PopcornTreeCt

Obviously, this forum very much lives and dies by the Original Aspect Ratio. But I ask you, if the director has no real preference and the movie was never shown theatrically or presented in anyway before the DVD release..would OAR matter? How would we even know what it is? Hmm...

fumanstan

I can't really see a director having no preference...

Geofferson

My thoughts as well. Shots are framed by the OAR.

mbs

Exactly. It was certainly shot with a particular AR in the director's mind. So I'd say, yes, it matters.

PixyJunket

Oh, I'm pretty sure it's happened.. I can't imagine somebody doing a direct-to-video part 6 or 7 to an already dead franchise putting much thought or care into the integrity of their shots.

NatrlBornThrllr

To answer your question, no, the OAR doesn't matter if there is no OAR. However, if the director is like most and actually had a vision during filming and framed his shots in a particular way, then yes I'd like to see the movie in that aspect ratio. Part of moviegoing for me is having the opportunity to see another person's vision, and I wouldn't want that vision comprimised in any way. If there is a preferred aspect ratio (be it by the director in framing the shots, or whomever), then that's what I want to see. If the director just pointed and shot with no framing of any sort in mind, then I guess the aspect ratio wouldn't make all that much of a difference.

-JP

Joe Molotov

Well, in that case I guess the Original Aspect Ratio would be what ever aspect ratio it was originally presented in.

uberjoe

I don't see what being in the theaters has to do with it. Unless it's some incredibly lazy director, he/she shot the film with framing in mind. That vision exists whether the movie is shown on a theater screen or on a 13in television.

Jay G.

Even forgetting the director, any cinematographer is going to try and keep the actors and action "in frame," and whatever frame the cinematographer was using would be the preferred aspect ratio.

FinkPish

I work on a lot of TV movies and mini-series, and they are all shot with TV framing in mind, but recently they have been releasing DVDs of these shows with both the OAR (4:3) and widescreen images, which to me looks better, because the TV versions are pan & scan versions of the full widescreen image. The color timing, mixing and print mastering is done to the widescreen images, which are then cropped for TV release.

Jay G.

With TV shows nowadays, OAR can be problematic to figure out. With shows like LOST and other major network fair that air WS on HDTV but 4:3 on standard TV, technically both ratios are OAR, since they air at the same time. In cases like this, one usually has to defer to the show's producers on which ratio they prefer and/or actually composed for.