open_matte_vs_hard_matte_vs_scope
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open_matte_vs_hard_matte_vs_scope [2024/06/29 04:20] meantux |
open_matte_vs_hard_matte_vs_scope [2024/07/19 16:31] (current) meantux |
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| But often you will see a flat picture taking the full height of a frame like this one: | But often you will see a flat picture taking the full height of a frame like this one: | ||
| - | {{:flatopen.jpg?400|}} | + | {{::opensample00087941.jpg?400|}} |
| - | In this case the theater projectionist is expected to place a matte to its projector, one that will crop the picture to the usual 1.85:1 ratio of his theater, such a matte is usually a bit out of focus and that's why it gained the name “soft matte” with its blurry borders compared to the clearer hard matte that you saw earlier. (Note: I optimized the rectangles to their maximum, but in real life, tv studios use margins to insure the framing stays in the picture, so they cut it even a tad smaller, cutting a little bit more than what I show here) | + | In this case the theater's projectionist is expected to place a matte to its projector, one that will crop the picture to the usual 1.85:1 ratio of his theater, such a matte is usually a bit out of focus and that's why it gained the name “soft matte” with its blurry borders compared to the clearer hard matte that you saw earlier. |
| - | If you try to capture this picture for a widescreen tv (16:9) you'll have to cut a lot of the picture to make it fit. | + | |
| + | {{:softmatteexample.jpg?400|}} | ||
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| + | Open mattes were practical when the standard TV ruled with its 4:3 picture, the same roll could be used in both Theaters and on the TV sets: | ||
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| + | {{:openvs4thirdsvs1dot85.jpg?400|}} | ||
| Even the old standard TV ratio (4:3) won't be able to show all of the picture that is present on the film. | Even the old standard TV ratio (4:3) won't be able to show all of the picture that is present on the film. | ||
| When I scan a movie trailer, I adapt to the picture that is present on film, and when that picture is flat and has a ratio that is lower than 4:3 I call it an open matte transfer. | When I scan a movie trailer, I adapt to the picture that is present on film, and when that picture is flat and has a ratio that is lower than 4:3 I call it an open matte transfer. | ||
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| You might be asking “why is it the case?” or “why do they make prints with a bigger picture than intended?”. It's simple, it's just because the camera they used fills the whole area of the film even if they intend to use only a portion of it. Adding a hard matte over it requires some effort that is not mandatory because the projectionnists will do it anyway | You might be asking “why is it the case?” or “why do they make prints with a bigger picture than intended?”. It's simple, it's just because the camera they used fills the whole area of the film even if they intend to use only a portion of it. Adding a hard matte over it requires some effort that is not mandatory because the projectionnists will do it anyway | ||
| + | I like performing open matte scans; it's my preferred format. Sometimes, it gives clues about the camera/lens equipment used, or other times it clearly differentiates between F/X shots and in-camera ones. It also reveals a lot of mics, booms, light equipment, sets' edges and crash mats. In all the scans I have made, nothing is more revealing than the street with parked cars behind the desert planet miniature set in | ||
| + | [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzDx4UW0JX8|Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983)]]. | ||
open_matte_vs_hard_matte_vs_scope.1719649254.txt.gz · Last modified: 2024/06/29 04:20 by meantux
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