Posted by Magus 23 at 208.213.219.34 on August 17, 2001 at 08:49:45:
In Reply to: Let's see what we can do. posted by Neil on August 17, 2001 at 03:01:49:
...it's not always "matted" to create the 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 aspect ratio -- I believe
more common is the use of anamorphic lenses during filming, which "squashes" the
image horizontally to take up the full 35mm frame (and minimizing film grain). The
image is then projected out through a lens that "stretches" the image back out to the
widescreen aspect ratio.
Unfortunately, this results in some distortion (As Vincent has said, look at the
out-of-focus lights in the background when visible), but it's a nice image. Some
directors do prefer to shoot full-frame (as with the Super35 format) and matte the
image, as was the case with Dogma (Dogma's particular situation being that the
specific lenses needed for the film stock being used weren't available at the time).
Clerks was, as has been stated, shot full-frame in 16mm, but with the understanding
that, should it be blown up to 35mm, the top and bottom of the image would be
matted. So that was taken into consideration from the start (done very well, I think).
Bill