therefore, the true problem is ‘now-proofing’. Most television programmes
are almost all now originated in the 16 � 9 aspect ratio;
therefore, the difficult decision is which compromise aspect ratio to
transmit now on the gradually disappearing 4 � 3 standard.
It is interesting to look at the history of the 16 mm format, as this
shows how the Super 16 mm standard, which was developed many years
ago, has found its true value in recent years as an ideal format for shooting
high-quality television; this is particularly true in the UK.
History – the evolution of the Super 16 mm format
In the early 1920s George Eastman, the founder of Kodak, together with
the Bell & Howell company of Chicago, Illinois, set out to develop an
amateur film standard, and a camera and projector to go with it. Bell &
Howell favoured a 17.5 mm film, this being the standard 35 mm film
simply slit in two. George Eastman objected strongly. He was adamant
that a completely new standard was required because, up until then,
the film base was nitrate and was very prone to bursting into flames.
He was determined that the amateur film should only ever be available
on the new ‘Safety’ film base and to ensure this there had to be a
new standard. Eastman simply could not abide the idea of his new
product being responsible for burning down a customer’s home. Bell &
Howell were not entirely happy, as one of their major patents was
for the standard 35 mm sprocket hole, which would have been used
again on 17.5 mm, though now only on one side of the film. George
Eastman prevailed though, very much to our current benefit.
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