The Academy ratio of 1.375:1 (abbreviated as 1.37:1) is an

aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...

of a

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

of 35 mm film when used with

4-perf pulldown Negative pulldown is the manner in which an image is exposed on a film stock, described by the number of film perforations spanned by an individual frame. It can also describe whether the image captured on the negative is oriented horizontally ...

.Monaco, James. ''How to Read a Film: The Art, Technology, Language, History and Theory of Film and Media''. Rev. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. .Bordwell, David and Thompson, Kristin. ''Film Art: An Introduction''. Rev. ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993. . It was standardized by the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

as the standard film aspect ratio in 1932, although similar-sized ratios were used as early as 1928.

History

Silent films were shot at a 1¹/₃:1 aspect ratio (also known as a 1.3:1 or 4:3 aspect ratio), with each frame using all of the negative space between the two rows of

film perforations Film perforations, also known as perfs and sprocket holes, are the holes placed in the film stock during manufacturing and used for transporting (by sprockets and claws) and steadying (by pin registration) the film. Films may have different type ...

for a length of 4 perforations. The frame line between the silent film frames was very thin. When

sound-on-film Sound-on-film is a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an Analog s ...

was introduced in the late 1920s, the soundtrack was recorded in a stripe running just inside one set of the perforations and cut into the 1.33 image. This made the image area "taller", usually around 1.19, which was slightly disorienting to audiences used to the 1.3 frame and also presented problems for exhibitors with fixed-size screens and stationary projectors. From studio to studio, the common attempt to reduce the image back to a 1.3:1 ratio by decreasing the projector aperture in-house met with conflicting results. Each movie theater chain, furthermore, had its own designated house ratio. The first standards set for the new sound-on-film motion pictures were accepted in November 1929, when all major US studios agreed to compose for the

Society of Motion Picture Engineers The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) (, rarely ), founded by Charles Francis Jenkins in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE, is a global professional association of engineers, technologists, and e ...

(SMPE) designated size of returning to the aspect ratio of 1.3:1. Following this,

(AMPAS) considered further alterations to this 1930 standard. Various dimensions were submitted, and the projector aperture plate opening size of 0.825 in × 0.600 in was agreed upon. The resulting 1.375:1 aspect ratio was then dubbed the "Academy Ratio". On May 9, 1932, the SMPE adopted the same projector aperture standard. All studio films shot in 35 mm from 1932 to 1952 were shot in the Academy ratio. However, following the widescreen "revolution" of 1953, it quickly became an obsolete production format. Within several months, all major studios started matting their non-anamorphic films in the

projector A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer type ...

to wider ratios such as 1.6, 1.75, and 1.85, the last of which is still considered a standard ratio along with

anamorphic Anamorphic format is a cinematography technique that captures widescreen images using recording media with narrower native Aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios. Originally developed for 35 mm movie film, 35 mm film to create widescreen pres ...

(2.39). 1.375:1 is not totally obsolete, nonetheless, and can still be found in select recent films such as

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's '' The Artist'' (2011),

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'' (2014) and 4:3 prints of

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'' (2008) intended for 1.78:1 exhibition (a 2.39:1 version was also made).

Technical details

The Academy ratio is not created in the camera, which has continued to use the full frame silent aperture gate for all 4-perf spherical filming. Rather, it is created in the married print, when the optical soundtrack and frame lines are added. Though most non-anamorphic film prints with a soundtrack are now framed to one of the non-anamorphic widescreen ratios, from 1.6 to 1.85, some still retain Academy-sized frames. These frames are then cropped in the projector by means of aperture masks used in the projector's gate in conjunction with a wider lens than would be used for projecting Academy ratio films. During filming, using the 4-perf frame for widescreen framing when spherical lenses are used is sometimes considered to be wasteful in terms of the cost of film stock and processing, especially in the case of television, which does not require a film print. The

3-perf pulldown Negative pulldown is the manner in which an image is exposed on a film stock, described by the number of film perforations spanned by an individual frame. It can also describe whether the image captured on the negative is oriented horizontally ...

process was originally proposed in 1973, developed by Miklos Lente in 1976, and further developed by

Rune Ericson Rune Ericson (29 May 1924 – 4 February 2015) was a Swedish cinematographer. At the 20th Guldbagge Awards he won the Special Achievement award. He worked on more than 60 films and television shows between 1947 and 1991. In 1969, Ericsson ...

in 1986 to solve this problem.Bernstein, N.D.; Wysotsky, M.Z.; and Konoplev, B.N. "A Universal Format for Film Production." ''Journal of the SMPTE.'' September 1973; Lente, Miklos. "The Proposed Trilent-35 System." ''American Cinematographer.'' June 1976; Ericson, Rune. "Three-Perf in the Future." ''American Cinematographer.'' July 1986.

Notes

{{Film formats Motion picture film formats Ratios

History

Technical details

See also

Notes