Slightly OT: "Cheating" Aspect Ratio

corug7 wrote on 7/8/2008, 10:18 AM

I've begun noticing what appears to me to be a new trend in some of the ads that come through our Post/Dub house. Looking at the video in 4:3, it appears slightly "skinny," but looking at it in 16:9, it appears slightly "stretched." My guess is that the producers are cheating on the aspect ratio of the picture so that it looks almost right either way, enough to fool those who don't care or aren't savvy about these things.

Has anyone else noticed this? Is anyone doing it?
Corey

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 7/8/2008, 10:58 AM

I'm seeing some TV shows now coming out in 14:9, which is probably what you're seeing too. SD is about 12:9 and HD is 16:9, so 14:9 is a compromise midway between them.

corug7 wrote on 7/8/2008, 11:34 AM

Yeah, I've seen some programs in 14:9 (or more likely cropped to 14:9), but this is like 14:9 anamorphic (blown up to full frame).

johnmeyer wrote on 7/8/2008, 11:56 AM

I've seen all sorts of commercials the past few weeks (still viewing in 4:3 here) that are horribly distorted. It looks as though they were shot in 16:9 and then scaled (badly) to 4:3. I hope this isn't the "solution" for 4:3 programming as we progress towards more 16:9 material. 4:3 programming is going to be around for decades (unless TV Land and other purveyors of older TV go off the air) and I'd had to be saddled with distortion like this.

baysidebas wrote on 7/8/2008, 1:57 PM

Yeah, I find it hard to discern whether they are done as visual statements or just as a result of ignorance.