The ANAMORPHIC PROCESS & MORE

     The original anamorphic process compresses a widescreen image so that it will fit into a standard size film frame. The image is then restored to its original widescreen size when projected. 

     The process does cause problems during post-production when optical effects are put into a scene. To do effects to the film, it must be decompressed before the effects guys can work on it. 

     Two of the anamorphic processes are Cinescope and Panavision systems. 

     Because the process is such a pain to use a process called Vista Vision was created that is a non-anamorphic widescreen that uses a 35-mm process. Vista Vision creates enough space for widescreen by running the film horizontally rather than using the squeezing process. It was extremely popular in the 1950's and is in some cases used today for some seasons. George Lucas used this process for his first Star Wars film. VV offers very sharp pictures, but there isn't much film in a pack, and this makes it difficult to use in situations where changing film becomes a pain. 

     Aspect ratios for Vista Vision are 1.66:1 & 1.86:1. Panavision and Cinescope are 2.35:1. 
     The most common today is Super 35. This offers more film, excellent quality. It's a full aperature film, which means that the entire piece of film is exposed during the photographic process. There is enough width to create widescreen movies without having to compress the material using the anamorphic lens.  With the video market to day Super 35 also provides superior quality transfer. This type of film has been used with classic films such as Terminator 2, True Lies, the Abyss, The Fifth Element, Titanic, and Independence Day. Judging by this you have to recognize that James Cameron like to use the Super 35mm film. 

     When talking about the types of film you need to understand Aperture. It generally refers to the opening of the camera lens. The size of the opening determines the amount of light exposed to the film. Aperture also refers to the opening of a projector along with a camera. The sizes of aperture are known as f-stops. The f-stop defines the relationship between the focal length of the lens and the width of it's opening. 
     As far as movie lens go from f/2.2 to f/22. The 2.2 lens will offer the most light to the film and range down to the 22 which is the least. 

     With the heavy use of Special Effects today in nearly every film, Super 35 is the best suited film to work with. it offers superior quality for film and transfer to other media, as well as ease of use. 

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