2.40 or 1.85 framing for a music video?

[Mark K.]

Hi guys,

I'm shooting my first hip-hop music video this week and I'm wondering about common frame/aspect-ratio choices for music videos these days. Our location is particularly nice, and well suited to widescreen framing, so I definitely want something wider than 16:9 - but I don't know if 2.40 scope is considered overkill for music videos, so I'm wondering if 1.85 would be a smarter choice? And whether people have a particular preference for one or the other?

Cheers

 

[Björn Benckert]

I have done the post / vfx for more than a few hundred music videos. And I can not recall a single one of them that did not benefit from getting a 2.35 or 2.4 letterbox and a "pan in scan" to fit that format. Everything gets tighter that way. So my advise is to shoot FF with a thin guide of 2.4 and then rerack the shots in post to fit within that framing.
I do not think the 2.4 is overkill at all as music videos now mostly goes straight to the web, then the widescreen format is very viable. projecting for TV use with a 720x576 standard def framing well then it's not so viable.

 

[Perry Ho]

I will go for 2.40:1, better visualize than 1.85:1...

 

[Andy White]

Even more popular amongst Hip-Hop artists is the super wide format that's growing because anamorphic lenses are being used on 16:9 and not using Red's ana mode (or shot on Scarlet that doesn't have Ana modes).

There are a few examples shot on Scarlet recently, they have that extreme post - sort of super 'super' wide!

So, I'd ask the Director/Agency what they want in visual terms, as that might be your best indicator of what they expect the finished clip to be.

 

[Peter Dmitriyev]

Even more popular amongst Hip-Hop artists is the super wide format that's growing because anamorphic lenses are being used on 16:9 and not using Red's ana mode (or shot on Scarlet that doesn't have Ana modes).

There are a few examples shot on Scarlet recently, they have that extreme post - sort of super 'super' wide!

So, I'd ask the Director/Agency what they want in visual terms, as that might be your best indicator of what they expect the finished clip to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPo5wWmKEaI

you referring to that aspect ratio? You're right I HAVE been seeing more and more of that which I'm assuming is 3.xx:1

 

[Marc Wielage]

Given that your primary audience will be television, I think it's better to optimize the format for the average-sized screens being used by a real audience. To me, a 3- or 4-minute song works better in 1.78 or 1.85; I think 2.40 is gross overkill, but I concede that it's purely an artistic decision. And there are ways to use 2.40 effectively -- even with multiple split-screens pushing on and pushing off, which is another valid creative choice. Bear in mind that any narrower aspect ratio makes the artist's face smaller, which may not be what you want.

Note that the most widely-seen music video in history, which is "Gangnam Style," was shot on Red in 1.78. 920,000,000 views, as of today (and it could well hit 1 billion by the end of the year). And the shooting style, cinematography, and editing are perfectly suited for this kind of music.

 

[Mark K.]

Thanks guys, all good points. TV delivery with 2.40 is one of my concerns, but seeing that anamorphic-on-16:9 crazy-wide frame from the Pitbull video makes me thing it isn't all that unreasonable!

I think we'll go with 2.40, it's a better match for the location.

Cheers