Widescreen & The 'Common Sides' Process by Pam Malouf Most TV series are now shooting using a wide screen (16x9) matt on the camera but editing in the traditional 4x3 format. To do so, they take the 16x9 image and cut off the sides to create the 4x3 version (see DTV and the Editor's Dilemma, Sept/Oct '99 Newsletter). This creates editorial problems because cuts on entrances and exits are timed correctly for one version but not the other. Matching problems occur because 16x9 over-shoulder shots look like dirty singles in 4:3, etc. After a lot of thinking and testing, Paramount Studios came up with the "Common Sides Process" to deal with this problem. The technique uses the entire 4:3 image and extracts the 16:9 image using vertical repositioning. Approximately 25% of the picture image is lost using either method but common sides produces a compromise that better supports the integrity of the edits and composition. Tests have shown that with this method there's a single vertical reposition that will work for the vast majority of shots. Once this position has been set, only about 10% of the shots need to be altered further for better framing.   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter Vol. 21, No. 1 - Jan/Feb 2000   Guild Home | Newsletter Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 2000, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700