Selecting
the Camera Film
Important among all the decisions that must be made
before beginning production is the selection of
the camera stock that will be used. Conditions under
which a majority of the shooting will be done, the
release format and the medium through which the
release will be made are all factors, which should
be considered. Where possible, it is advisable that
all of the film for a given production be of the
same emulsion number.
Raw
stock should be handled and stored according to
the manufacturer’s recommendations and shipped
to the laboratory as soon as possible after exposure.
Selecting the Camera Aperture
and Format
Since the advent of wide
screen systems such as Panavision, VistaVision,
Cinemascope and others, the theater-going public
has become accustomed to the wide screen format.
The Academy format, which was the standard for
many years for 35mm theatrical projection, presented
a height-to-width ratio on the screen of 1.33:1,
or a proportion of 4 units wide to 3 units high.
This format is still the standard for 16mm films
and for television. However, today’s theatrical
films are projected in the wide screen format
with an aspect ration of 1.85:1 in the United
States and 1.66:1 in Europe. Many films are shot
in Academy format, with the aspect ratio of 1.33:1
but are projected to fill the whole screen. This
means that a mask is issued in the 35mm projector
that cuts off a portion of the top and bottom
of the frame (Figure
1 - Projected 35mm Image). It is important
in the shooting to be aware of this, since the
composition of the picture must be such that important
information is not lost due to the projector masking.
It is very helpful to the cinematographer to have
these fields delineated on the viewfinder during
shooting.
One advantage of the Academy
aperture, even though the primary distribution
will be in theaters, is that the prints are also
acceptable for television without modification.
If a film is being shot in 16mm
(Figure
2 - 16mm Camera Film) but there are
plans to make blow-ups for theater release, these
projection formats must be considered. Other factors
involved in 16mm to 35mm blow-ups will be discussed
later in this handbook. topˆ
|
