December 2001

Myths and Reality of Pan-and-Scan Viewing

So you think you’re a big-time home-theater enthusiast because you hate full-screen movies and love widescreen even though you may not have a widescreen display device. You read all the articles that point out the evils of pan-and-scan movies, about how the screen may have to pan left to show the person speaking (someone who wasn’t on the screen at all) and then pan right when the right-hand person speaks. All the screen information you're missing seems just too ugly to bear.

Well, what if I told you the widescreen version of the movie you just watched eliminated portions of the image as captured by the movie camera when the film was shot, while the taller and narrower 4:3 version (full screen) of the same movie shows you the entire frame shot by the movie camera and has no pan-and-scan whatsoever? There is a lot of bad information out there and everything you see on the screen isn't always what it seems. Some 4:3 films are pan-and-scan, others are not.

The facts are these: about 80% of the movies shot today are shot with cameras which expose a 4:3 frame on the film, but are intended for theatrical release which has a wider and shorter aspect ratio, usually 16:9. So, the movie camera has a 4:3 viewfinder with composition lines that show the 16:9 (or wider) theatrical aspect ratio (theatrical aspect ratios like 16:9 don't allow for the same image height as 4:3). The cinematographer shoots each scene to keep the people within the 16:9 (or wider) composition window but also keeps his eye on the taller 4:3 framing area to make sure that microphone booms or other things stay out of the top and bottom of the frame. But, occasionally they don’t notice the tip of a microphone or an unfinished board sticking out of a set and so you may notice lapses like those when viewing the full-screen version of the movie. But you will not have to experience the movie with the left and right edges cut off as you might think from everything you have read.

Years ago I was astonished to find that the full-screen and widescreen versions of The Princess Bride both had as much information from the left to the right side of the screen and there was nary a pan-and-scan visible in the entire movie. The difference was that the full-screen version had more screen information at the top and bottom. The widescreen version showed less. In fact, there were a lot of beautiful shots that were enhanced by seeing the 4:3 version of because you could see more of the scenery. Blasphemer! He doesn’t hate full-screen movies! Put him in the stocks!

To illustrate this better, imagine a movie is shot in 4:3 format on film and intended for the wider but shorter theatrical ratio of 16:9. When you view the full-screen version of the movie (probably on DVD), you can simulate the 16:9 version by using black poster-board strips to block the top and bottom of the screen. You will notice that some screen information is missing at the top and bottom, but likely peoples’ heads are not cut off because the frame was originally composed to keep objects within the widescreen format using the framing lines within the 4:3 viewfinder on the movie camera.

But what if a movie was not shot using a 4:3 format film, but rather a widescreen format like 16:9? The reverse happens. To show it in the 4:3 ratio one must eliminate a portion of the image on the sides and it's this that I detest. They have a 4:3 window they watch the movie through and a control that lets them slide that 4:3 window left and right as the movie plays to capture the characters and action as they feel appropriate. Portions of the widescreen image are always cropped off during this process. This is the pan-and-scan process. Sometimes you may crop only the right side. Other times you take only the center section of the movie, cutting some from the left and some from the right. Other times, you may crop the image down only on the left side. Whatever the case, you definitely lose some of the original content and intent of the filmmakers when you view a pan-and-scan version of a widescreen movie.

The problem for enthusiasts is that you usually can’t tell from the movie packaging whether the full-screen version is really pan-and-scan from, say, a 16:9 ratio, or it was originally shot in 4:3 format. Sometimes the packaging isn't even right. Some people making tapes, DVDs, and laserdiscs have been confused into thinking that pan-and-scan means 4:3 format, which it very clearly does not because there are many 4:3 movies that are not pan-and-scan. But on the other hand, pan-and-scan movies are always 4:3 format, hence the confusion.

The rule of thumb is the newer the movie, the more likely it is to have been shot originally using a 4:3 ratio. The people making movies today are aware that the large broadcast and video markets are tuned into 4:3 format, so they have altered the way movies are shot to make it easier to make more money after the theatrical run is over. You are more likely to encounter pan-and-scan versions of older movies because they were photographed at 16:9 or wider. One way to verify this is to use the great online resource Internet Movie DataBase. When you look up a movie click on its Technical Specs. It will usually tell you exactly how the movie was shot.

If you are a bit less phobic about full-screen versions of movies after reading this, I’ve done my job. If it makes you to look more deeply into exact what type of image you are really seeing, I'm happy. Enjoy movies in whichever format you like and join me in giving the cinematic raspberry to any movie released in true pan-and-scan format.

 ...Doug Blackburn
db@hometheatersound.com

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