DTV and the
Editor's Dilemma:
To Cut for 16:9 or 4:3...
that is the Question.
By Pam Malouf
Many TV series and movies are now shooting using a widescreen (16:9) matte on the camera but editing in 1.33:1 (most often referred to as 4:3). This practice adds new considerations for film editors because both formats will be broadcast.
 |
|
|
|
|
Why is the U.S. choosing to go through the pain of switching from analog to digital television? Primarily because DTV allows viewers at home to receive visually stunning pictures - more than twice the resolution and clarity of standard analog TV - in a widescreen format (sidebar). Even a standard definition TV (SDTV) image of 525 lines is sharper in DTV than it is in NTSC. When high-definition television (HDTV) is implemented, images will have up to 1080 scan lines (the exact number has yet to be determined.) In addition, DTV offers audiences the benefit of six&endash;channel, CD&endash;quality surround sound.
There are several other good reasons to go digital. Chief among them are that digital data can be compressed and transmitted much more efficiently than analog signals, and a digital signal doesn't produce the same picture artifacts we see in NTSC. The first point is key: More than five times as much information can be squeezed through the same bandwidth using a digital compression scheme called MPEG-2. It's not perfect, but it's the best and most standard method at the moment. By manipulating the amount of space signals consume, digital broadcasters have the option of transmitting their programming in a number of ways; for instance, a broadcaster can actually "multicast" four SDTV pictures instead of only one HDTV picture. Some broadcasters, including many PBS stations, are already planning to multicast programming during the day and then switch to HDTV for prime time.
Not only will DTV offer us more viewing choices in the near future, it is heading toward a convergence with computers as well. The result will be truly interactive TVs. Imagine a very fast network connection sending pictures, sounds, multimedia games and illustrated articles, all related to the television program you're watching. You'll still be able to passively watch TV, but you can also customize the experience and make it your own. Boxes may pop up asking you which stocks to follow, where to check for weather conditions, which college basketball scores to list, and which stories to read more about. You'll be able to print out a picture for coloring with your kids. Watching the news just became a personalized report. TV is never going to be the same.
The reason studios are now shooting their shows in widescreen but not high definition is because virtually all TVs sold in five years will be widescreen but not necessarily HDTV, assuring that reruns of today's shows will be compatible. Once there is a demand for high definition, the studios will have the option of retransferring their negatives in HDTV.
From a post-production standpoint, if your show is shot on film it can be transferred in telecine at 525 lines and broadcast in SDTV, but if it is to be broadcast later in HDTV it will have to be retransferred at up to 1080 lines. A show that originates on tape can only be high definition if it is shot using HDTV cameras, because the scan lines in tape originate in the camera. Beginning this television season, more and more tape shows will be shot using HDTV cameras. Go to post houses around town and you will see that there are now separate HDTV bays to accommodate these shows, because specialized equipment is necessary to handle the difference in scan lines.
Editing for this New Television
You sit down to start cutting your first episode of a TV series or movie shot in the 16:9 format. The delivery requirements include a final master in both 16:9 and 4:3. The show will be onlined using your 16:9 master, then, after color timing, it will be blown up slightly and the sides will be cut off in order to create the 4:3 master. Many producers say they only care about the 4:3 version because that is how the show will be viewed in its first run. However, the studios want those 16:9 versions to be equally good, because they have to fulfill FCC DTV broadcast requirements and must take into account future syndication runs as widescreen and HDTV become prevalent at home.
On my current show, I have been mandated by the studio to make sure the 16:9 version is flawless, yet my producers only care about the 4:3 version. Personally? As a conscientious editor, 10 years from now I don't want to be watching a 16:9 rerun of a show I've cut and see horrendously awful edits! So I've developed a few tips for keeping both the studio and the producers happy while still doing the best editing job possible within the parameters of the job. I say "within the parameters," because the sad reality is that without a recut specifically for 16:9, you really can't deliver one cut that will play exactly the same in both formats.
"HDTV1.bmp" image goes here
Here's one way to make the process much more painless, however: Have your dailies delivered to you as they were shot - in the 16:9 format - and make sure you get a converter box. (A converter box allows you to output your cut in either 4:3 or 16:9 by taking the 16:9 image, blowing it up slightly and cutting off the sides to duplicate what your 4:3 master will look like.) Under the "Settings" menu on your Avid, you can tell the system that your dailies are 16:9, and on the cutting screen you will see those images in the correct aspect ratio. But, by setting the converter box to 4:3, the image on the output monitor will match today's essentially square frame. If you want or need to see the image on the big monitor in 16:9, you just hit a button on the converter box and it will switch over. There is also a bypass switch on the box if you have 4:3 material that you want to view normally.
