Visual Compression: Difference between revisions
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[[File:compress.jpg|frame|Visual Compression in action. Note the ovoid shape of the sun.]] |
[[File:compress.jpg|frame|Visual Compression in action. Note the ovoid shape of the sun.]] |
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This refers to a method of squeezing a [[Aspect Ratio|widescreen]] movie onto a television screen. How is this accomplished? [[Exactly What It Says |
This refers to a method of squeezing a [[Aspect Ratio|widescreen]] movie onto a television screen. How is this accomplished? [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Exactly what we said]] -- the original frame is "squeezed", or visually compressed, horizontally until it fits, likely using an anamorphic lens (which works not unlike a [[Fish Eye Lens]]). |
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Technically speaking, the anamorphic process is not used specifically to fit a widescreen image into a TV screen, but rather to fit a widescreen image into Academy ratio (4:3) film; then, when projecting, the same type of lens is used again to ''un''shrink the image, returning it to its original aspect ratio. (This proces uses up the maximum amount of grains/pixels in transit.) Visual Compression occurs when a film is recorded using an anamorphic lens, but then projected using a ''normal'' lens, which does not undo the "squishing" of the image. |
Technically speaking, the anamorphic process is not used specifically to fit a widescreen image into a TV screen, but rather to fit a widescreen image into Academy ratio (4:3) film; then, when projecting, the same type of lens is used again to ''un''shrink the image, returning it to its original aspect ratio. (This proces uses up the maximum amount of grains/pixels in transit.) Visual Compression occurs when a film is recorded using an anamorphic lens, but then projected using a ''normal'' lens, which does not undo the "squishing" of the image. |
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Visual Compression can be thought of as a compromise between [[Pan and Scan]] and [[Letterbox]]; unlike the former, Visual Compression preserves the entirety of the original frame, and unlike the latter, there are no empty spaces above or below the frame. |
Visual Compression can be thought of as a compromise between [[Pan and Scan]] and [[Letterbox]]; unlike the former, Visual Compression preserves the entirety of the original frame, and unlike the latter, there are no empty spaces above or below the frame. |
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On the other hand, Visual Compression does noticeably distort the image, which can have a rather discombobulating effect on the viewer. For this reason, Visual Compression is almost never used for the entirety of a film, being restricted instead to brief uses such as credit sequences or just to create a weird look and feel (such as a [[Dream Sequence]]). It does, though, turn up in shorter venues, for example in music videos ([[ |
On the other hand, Visual Compression does noticeably distort the image, which can have a rather discombobulating effect on the viewer. For this reason, Visual Compression is almost never used for the entirety of a film, being restricted instead to brief uses such as credit sequences or just to create a weird look and feel (such as a [[Dream Sequence]]). It does, though, turn up in shorter venues, for example in music videos ([[Soundgarden]]'s "Black Hole Sun" and Paula Abdul's "Promise Of A New Day" spring to mind). Some widescreen TV sets also have the option of stretching non-widescreen material to fit the screen, in case their owners are lucky enough to not be able to notice the distortion. |
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Compare [[Letterbox]], [[Split Screen]], [[Widescreen Shot]]. |
Compare [[Letterbox]], [[Split Screen]], [[Widescreen Shot]]. |