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I’ve shot 4 of my short films in 4:3 for a few different reasons.
– Due to not having the budget for Anamorphic lenses, I find that the 4:3 ratio works in harmony with spherical lenses. Framing, especially close ups, seem to hit a sweet spot for me personally.
– The first reason to use it always comes down to if it is right for the film, but it can help cut down your budget. I’m not sure if all 4 of the films I’ve made justify the use of 4:3 to others but to me it elevated the story while simultaneously cut down production cost. Granted, we didn’t do a lot of panning.
I could go on but I’d like to ask another question regarding why 4:3 has had a resurgence in films as of late. I love it (sometimes) but it does seem to be more of an artsy fartsy choice other than for the betterment of the film. (This comment does certainly not pertain to The Lighthouse, the cinematography on that film was other worldly).
Also this is my first interaction on this forum, happy to be here and I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic Roger! Thank you!
I have only worked on one film that used 4:3 and that was only for the first scene in ‘A Serious Man’. For that one scene the format seemed perfect and I agree that 4:3 suited ‘The Lighthouse’. But why, other than for very specific purposes, a film will flip formats or go from color to B&W defeats me. It generally makes me aware of the surface of the film. It disconnects me from the story and the characters.
Roger,
Didnt you use 4.3 on your earlier films such as ‘White Mischief’ etc.
I particularly like the format especially where there’s a lot of dialogue, you do not need to be distracted by lots of background etc. only my view of course. Interesting subject.
Although not 4:3, it reminded me of these ‘memory’ or ‘vignette’ scenes from Jarhead, which although are a different ratio to the 2.35, fit in to the film perfectly.
I always wondered, Roger, did you use super 16 for these scenes? Or some other ‘inferior’ format or process, as the image looks a lot more grainy or even ‘degraded’ than the rest of the film?
Dear master Roger 4:3 Ratio reduce the screen space and gives character observation compare than other usual format. What’s your opinion about 4:3 Ratio. We can’t just use 4:3 for all genre and contexts. Could you just talk about ‘The lighthouse’ aspect ratio little bit.
I don’t think any aspect ratio “reduces screen space” overall, you just trade vertical space over horizontal space depending on the aspect ratio. If you see “Oppenheimer” in IMAX film, I don’t think you’d say that when the image expands vertically to 1.43 : 1 15-perf 70mm IMAX from 2.20 : 1 5-perf 70mm that a loss of screen space had occurred.
I took this vertical photo of mine and cropped it to a horizontal aspect ratio, so the widescreen version has the same horizontal space as the vertical photo. So in this case you can’t say that the widescreen frame has more space in it:
Can’t edit on this forum so can’t remove second photo but the ratio is roughly correct.
Interesting subject though.
All, I just read a British Cinematographer’s post on the movie Maestro by Matthew Libatique, Bradley Cooper directing, where the 1.33 aspect ratio was used. Here is a relevant excerpt. Thoughts/comments?
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The filmmakers landed on “something simpler” by beginning with black-and-white and a 1.33 aspect ratio before transitioning to colour and remaining in the same aspect ratio for the most part. At the end, for scenes taking place in 1989, and when Felicia becomes sick, the film moves into what Cooper refers to as a “more relatable” 1.85.
This framing is appropriate, says Libatique, because the 1.33 frame “allows Leonard and Felicia to share the frame and exist in an embrace of their new world together.” Their relationship is set up in this way from when they first meet at a party. “In the next scene, they’re in a tight two shot profile, with the party behind them. It’s a 1.33 frame where half their heads are actually out of the frame,” he adds. “That tight frame exists again when she takes him to the theatre and they kiss. Later, when they fight, again, they’re both in the frame, but it’s much wider. And then towards the end Leonard is by himself in a 1.85 frame with all this negative space on either side.”
” – British Cinematographer, April 2024.
If you are using the same lens then the 4.3 image should look like the photo attached would it not?
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