I came across an open matte copy of Jurassic Park… During shots of the CGI effects the image is shown in a wide format and I’ve heard this was the way the effects shots were filmed, but I did notice that the left hand side of the frame during those CGI shots that it’s cropped slightly but the right side shows more than the DVD and bluray version but the bluray and DVD versions show more than the open matte version. Does anyone know why the left side is cropped, shouldn’t it show the full image?.
The very left side of the frame gets printed over by the sound strip that is placed at the left side of the print. The right side has nothing obscuring the edges, hence you see more picture. The effects shots were filmed on VistaVision cameras that have a tall 1.47:1 aspect ratio. They were then cropped to a 16:9 type of shape, for ease of rendering (less amount of effects rendered is less cost in post-production and more time saved). The film gate through which the entire print passes, not only hides the sprocket holes and splices, but also obscures more image at the edges for stabilisation purposes. The DVD, Blu-ray don’t show much more image than the theatre, but the Laserdisc and THX Widescreen VHS did. They showed the full width of the negative. The DVD and Blu-ray actually show less image and a slightly different framing than the projected theatrical prints. They cut off more headroom than the projected image did.
Thanks for that, I heard something similar to what you said there on a youtube video about the open matte version. But why does the bluray version I have show a small amount to the left side but the open matte version is cropped, only slightly but noticeable?. Do you know where the open matte version of JP came from and how they got hold of them?. Also, I noticed there was a 16:9 aspect during a non effects shot where the camera moves into Grant’s face as he is looking towards the herd of Brachiosaurs moving across the lake below, but the other non effects shots go back to the open matte look.