This list of motion picture film formats catalogues formats developed for shooting or viewing motion pictures, ranging from the Chronophotographe format from 1888, to mid-20th century formats such as the 1953 CinemaScope format, to more recent formats such as the 1992 IMAX HD format.
To be included in this list, the formats must all have been used in the field or for test shooting, and they must all use photochemical images that are formed or projected on a film base, a transparent substrate which supports the photosensitive emulsion. As well, the formats must have been used to make more than just a few test frames. The camera must be fast enough (in frames per second) to create an illusion of motion consistent with the persistence of vision phenomenon. The format must be significantly unique from other listed formats in regard to its image capture or image projection. The format characteristics should be clearly definable in several listed parameters (e. g., film gauge, aspect ratio, etc.).
Legend
Format is the name of the process; some formats may have multiple names in common usage.
Creator is the individual or company most directly attributable as the developer of the system.
Year created usually refers to the earliest date that the system was used to completion (i.e. projection), but may refer to when it was developed if no known film was made.
First known film is the first film (not including tests) made with the format and intended for release.
Negative gauge is the film gauge (width) used for the original camera negative.
Negative aspect ratio is the image ratio determined by the ratio of the gate dimensions multiplied by the anamorphic power of the camera lenses (1× in the case of spherical lenses).[1]
Gate dimensions are the width and height of the camera gate aperture, and by extension the film negative frame.
Negative pulldown describes the film perforations per frame, the direction of film transport, and standard frame speed. Film transport is assumed to be vertical unless otherwise noted, and standard frame speed is assumed to be 24 frames per second unless the film is otherwise noted or has no standard. Silent film has no standard speed; many amateur formats have several common speeds, but no standard.
Negative lenses indicates whether spherical (normal) or anamorphic lenses are used on the original camera negative, and if anamorphic lenses, what anamorphic power is used.
Projection gauge is the film gauge (width) used for the release print.
Projection aspect ratio is the image ratio determined by the ratio of the projection dimensions multiplied by the anamorphic power of the projection lenses (1× in the case of spherical lenses). This is also known as the intended theatrical aspect ratio.[1]
Projection dimensions are the width and height of the projector aperture plate, and by extension the film frame area which is projected. The aperture plate always very slightly crops the frame.
Projection lenses indicates whether spherical (normal) or anamorphic lenses are used on the projector, and if anamorphic lenses, what anamorphic power is used.
Formats are listed in chronological order and by release date in the case of multiple formats within one year, if this can be determined. Undated formats are listed at the bottom in alphabetical order.
Film formats
The table does not cover 3-D film systems or color film systems, nor is it well-suited to emphasize the differences between those systems.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Strictly speaking, aspect ratios for film are always expressed as the ratio of 1 and are formatted as x:y, e.g. 1.85:1. However, in the interest of formatting, the aspect ratios listed will assume the ratio of 1 and omit the :1 suffix.
↑ Burns, R.W., Television: An International History of the Formative Years, p. 71, Institution of Electrical Engineers, 1991.
↑ Hiller, John. "Film History for the Public: The First National Movie Machine Collection", Film History, v. 11, n. 3, p. 373. Indiana University Press, 1999.
1 2 Even after slowing down the frame rate from 30 to 24 frame/s, Todd AO productions retained the use of the same trade name on the 24 frame/s films. There is no difference between 24 frame/s Todd AO, Super Panavision, and what is otherwise referred to as standard 65/70 mm.
↑ Patrice-Hervé Pont, Jean Loup Princelle: 50 Ans de Caméras Françaises, Le Reve Édition, Ondreville-sur-Essonne, France, 2007, ISBN2-9522521-3-0, page 107
↑ Patrice-Hervé Pont, Jean Loup Princelle: 50 Ans de Caméras Françaises, Le Reve Édition, Ondreville-sur-Essonne, France, 2007, ISBN2-9522521-3-0, --> page num 51
↑ Patrice-Hervé Pont, Jean Loup Princelle: 50 Ans de Caméras Françaises, Le Reve Édition, Ondreville-sur-Essonne, France, 2007, ISBN2-9522521-3-0, --> page num 59
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than 4:3 (1.33:1).
35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on film, 35 mm is the most commonly used gauge. The name of the gauge is not a direct measurement, and refers to the nominal width of the 35 mm format photographic film, which consists of strips 1.377 ± 0.001 inches (34.976 ± 0.025 mm) wide. The standard image exposure length on 35 mm for movies is four perforations per frame along both edges, which results in 16 frames per foot of film.
VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format that was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954.
70 mm film is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is 65 mm (2.6 in) wide. For projection, the original 65 mm film is printed on 70 mm (2.8 in) film. The additional 5 mm contains the four magnetic stripes, holding six tracks of stereophonic sound. Although later 70 mm prints use digital sound encoding, the vast majority of existing and surviving 70 mm prints pre-date this technology.
16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film ; other common film gauges include 8 mm and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical film-making, or for low-budget motion pictures. It also existed as a popular amateur or home movie-making format for several decades, alongside 8 mm film and later Super 8 film. Eastman Kodak released the first 16 mm "outfit" in 1923, consisting of a camera, projector, tripod, screen and splicer, for US$335. RCA-Victor introduced a 16 mm sound movie projector in 1932, and developed an optical sound-on-film 16 mm camera, released in 1935.
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio and steep stadium seating, with the 1.43:1 ratio format being available only in few selected locations.
CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter.
Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146-degrees of arc. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporation. It was the first of several novel processes introduced during the 1950s when the movie industry was reacting to competition from television. Cinerama was presented to the public as a theatrical event, with reserved seating and printed programs, and audience members often dressed in their best attire for the evening.
A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying motion picture film by projecting it onto a screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras. Modern movie projectors are specially built video projectors.
Negative pulldown is the manner in which an image is exposed on a film stock, described by the number of film perforations spanned by an individual frame. It can also describe whether the image captured on the negative is oriented horizontally or vertically. Changing the number of exposed perforations allows a cinematographer to change both the aspect ratio of the image and the size of the area on the film stock that the image occupies.
Todd-AO is an American post-production company founded in 1953 by Mike Todd and Robert Naify, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company retains one facility, in the Los Angeles area.
Panavision Inc. is an American motion picture equipment company founded in 1954 specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product lines to meet the demands of modern filmmakers. The company introduced its first products in 1954. Originally a provider of CinemaScope accessories, the company's line of anamorphic widescreen lenses soon became the industry leader. In 1972, Panavision helped revolutionize filmmaking with the lightweight Panaflex 35 mm movie camera. The company has introduced other cameras such as the Millennium XL (1999) and the digital video Genesis (2004).
Techniscope or 2-perf is a 35 mm motion picture camera film format introduced by Technicolor Italia in 1960. The Techniscope format uses a two film-perforation negative pulldown per frame, instead of the standard four-perforation frame usually exposed in 35 mm film photography. Techniscope's 2.33:1 aspect ratio is easily enlarged to the 2.39:1 widescreen ratio, because it uses half the amount of 35 mm film stock and standard spherical lenses. Thus, Techniscope release prints are made by anamorphosing, enlarging each frame vertically by a factor of two.
Technirama is a screen process that has been used by some film production houses as an alternative to CinemaScope. It was first used in 1957 but fell into disuse in the mid-1960s. The process was invented by Technicolor and is an anamorphic process with a screen ratio the same as revised CinemaScope (2.35:1), but it is actually 2.25:1 on the negative.
The Academy ratio of 1.375:1 is an aspect ratio of a frame of 35 mm film when used with 4-perf pulldown. It was standardized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as the standard film aspect ratio in 1932, although similar-sized ratios were used as early as 1928.
Super Panavision 70 is the marketing brand name used to identify movies photographed with Panavision 70 mm spherical optics between 1959 and 1983. It has since been replaced by Panavision System 65.
Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65 were, from 1957 to 1966, the marketing brands that identified motion pictures photographed with Panavision's anamorphic movie camera lenses on 65 mm film. Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65 were shot at 24 frames per second (fps) using anamorphic camera lenses. Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65's anamorphic lenses compressed the image 1.25 times, yielding an extremely wide aspect ratio of 2.76:1.
Anamorphic format is the cinematography technique of shooting a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film or other visual recording media with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio. It also refers to the projection format in which a distorted image is "stretched" by an anamorphic projection lens to recreate the original aspect ratio on the viewing screen.
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of its width to its height. It is expressed as two numbers separated by a colon, width:height. Common aspect ratios are 1.85:1 and 2.40:1 in cinematography, 4:3 and 16:9 in television, and 3:2 in still photography.
References
Carr, Robert E. and Hayes, R. M., Wide Screen Movies. A History and Filmography of Wide Gauge Filmmaking. Mc Farland & Company, 1988.
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