'Everyone Stares' aspect ratio altered for the DVD
Posted: 13 Nov 2006 04:20
Hi everyone.
As you all know, Stewart's documentary was shot in Super-8 mm. Super-8's aspect ratio is 1:1,33 (the same as in the old TV sets). Stewart did not alter this in the editing process, hence the film was screened in festivals preserving the original 1:1,33 format. That's the version I saw last month in Barcelona, presented by Stewart himself.
However, for the DVD, the movie has been "adapted" for panoramic TVs, adding two black bars which *hide* approximately 25% of the image on screen.....
This, in my opinion, alters the viewing experience diminishing considerably the impact of the film. And it's especially alarming considering that in the DVD extras, the original aspect ratio remains unchanged.
I'm sure Stewart has nothing to do with this, but I find it very sad that his movie can't be distributed on DVD in proper form. Just an opinion.
Ricard,
As you all know, Stewart's documentary was shot in Super-8 mm. Super-8's aspect ratio is 1:1,33 (the same as in the old TV sets). Stewart did not alter this in the editing process, hence the film was screened in festivals preserving the original 1:1,33 format. That's the version I saw last month in Barcelona, presented by Stewart himself.
However, for the DVD, the movie has been "adapted" for panoramic TVs, adding two black bars which *hide* approximately 25% of the image on screen.....
This, in my opinion, alters the viewing experience diminishing considerably the impact of the film. And it's especially alarming considering that in the DVD extras, the original aspect ratio remains unchanged.
I'm sure Stewart has nothing to do with this, but I find it very sad that his movie can't be distributed on DVD in proper form. Just an opinion.
Ricard,