I like to use sensor widths for crop factors (although you can use diagonals or heights as well). One question that comes up as you switch sensor sizes is: which focal length will give me the same framing? If you’re shooting in Super 35 with a 50mm, which focal length will give you the same frame at the same camera position in Super 16? To address this question of equivalent focal lengths, photographers came up with the crop factor. Here, the camera position stays 5’ away from Marion in the foreground, with Kevin about 6’ behind her.Ī key takeaway from sensor comparisons is that, at the same distance, larger formats require longer lenses for similar compositions. In a way this test is similar to scouting or shooting small in location interiors: you may find yourself in a corner or up against a wall to get a wide shot. Today’s cinematographers have to be able to switch formats easily, sometimes on the same project, and choose the appropriate focal length. I foresee future cinema screenings switching between multiple aspect ratios, formats, resolutions, dynamic ranges and speeds.
In a recent post, I wrote that digital projection has introduced Elastic Frames, enabling filmmakers to easily redefine the frame lines and aspect ratios in the same movie, and even in the same shot - like Xavier Dolan did in Mommy (shot by Andre Turpin). Some cameras, notably the Red Epic, allow you to rapidly switch from one resolution to another by cropping the sensor to different sizes. Our contemporary cinematic culture is increasingly hybrid, featuring collages of different format sizes and resolutions to achieve different image textures, often in the same movie. A cinematic format is defined by the sensor size, the shape of the frame cropped on that sensor, as well as the type of lenses required (for example anamorphic versus spherical).
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