Pan and Scam
So the massive amounts of TV watching continues and it is through this that I have noticed one really odd thing… WHY THE HELL ARE SOME TV SHOWS IN LETTERBOX????
Now don’t get me started on the merits on letterbox when it comes to viewing feature films on TV. Ok… I’ll rant a little… first off, Pan and Scan (viewing in full screen) is the devil. Not only are you missing a third of the movie (approximately 1/6th on each side) but you are also modifying the art of its creator. The director filmed the work to be viewed in the proper aspect ratio and by cropping the picture on each side you are missing the visuals that the director had intended. This also leads to “unnatural” camera movements (adding camera movements not in the original film cut) in order to include all of the elements of that particular scene.
OK, so back to my original gripe… why are television shows being broadcast in widescreen? The original aspect ratio for the programs IS that of the television. These programs were never intended for theatrical release. It is possible that they are formatting these programs for widescreen televisions, but that seems a little presumptuous considering the small percentage of households that actually have wide screen televisions. The only reason I can think of is that they are trying to be trendy in their ‘widescreen-ness”. Sadness, but thoroughly unsurprising considering the media’s tenancy to jump on whatever bandwagon is popular at the moment. I figure that it is only a matter of time before Fox News is brought to you in widescreen…
And now the news… it finally stopped raining today, well, sort of. It only sprinkled a little bit. It’s sad that I am excited for a day where it only rains slightly.
Watched “The Butterfly Affect” last night. Was pleasantly surprised by it. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting, in fact it was better. Time travel/time alteration is something that has always fascinated me. In fact, my friend Bryan and I have had many a long conversations about what method of time travel is more realistic in film. You see there are two distinct schools of thought when it comes to the subject in film.
First, you have the “Terminator” view. This is where you can travel backwards in time and alter the future even if it could ultimately affect your own existence.
Conversely, under the “Back to the Future” view the time traveler directly and instantaneously feels the affects of any changes in the time timeline and could actually undo his own existence. The big question is, can you unmake something that is already there?? How could Fry (from Futurerama) logistically have gone back in time and actually become his own grandfather!?!?!? And more importantly, ewe!
Well I’m off… nite.
Now don’t get me started on the merits on letterbox when it comes to viewing feature films on TV. Ok… I’ll rant a little… first off, Pan and Scan (viewing in full screen) is the devil. Not only are you missing a third of the movie (approximately 1/6th on each side) but you are also modifying the art of its creator. The director filmed the work to be viewed in the proper aspect ratio and by cropping the picture on each side you are missing the visuals that the director had intended. This also leads to “unnatural” camera movements (adding camera movements not in the original film cut) in order to include all of the elements of that particular scene.
OK, so back to my original gripe… why are television shows being broadcast in widescreen? The original aspect ratio for the programs IS that of the television. These programs were never intended for theatrical release. It is possible that they are formatting these programs for widescreen televisions, but that seems a little presumptuous considering the small percentage of households that actually have wide screen televisions. The only reason I can think of is that they are trying to be trendy in their ‘widescreen-ness”. Sadness, but thoroughly unsurprising considering the media’s tenancy to jump on whatever bandwagon is popular at the moment. I figure that it is only a matter of time before Fox News is brought to you in widescreen…
And now the news… it finally stopped raining today, well, sort of. It only sprinkled a little bit. It’s sad that I am excited for a day where it only rains slightly.
Watched “The Butterfly Affect” last night. Was pleasantly surprised by it. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting, in fact it was better. Time travel/time alteration is something that has always fascinated me. In fact, my friend Bryan and I have had many a long conversations about what method of time travel is more realistic in film. You see there are two distinct schools of thought when it comes to the subject in film.
First, you have the “Terminator” view. This is where you can travel backwards in time and alter the future even if it could ultimately affect your own existence.
Conversely, under the “Back to the Future” view the time traveler directly and instantaneously feels the affects of any changes in the time timeline and could actually undo his own existence. The big question is, can you unmake something that is already there?? How could Fry (from Futurerama) logistically have gone back in time and actually become his own grandfather!?!?!? And more importantly, ewe!
Well I’m off… nite.
posted by Jay at 1:00 AM
4 Comments:
Has all the rain gotten to you? I am sorry you are feeling such emotional strain as a result of television formating. In the end you must remember one thing: little box tv, not real life.
love,
me
Now you can't tell me that Lost and Medium aren't real... they're real right? Tell me they are real:)
This is the sad thing is... I used to have a life I swear I did.
What can I say other than real life is overrated? And Lost and especially Medium are not real. Think about it. Would you really want them to be? ewwwwwww
My name is on the web. I'm FAMOUS!! I thought LOST WAS REAL. it is real.... isn't it?
B.
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