Post #1399723

2026-04-15 07:40 UTC

In the beginning, the world was 4:3. As widescreen gained in popularity through the 60s, broadcasters used a technique called "pan and scan". Basically it copied the film through a little 4:3 window, with the operator choosing which part of the image to exclude. The alternative was letterboxing which looks better and doesn't mess with the director's vision. But people didn't like black stripes on their TVs, so P&S stuck around until the late 80s or so. @beadsland

Replies (1)

@beadsland@beige.party 2026-04-15 14:12

@BobLefridge Am aware of pan and scan (cropping, selectively) and letterboxing. Both of which are addressed in OP. Pan and scan requires someone make editorial decisions about what is seen through the window and what is cropped out. Letterboxing was often not acceptable to audiences, as you note. For Saturday afternoon movies, especially on UHF channels, horizontal compression was a way to avoid sacrificing screen real estate without actually doing any editorial work. Another reply to this thread provides the term "anamorphic widescreen". The question went to the impact, on later art, of folk growing up with such squashing of film for broadcast. Not to alternatives to such squashing, as if the lived experience of seeing such squashed films on television never happened. A non-responsive answer is non-responsive.

Open ##1399724