Film studiesLesson 2 of 2 in the course Cinematography

Image Aspect Ratios Across Film, Video, Displays, and Photography

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

An image's aspect ratio is its width compared with its height. It is normally written as two numbers separated by a colon: width:height. For example, a 16:9 image is 16 units wide for every 9 units tall. The units can be pixels, inches, or another measurement; the ratio describes proportions, not a particular size.

A ratio can also be expressed as a decimal by dividing width by height. Thus, 16:9 is approximately 1.78:1, while 4:3 is approximately 1.33:1. For the same height, the larger width-to-height value describes the wider image.

All flashcards

Storage aspect ratio (SAR)
The ratio of horizontal to vertical pixel counts in a stored image.
Display aspect ratio (DAR)
The proportions in which an image is intended to appear on screen.
Pixel aspect ratio (PAR)
The width-to-height proportion of an individual pixel.
Original aspect ratio (OAR)
The ratio used for a work's original framing or presentation.
Pan and scan
A method that selects and reframes portions of a widescreen image for a narrower screen.

Quiz questions

  1. In the notation width:height, what does the first number represent?Answer: The image's width proportion.
  2. Which ratio is equivalent to 16:9?Answer: 32:18
  3. What do anamorphic optics do in a film camera and projector system?Answer: They compress the image horizontally during capture and expand it during projection.
  4. How does letterboxing fit a full image onto a wider screen while preserving its shape?Answer: It adds horizontal bars above and below the image.
  5. How are display aspect ratio, storage aspect ratio, and pixel aspect ratio related?Answer: DAR equals SAR multiplied by PAR.

Based on the Wikipedia article Aspect ratio (image), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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