Hi!

Still a bit of a beginner when it comes to the technical stuff. When adding titles to LDDb I've noticed that there are two options for 1.33:1 ratio. Academy Ratio and Video. Got a bit confused when I read about it under the Help page. Does Academy Ratio apply to everything intended for 1.33:1 ratio, or would it only apply to live action movies and TV series? If the latter one, would then animation be added as Video? I'm talking about cartoon animation, not computer animation.

Trying to understand this and add the information as correctly as possible.

Technically academy ratio is actually 1.37:1 and is usually the term for feature films in that aspect ratio. For video and TV (pre-00s), 1.33:1 is generally the standard although exceptions do exist of course.

They are the same, 4:3, but "the acadamy" doesn't deal in video so if it first appeared in video, that's what that's for. Acadamy is a film term.

I understood this as if the negatives are film reels, then it should be Academy Ratio? Animation before the end of the 90s were shot on film. When checking with IMDb, most animation is either 16mm or 35mm. From the description under the Help tab, it seems selecting Academy Ratio for cartoons would be the right choice. Computer animation is digital, so I'd guess anything made in 4:3 format would then be Video?

What you're saying signofzeta, is that if it were first shown in a movie theatre it would be Academy Ratio, and anything made that is shown first TV or home video would be Video?

Pretty much all films in academy ratio are shot in 1.37:1. Main exception are very early sound films (i.e. L'Age d'Or) that were 1.2:1. The width of frame were reduced due to the soundtrack but were later compensated by reducing the height as well.

Your assumption regarding theatrical distribution and home video is entirely correct, although it's important to tell academy ratio apart from open matte. Every film shot on 35mm with an OAR at 1.85:1 has a negative of 1.37:1. The picture has been composed in production for 1.85:1 while you still could avoid pan&scan.

Well, when you select Academy Ratio (or Video), it automatically fills in 1.33:1. But anyway... The way Academy Ratio and Video should be defined in this case is that Academy Ratio is selected when a movie is first shown in a movie theatre, and Video is used when it is a "straight-to-video" release or first shown on TV?

Yes, academy ratio for films and video for dedicated video releases or TV shows. On Laserdisc it's generally always 1.33:1 so that's why it says so.

Oh boy, this is what a good search engine is for

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I apologize if this have been brought up before. Might've used the wrong keywords when searching...