Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: a clockwork orange: optimized for 1:1.85?!

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Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 05-22-2004, 06:06 AM:

so i just watched a midnight show of clockwork, run in 1:1.66, which i believe is correct. however, there were frequently black mattes of varying thicknesses appearing at the bottom of the screen. it wasn't a misframe, though. sometimes the mattes would appear at the top (not the same shots). the framing was not changed during the film. i asked.

the opening warners logo was hard-matted down to 1:1.85 or thereabouts. i figure it's a warners 75-anniversary or later print. apparently the shots were vertically panned to look best in 1:1.85. the shots that were moved down seemed to be those with heads near the top that needed to be "recentered". sometimes the timing of the vertical shift would be off by a frame from the actual shot change.

i hope this isn't a new trend with rereleases. this print simply could not be projected the way intended.

carl

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-22-2004, 07:13 AM:

The WB 75th prints (I ran print #110) were definitely 1.66 (hard-matted to 1.66, if I remember correctly). It sounds like this is either a vertical pan-and-scan print or that theatre's 1.66 was actually taller than 1.66.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 05-22-2004, 07:32 AM:

Here is what standard SMPTE 195-1993 had to say about "hard matte":

quote:
To help ensure correct vertical centering (framing) of
the projected image, hard-matte printing may be used in
producing the duplicate negative used for release printing
of theatrical prints. A hard matte with an image height of at
least 0.505 in (12.83 mm) may be used for all style A aspect
ratios (1.66:1 or greater). Note that prints intended for a
style C aspect ratio (1.37:1) will normally have an image
height of at least 0.630 in (16.00 mm) as specified in ANSI/SMPTE 59. In all cases, the framelines on the print
shall essentially be opaque.
It is recommended that pictures designed to be shown at
aspect ratios other than those specified in this standard be
so marked in a conspicuous manner. The Universal Leader
(described in ANSI/SMPTE 55) provides for aspect ratio
identification on frames 6-10.
A.5 Image area on original negative
Use of camera aperture dimensions other than those stated
in ANSI/SMPTE 59 is discouraged. Film users are reminded
that many features composed for wide-screen aspect ratio
will be shown later on television. Use of a hard matte in the
camera will require substantial cropping of the film horizontally
when the film is transferred to television, and severely
limits the use of a print made from the negative.
Good practice dictates using the 1.37:1 style A camera
aperture of ANSI/SMPTE 59, while composing for the desired
theatrical projection aspect ratio. Care should be taken
to exclude extraneous items or action from the photographed
image area which may show in the television
scanned area.

(Sorry, I didn't have the latest version on my home computer).

Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 05-23-2004, 03:52 AM:

well it's a sister theater, so i checked the can. it's print #20021 (from 2002, i surmise), and while the can did say 1.66 on it the print clearly wasn't made with that in mind.

carl