Whether due to different cameras and film stocks or the need to differentiate cinema from television, utilizing different aspect ratios is almost as old as the movies themselves. These numerical expressions define the height to width ratio of the frame. Here’s a list of some of the most common aspect ratios and where they might appear:
Modern Anamorphic Widescreen is a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. This aspect ratio produces a sweeping panorama great for landscapes and came to prominence as a way to differentiate the cinema experience from those of home televisions. Variations of this format were used heavily in westerns.
Full screen or the 4:3 aspect ratio was used in early celluloid films and televisions. Later, with the rise of home viewing formats such as VHS and DVD, many movies were converted to 4:3 after their cinema run.
Both formats are still used but predominantly for artistic merits. The 2.39:1 aspect ratio produces letterboxing at the top and bottom of the image on most screens, and this can add a cinematic quality to the piece. The 4:3 aspect ratio, on the other hand, produces pillar boxes on the left and right of the screen, and this can give the finished piece a more retro or nostalgic feel. Used correctly both aspect ratios can add to the feel of the finished piece.
With the push to HDTV and advancements in televisions and smartphones, video production converged around the 16:9 aspect ratio. It has become the gold standard of video because it produces an image that, on most screens, is free of letter or pillar boxes - those pesky black boxes. This format is shot natively on most smartphones and can be found everywhere from streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBOmax to online video such as YouTube or Vimeo and everywhere in between.
Historically video has always been landscape, but with the expansion of distribution channels and our ever-present smartphones, new aspect ratios are becoming more prevalent. Vertical and square formats allow for better usage of the available space.
1:1 is a square aspect ratio which arose on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram. The square frame allows the video to use 100% of the available canvas space without being cropped in the platform's preview grid.
9:16 has become the standard for short videos utilized on TikTok, Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook. The rise in this aspect ratio is predominantly due to the way we naturally hold our smartphones-i.e. like a phone. As a result, there has been a rise in vertically shot footage and therefore vertically consumed videos.
4:5 is the same aspect ratio as an 8x10 photograph which is a common size. The format strikes a balance between 1:1 and 9:16. It is still a vertical format similar to 9:16, but the majority of the frame is still able to focus on the center of the image making it visible in a 1:1 preview.
In the vast landscape of visual storytelling, each aspect ratio either adds its own unique artistic flare or has its own practical reason for usage. Finding the right aspect ratio might feel daunting, and often, pieces need to be constructed with multiple aspect ratios in mind.
Interested in constructing your project with multiple aspect ratios in mind or converting a project to a new aspect ratio? We’d love to help! Contact us for more information.
