Why are aspect ratios important?
Aspect ratios are part of the cinematography of the film. Imagine what 2001, A Space Odyssey would look like if the picture were as square as the Academy Ratio. This movie was intended to subtend a large angle of view in order to put the viewer into the action. The aspect ratio helps to create the effect the director envisioned. It is part of the art of film. It is impossible to take all the information in a movie like 2001 and put it on a standard television screen. If the total height of the movie screen is used (so you don’t cut off the heads and feet of the actors) then you must “crop” the image that falls outside of the 3X4-image area. If you use the total width of the image, then you have black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. This is known as “letterbox.” The wide aspect ratio of HDTV will allow the vision of the movie artists to be delivered to your home with less compromise and greater impact.
