The Fascinating History of the Aspect Ratio

Ever wondered what those black bars are on Hollywood films or how to get the same cinematic look for your videos? Well, join Tom as he takes you on a journey through film history and discover everything you need to know about aspect ratios. ► Download all the assets used in this video:

00:00:00 Introduction to aspect ratios
00:00:58 What is an aspect ratio?
00:01:48 What is letterboxing or cinematic black bars?
00:03:02 The early history of the aspect ratio
00:04:02 The academy ratio
00:04:39 Widescreen madness in the 60s
00:05:02 What is Cinerama?
00:05:37 Alfred Hitchcock and VistaVision
00:06:32 J.J. Abrams' anamorphic lens flare obsession
00:07:02 Anamorphic aspect ratios and CinemaScope
00:08:09 Large format film: what is 65 or 70mm film stock?
00:08:56 Panavision and large format with spherical lenses
00:09:45 Aspect ratios for TV: what is 4:3 and 16:9?
00:10:21 Why was 16:9 chosen to be the modern standard?
00:10:54 The aspect ratio as a storytelling device
00:11:25 The Grand Budapest Hotel by Wes Anderson
00:12:03 How to choose what aspect ratio to use
00:13:49 What I learned about aspect ratios + your homework!

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[stevephelps]

Thank you for wrapping up aspect ratio so neatly...I work with all kinds of film from 100 years ago and even older as well as video material and digital photography so see the whole gamut of image sizes and shapes....much appreciated...

[RyanxJensen]

My fav use of aspect ratio when storytelling is in the movie Selena at the 2min 15 second mark, the closed off 4:3 frame widens as the curtains open to a full 2.35:1 crowd shot of the stadium 🎥 🎞 gives me goosebumps!

[AsyLumb]

Great video! I've worked in the TV industry for close to thirty years & have always been interested in aspect ratios....but this is probably the best/easiest explanation of them I have ever seen.

[johnfletcher]

The most unusual format I have ever seen was swissorama. This recorded a full 360 degree view onto an anular image on 70mm film. Only one film was ever made and could only bee shown in one cinema at a museum in Switzerland. To watch this film you stood inside a screen that was cylindrical. You could only ever see half the width of the film as the other half was behind you. The equipment wore out and this format can no longer be seen.

[seangoheen]

This was used to great effect in Wandavision to show what was Wanda’s illusion, especially in the 50s-80s and what was reality!

[BM-jycb]

What I've learned from this video is that if you're disseminating information, you need to pace your delivery appropriately and if you put up captions to clarify a point, you need to keep them on screen for more than 1 second.