Here's something else to remember: Post houses have an option when they are blowing up the 16:9 image for the 4:3 master. If they blow it up centered, then you will lose a little image off the top and bottom of each frame. Or they can blow it up so that the loss of image comes only from the bottom of the frame. Many camera operators assume the image loss will come off the bottom of the frame and so don't allow extra headroom. This has created problems on shows that convert to 4:3, as evidenced by actors' heads being clipped! Prevent this problem by finding out ahead of time how your show will be blown-up, and then make sure the camera operators know. This way they can compensate accordingly and allow for extra headroom, if necessary.
Problems editors may encounter include:
- Your producers want you to steal a
shot. Perhaps it's an establishing shot of a building or
a close-up of your star from another part of the scene.
In 4:3 the shot looks great, but in 16:9 there is an
unwanted person or body part.
- The camera operators are framing
for 16:9 but sometimes, to get the shot the director
wants, they shoot off the set or capture a boom at the
top of the frame. In 4:3, however, the shots are
fine.
- When an actor enters the frame in
16:9, it takes another beat for them to enter in 4:3.
Your producers make you trim this "dead" beat, but now
you have an ugly cut in the 16:9 version.
- Over-the-shoulder shots look more
like dirty singles in the 4:3. If you only consider the
4:3 image, you can end up with horrendous mismatches when
viewed in 16:9.
- Groups of actors shot close together might look like you are cutting between singles in 4:3, but in 16:9 you're actually cutting between tight two-shots or three-shots, and the matching can be quite a problem. Not to mention it creates generally ugly edits.
Now I suppose you expect solutions to these problems, eh? Ha! If only it were that simple! That's why I first referred to this whole subject as the editors dilemma. The best I can do is share what has worked for me.
First, make sure the camera operators know that delivery in 16:9 is a reality and not an exercise. Don't use shots that are bad in 16:9 even though they're great in 4:3 without informing your producers. They have a right to know. If they insist on using it, all you can do is warn the studio that they will have to make a correction in the 16:9 version. If that's not acceptable to them, then they can take it up with your producers. (It's not our job to be the heavy; after all, we want to keep our jobs and our producers happy!)
Most importantly, if you have integrity as an editor, make sure all your cuts look good (match, etc.) in 16:9, but don't expect anyone to be aware of (or appreciate) your efforts. If there's a boom visible in 16:9, take the initiative to have the shot blown-up slightly in the online to get rid of it. There's no reason to burden your producers with this little problem.
In the worst case scenario, ugly edits in the 16:9 version may be inevitable, but by being conscientious you can at least minimize them. Ironically, though, in a few years, when widescreen TV becomes dominant and our producers insist on screening everything in 16:9, the "inferior" edits will occur in the 4:3 version! Hence, the editor's dilemma shall continue.
|
The current aspect ratio used for television was originally developed by W.K.L. Dickson in 1889 in Thomas Edison's laboratories. In his experiments with a motion picture camera called the Kinescope, Dickson was using film that was one inch wide with frames three quarters of an inch high. This film size, which has an aspect ratio of 4:3, became the standard for the motion picture industry. In 1941, when the NTSC proposed standards for television broadcasting, they adopted the same standard. "This film has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit your screen." Recognize that message? In the 1950s, film studios worried about competition from TV and searched for something they could offer their audiences that TV couldn't. They came up with the widescreen format. Widescreen theatrical formats, such as Cinerama, Cinemascope and VistaVision, gave the audience more of a feeling that they were actually in the movie. It's a simple but good idea. Widescreen is formatted much closer to the way we actually see because our field of vision is rectangular, not square. So, when we view movies in a widescreen format, the image fills our entire field of vision and has a much more powerful impact. The average widescreen format seen in the theater is 16:9, so that's the ratio chosen for HDTV. Pam Malouf
|
Writer's Note: I would like to thank Robert Cringely for
his contribution to this article and the sidebar.
For more on Widescreen read Jan/Feb 2000
Reprinted from
The Motion Picture Editors Guild Newsletter
Vol. 20, No. 6 - Sep/Oct 1999
Guild Home | Newsletter Home | Top of Page
Copyright © 1999, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700