the first one I can tell was the basis for the old pan and scan dvd box cover.
The 4:3 (1.33:1) versions (VHS, DVD, TV broadcasts) weren't pan & scan. Sam Firstenberg shot the movie on 35mm film with a flat (spherical) lens, so the true aspect ratio of it is 1.375:1. To make the 4:3 versions they simply cropped a little bit off each side; no panning and scanning needed. When shown in the theater, they used an aperture mask, which blocks off part of the top and bottom of the image, to present the movie in 1.85:1. This method of filming is known as "soft matte". The idea is to film with both theatrical "widescreen" and home TV "fullscreen" presentation in mind, which avoids the undesirable pan & scan process when making the TV broadcast and home video release. Of course, that isn't an issue today, because nearly all TV broadcasts and home video releases are "widescreen", but it was an issue back then.
Here's a comparison of the 4:3 DVD and 16:9 Blu-ray:
http://i.imgur.com/6KcolOE.jpg
As you can see, the 4:3 version actually retains more of the image from the original negative. In comparison to the 1.85:1 version, it is missing a bit from both sides, but has a lot more on the top and bottom.
Here's an email Firstenberg sent to me when I asked him about it 7 years ago:
First I am happy to hear that you enjoyed "ROTN" so much through the years. Second all that you wrote about the ratio issue is right. At that time we use to photograph in full aperture or full screen 3 by 4 for the traditional old TV screens but at the same time the cinematographer was required to frame also 1.85 for theatrical projection. In the camera's viewfinder there are two horizontal lines marking that ratio. It is correct that in the theater projector there was a mask or "gate" that blocked some of the top and bottom to fit the ratio of the theater screen. Most of the new TV screens are "wide" 1 by 1.85 and at a click of a button you can blow up the picture to fit the screen and view the theatrical framing. Some new computers monitors are "wide" as well. Attached is a photo of Sho and I on the set of "Ninja"
Best regards
Sam
The only movies which require the pan & scan process for a 4:3 release are ones which are shot with an anamorphic lens, which "squeezes" a wide (typically 1.85:1 or 2.35:1) image onto the 1.375:1 film. Then, when projected, another anamorphic lens "unsqueezes" the image into the wide format. Since there is no excess picture on the top and bottom, the only way to make it 4:3 is to crop the hell off the sides, and with extreme cropping like that (it is especially extreme with 2.35:1 movies), they have to simulate camera panning to keep important things fully in the frame. For example, if there is a 2.35:1 stationary shot through the windshield of a car showing the driver and passenger having a conversation, if you simply crop equal amounts from both sides to make it 4:3, you'll end up with a view of mostly the empty space between the two people, with most of the two people being cropped away. So what the telecine operator will do is do all the cropping on the right-hand side when the passenger is talking, and then do all the cropping from the left-hand side when the driver is talking, making it look like the camera moved to focus just on the driver or just on the passenger.
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