Letterbox: Difference between revisions

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{{tropeUseful Notes}}
[[File:letterbox.jpg|frame|The black bars at the top and bottom of the screen are normal for this format.]]
This term refers to a method of fitting a widescreen movie to the [[Aspect Ratio]] of a TV screen (commonly 4:3). This is done by shrinking the original frame until its width matches that of the 4:3 frame; the side effect is that the movie's ''height'' is now considerably less than that of the TV screen, resulting in black bars at the top and bottom forming a "box" around the film (it's rather like watching the film through a mail slot or "letter box", hence the term). Naturally, this is less of a concern with films that are not too wide to begin with—say, 1.85:1 -- or with newer TV sets with wider screens.