[B5JMS] MY problem with 16:9 - Not CGI

[b5jms-admin at cs.columbia.edu]

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
From: "Ben Frazer" <bfrazer at jhu.edu>
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 16:13:58 -0500
Lines: 26

I'm surprised no one else has mentioned this, but:

Personally, the cropped CG does not bother me much. In fact, I prefer the
composition in many cases (such as in the link Mac Breck posted). What I do
NOT like is the composition of many live action shots!

Sure, we get more picture information on the sides, but all too often, it
seems like the characters are huddled together in the middle of the screen.
Now, this is not always the case, but at least several times in each
episode, I wonder why they are standing so damn close to one another!

Obviously, the reason for this is that the show's directors at the time
wanted to frame the image to look good in 4:3... but now that we have the
wider 16:9, these directorial choices stand out like sore thumbs. I don't
like it and would prefer 4:3 DVDs in the future.

Composite live/CGI does not fare too well either in widescreen.

That being said, its not bad enough to ruin my enjoyment of the show and I
am very glad to have it on DVD. I will buy future seasons regardless of
their aspect ratio and enjoy re-living the saga nearly as much as if they
were released in 4:3. *Nearly*





=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 11 Dec 2002 05:28:21 GMT
Lines: 20

>Obviously, the reason for this is that the show's directors at the time
>wanted to frame the image to look good in 4:3... but now that we have the
>wider 16:9, these directorial choices stand out like sore thumbs. 

I think that's a fair criticism, and one we made ourselves a bit later, around
season 2 or 3.  We set up a screening at Pacific Video, our post house, for an
episode in wide, and saw that our directors had been hewing too closely to the
4:3 ratio.  So we told them to be more aggressive, and use the full frame more
in later episodes.  So this problem does get ameliorated a bit down the road.

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
(all message content (c) 2002 by synthetic worlds, ltd., 
permission to reprint specifically denied to SFX Magazine 
and don't send me story ideas)