pan & scan movies

[mirwais]

Hi, just a question, Are all fullscreen movies pan & scan or are they fullscreen movies that just zoom in on the picture? And if so, which movies? :P

[guns1inger]

True fullscreen movies are movies shot at 1.33:1 AR. Any movie shot at a wider AR but presented at 1.33:1 without letterboxing should be considered Pan & Scan. As to how well it has been processed - it depends on who has done the work. Some directors actually shoot on 1.33:1, and frame for both fullscreen and widescreen. James Cameron does this, so a fullscreen version would be the same as a widescreen version of his film, but with extra framing top and bottom.

Cheaper P&S are little more than a zoom in until the frame is filled, with little or no effort to pan to action or detail. Others take more time and try to keep the main action in frame. This is often impossible, and also leads to strange camera moves as false pans are introduced.

As far as I am concerned, the original AR is the way the director intended the film to be seen. Any change to this through a P&S process is butchery, and shows little respect for the director's work. Using the descriptor 'fullscreen' for anything not shot at 1.33:1 is blatent false advertising.