If you are reading this, you are probably not the hardcore movie fan that you thought you were. Rest assured, even some of the most hardened movie viewers are stumped by the differences in the various movie formats available, unless you have a keen eye or are in the business of producing films. It could also be that you are here just so you can show off your knowledge and correct us if needed, but either way, for your convenience and your entertainment, we have assembled a movie format guide below...
First off, there is the 35 mm film that first started it all. The conventional motion picture format is four perforations per frame along both edges, which results in 16 frames per foot of film with an aspect ratio of about 1.37:1, 22 mm by 16 mm (0.866 in × 0.630 in). This standard has been refined a few times since, and as of 1932, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences enforced an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, which was 0.825 by 0.600 in (21 by 15 mm), while widescreen meant an aspect ratio of about 2.39:1 (more commonly referred to as 2.40:1). Sound is inserted into the 35 mm film print frames at far left and far right, outside of the KS-size perforations. For Dolby Digital soundtrack, it is recorded between the perforations, while to the right of this is the stereophonic analogue soundtrack, optically recorded as waveforms containing the audio signals for the left and right audio channels. Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" was shot on 35 mm film, giving it a naturally filmic look with a warm grain structure that is untouched by post-production filtering such as digital noise reduction, edge enhancement.
Do not be confused with digital 2D films and hand-drawn animated films, which is also called 2D when compared against 3D animated films. A digital 2D feature film means that you get higher definition and clearer audio as opposed to a 35 mm feature film. This is because the projection and sound systems are digital, which means that you will not see scratches and grain that may be present on 35 mm film or hear drops in the quality of the audio due to wear and tear. Between digital 2D and digital 3D films, the differences are more obvious. Images from a 2D film do not pop out at you as opposed to those of a 3D film. In order to see the added depth effect, viewers are also required to wear specially made glasses for 3D. 3D glasses create the illusion of three dimensions by filtering out the light not intended for that eye, resulting in each eye receiving a different image. The traditional anaglyph 3D glasses have one red lens and one blue or cyan lens or similar colour filters. Cinemas are currently moving towards offering movies in 2D and phasing out 3D. An example is MBO Cinemas in Citta Mall, Ara Damansara and Terminal 2 Seremban, where the plans are to go 100% digital by the end of 2012.
As mentioned above, digital 3D or 3-D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception. There is also the option of S3D (stereoscopic 3D), which is known as True 3D. Compared to most 3D films that just only transfer 3D data into a 2D image, True 3D has multiple cameras or the in the case of CGI, the view on the scene must be generated from multiple positions. In addition, the proper technologies must be used to deliver the proper image to the specific eye it is intended for. One of the more prominent films to be released in 3D was James Cameron's "Avatar", and was simultaneously presented in IMAX 3D format.
Much like the "X-Men", the X in 3D-X is branded by TGV to stand for "Xtraordinary", "XtraClear" and "XtraBright" which means that the clarity in terms of crispness and overall brightness of the movie is noticeably increased so that even in certain cases where the dark/dim scenes of a particular movie which is often hard to see clearly in normal 3D; will be much more visible here. To put it in another way, 3D-X is to 3D what 2D is to 35 mm films. To sum it up, the 3D effects are the same - overall just the clarity and the brightness of the visual is increased. Malaysian moviegoers can delight in knowing that TGV Cinemas have recently launched its new Digital 3D projection system called 3D-X via the exclusive premiere of Ang Lee's first 3D film, "Life Of Pi" at TGV Cinemas SetiaWalk in Puchong. According to Kenny Wong, CEO of TGV Cinemas, "With the 3D-X roll-out, TGV Cinemas can now offer the best in digital cinematic experience in 3D."
The term itself is an abbreviation for Image Maximum. It is a motion picture film format and a set of cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation with the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems. IMAX films also differ from that of 35 mm film, and if a film was shot on the latter, it will have to be digitally converted into IMAX format. For these reasons, watching a film in IMAX will cost more than watching a film in regular movie theatres. As of 2012, in Malaysia, TGV's IMAX halls are only projected by 2k-resolution Christie projectors because 70mm film and projectors are costly and difficult to mass produce. A well-known example of a film shot in this format is Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises", although the entire film was not given this treatment as it would have been tremendously expensive. Further, IMAX cameras led to a considerable noise in the images, thus 35mm and 70mm cameras had to be used for shooting the film's dialogue scenes, as dialogue had to be dubbed when shot with IMAX cameras. The difference between IMAX 2D and 3D can be summed up in Nolan's words when he explained why he did not elect to make use of the third dimension for "The Dark Knight Rises", "In the case of Batman, I view those as iconic, operatic movies, dealing with larger-than-life characters. The intimacy that the 3D parallax illusion imposes isn't really compatible with that. We are finishing our story on the next Batman, and we want to be consistent to the look of the previous films. There was more of an argument for a film like "Inception". I've seen work in 3D like "Avatar" that's exciting. But, for me, what was most exciting about "Avatar" was the creation of a world, the use of visual effects, motion capture, performance capture, and these kinds of things."
Like IMAX 2D for regular 2D films, this is an improved version of regular 3D films. By far the most expensively-priced movie ticket ever, single tickets for an IMAX 3D screening in Malaysia can go up to RM 32.
To understand High Frame Rate (abbreviated to HFR) 3D, we need to dissect the term into two parts. HFR is a motion picture format where a higher frame rate than the industry standard 24 frames per second is used, which improves the image quality – particularly that of 3D films – by reducing strobing and motion blur. The format was introduced with the release of Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" in December 2012. So far, there have been no 2D HFR film productions.