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Feature film comp settings for After Effects – help!
Hi
I’ve also put this post into the AE forum, but I thought you guys may be able to help; I have been told to use 1.85:1 for a project but AE doesn’t have that as a preset. I went looking at Wikipedia, but what I found only confused me further:-
“Since the 1950s the aspect ratio of theatrically released motion picture films has been 1.85:1 (1.66:1 in Europe) or 2.35:1 (2.40:1 after 1970), so the “Academy” ratio was relegated to usage primarily for television. The image area for “TV transmission” is slightly smaller than the full “Academy” ratio at 21 mm by 16 mm (0.816 in by 0.612 in), an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Hence the “Academy” ratio is often mistakenly referred to as having an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, referring to the TV transmitted area, instead of the actual 1.37:1 ratio of the full “Academy” area.”
AE does have a couple of 1.37 presets, they are both square pixel so where does 1.85 come from?A
Vertigo Productions
https://www.vertigo.co.uk -
5 Replies
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[Antony Buonomo] “so where does 1.85 come from?”
That’s a film term, you won’t hear it tossed about much in the video world. 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 are the two most common theatrical film aspect ratios. The 1.85:1 is shot with spherical lenses either natively with three-perf cameras or with conventional 4-perf cameras with slight masking on the tops and bottom of the frames. 2.35:1 is shot full-frame with anamporphic lenses.
In the video world, the standard HD aspect ratio of 16×9 is pretty close to 1.85:1, actually translating at 1.78:1. It may be that you can do your AE work as a standard HD 16:9 project and then mask it just a tiny bit to get 1.85:1.
It’s hard to suggest a good solution without knowing a little more… you say “I have been told to use 1.85:1 for a project”… I would say who exactly is telling you that?… and what is the rest of the project? Whomever that person may be is probably best to address this with, maybe they can tell you an exact pixel ratio to use to give them what they need.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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I was approached by a first-time producer of a feature film to produce some opening titles. I did try and pin him down but he was pretty vague other than saying that 1.85 was what he wanted. I think it’s one of those weird situations where both sides are pretty inexperienced at the matter in hand but are unwilling to display their naivete. The only other feature film title I have produced was in 2.35 (2048×872).
AE does offer –
Cineon Half 1828×1323 1.37ar
Cineon Full 3656×2664 1.37ar
Film (2K) 2048×1556 1.32ar
Film (4K) 4096×3112 1.32arI understand your point about the HD set up, but will that be high enough resolution? I have been searching the net for pixel equivalents to film sizes, but still no luck.
Many thanks for your help.
A
Vertigo Productions
https://www.vertigo.co.uk -
I would say some further discussions with the producer are necessary, and both of you just need to own up to what you do know and what you don’t know. Hiding naivete is usually a recipe for disaster. Being ignorant is not the same thing as being stupid…ha… and you guys definitely need to hash out the exact format.
One issue would be how is he finishing the project and how will it be presented? Your resolution needs to be at least as great as the project, or greater. Is this a real film, as in shot on actual film? Or not? If it were really an HD video “film” or say a Panavision Genesis project that is actually being finished at 1080 then a regular HD project should be sufficient. However, if it is a real film then you need to finish at at least whatever resolution the DI is (assuming there is a digital intermediary, which I’m guessing there is). That would either be 2K or 4K (probably 2K, the majority of DIs are 2K). Even with 2K DIs, sometimes titles are produced at 4K since sharp graphics are less forgiving of resolution loss.
At any rate, you need to know the exact specs of his finishinging/distribution methods, and at least match if not exceed those specs. You’ll need to know more than just 1.85:1 or any other aspect ratio.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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I have never heard of doing this, but here’s some algebra.
L = Length
W = Width
R = Aspect RatioL/W=R
If you assume you’re going to work in a “4k-like” environment, the most pixels, then you have to solve two separate equations, and the producer needs to pick one.
Equation 1: L/3112=1.85
Equation 2: 4096/W=1.85.The answers I got are as follows:
Either the composition in AE is 5757 x 3112 (which I believe is undefined),
Or the composition in AE is 4096 x 2214, which is possible, by working in 4k and using a mask, guides, or precomp, for the film area. -
Errata. The W = Width needs to be H = Height. Doesn’t change the calculation.
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