Have you watch a movie today? I guess you, at least, have watch one movie.

Have you notice

this bar on your screen? This thing called aspect ratio. So I will explain to you what is aspect
ratio and types of aspect ratio.

An aspect ratio describes the width and height of a screen or image. An aspect ratio consists
of two numbers separated by a colon, the first number denoting the image’s width and the
second its height. For example, an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 means the image's width is 1.33
times the size of its height. To eliminate decimals in this ratio, you can write it as 4:3 instead.

Aspect ratios are largely defined by numbers, as in a mathematical ratio that clearly defines
how many inches high and how many inches wide your video, image and design projects
should be. While aspect ratios are measurements of the height and width, they are often
reduced to the smallest usable ratio in order to fit perfectly in every medium.

There have been many different aspect ratios throughout the history of film and television,
but today, four ratios are common, with a few classic ratios making a comeback.

1. 4:3 or 1.33:1. The earliest films were presented in a 4:3 ratio, and until the advent of
widescreen HDTV, 4:3 was the normal ratio for standard-definition television sets.
Today, the 4:3 aspect ratio primarily serves artistic purposes, such as mimicking a
style of filmmaking before the widescreen aspect ratio became the norm.

2. 16:9. The standard size for high definition widescreen televisions and most computer
monitors, 16:9 is the most common aspect ratio used today. It is generally associated
with video shot for TV and the Internet since film aspect ratios are typically wider in
order to achieve a more cinematic look. Outside of movie theaters, most viewers
watch content on 16:9 screens, so unless you're shooting content that will be shown
theatrically, shooting in the 16:9 ratio is a wise decision.

3. 1.85:1. One of the two standard aspect ratios in modern cinema, 1.85:1 is regarded as
the normal widescreen format and is actually quite similar in size to 16:9. It is slightly
wider than 16:9, meaning content you shoot in 1.85:1 and display on widescreen
televisions and computer monitors will appear with thin black bars on the top and
bottom of the screen. Though this ratio is most common for feature films, many TV
shows striving for a cinematic look also shoot in 1.85:1.

4. 2.39:1. Known as anamorphic widescreen format, 2.39:1 is the widest aspect ratio
common in modern cinema. It creates an aesthetic customarily associated with
 premium dramatic feature films, and its wide field of view makes it the ratio of choice
for shooting scenic landscapes.

5. 2.76:1 (70mm). Today, auteur directors like Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino,
and Paul Thomas Anderson have propelled the reemergence of the 70mm film format,
which has a humongous aspect ratio of 2.76:1 (and is often projected on gigantic
IMAX screens). 70mm initially rose to prominence in the late 1950s, partially due to
its use in the Best Picture-winning film Ben-Hur, but the format gradually faded out
of use. Now, just like in the 1950s, Hollywood is using 70mm to lure audiences back
to the theater by providing them with a unique experience that can't be duplicated at
home on TV.

6. 1.37:1 (Academy ratio). Only slightly wider than the 4:3 ratio used throughout the
silent film era, Academy Ratio became the standard film ratio in 1932 when talking
pictures became the norm. Contemporary filmmakers like Andrea Arnold and Paul
Schrader still occasionally use this ratio.

7. 2.59:1 to 2.65:1 (Cinerama). To compete with the exploding popularity of television

in the early 1950s, film distributors decided they needed to create an added incentive
for the public to go to the theater. This resulted in the creation of Cinerama, a super
widescreen format involving three standard 35mm film cameras that simultaneously
project a film onto a curved screen.

8. 2.35:1 to 2.66:1 (Cinemascope). Debuting in 1953, Cinemascope was a super

widescreen format developed by the head of research at 20th Century Fox. Since it
used anamorphic lenses for the first time, Cinemascope only required one projector,
which made it much less complex than Cinerama. Soon after the emergence of Fox’s
Cinemascope, Paramount introduced its own widescreen format called VistaVision,
but it couldn't compete with less expensive anamorphic systems like Cinemascope
and soon became obsolete.