Best way to screen split 2.35:1 Cinemascope into two pictures? at DVinfo.net

Kris Koster · August 7th, 2010, 03:11 AM

I'm producing a short film in 2.35:1 aspect ratio (well, actually 16:9 with black bars top and bottom) -

There's a short sequence at the end where I need the screen to split into two with action happening in both screens simultaneously.

I'm looking for the best way to achieve this that looks good. Has anyone experienced trying this before with success? All my footage is 16:9 native, but even 16:9 doesn't fit twice into 2.35:1, so I am either going to have to crop my 16:9 native footage (which I can do), or play around with two 16:9 sequences in the 2.35:1 frame such that they overlap at the corners (ie. screen A top right, screen B bottom left)

In the above example though, I would have imagined there to be a lot of black, especially with my black pillar box mask top and bottom.

Anyone suggest a cool way of doing this? Also, how to border the two sequences?

Many thanks for any suggestions.

David W. Jones · August 7th, 2010, 06:37 AM

Frame each scene accordingly when you shoot it by engaging a center line on your monitor for an easy split in post.

Kris Koster · August 7th, 2010, 02:03 PM

Hi David,

Many thanks for the tip, although in my case, I have already shot the footage.

Perhaps I didn't explain it right, but what I'm after is what the best looking size and proportion of each window within the 2.35:1 frame could be. Suggestions how to proportion two 16:9 action screens within the 2.35:1 window!

Steve Nelson · August 9th, 2010, 11:46 AM

If you have After Effects this is pretty straightforward. You start with a new composition that has the 2.35:1 pixel ratio (1920x817 if you're shooting HD) then import the two footage sequences as two separate layers then resize and position them to taste inside the comp.

Sareesh Sudhakaran · August 10th, 2010, 10:13 PM

Kris. The only person who can answer this is yourself, since only you know what you've shot and what the action is. That is probably the only indicator of what 'style' you should go for. If it was a random thing, I'd say 50:50 split, but I'm assuming you want to be more creative than that.

Kris Koster · August 19th, 2010, 05:02 PM

Hi folks,

Thank you for all your suggestions. In the end I couldn't go with a 50:50 split, it didn't look right, plus the action didn't suit it. Sometimes the action in one scene dictated more space than the other, then it would change. In the end, I chose to split it roughly 65:35 and switched it when the other scene became more important.

It was key to get it right, as the contest is 'parallel lines' and I wanted to physically show the parallel story going on in my short simultaneously.

To see the final 3-minute work, which was for a contest for Ridley Scott Associates and Philips 21:9 Promotion, you can view it here:

YouTube - Philips Cinema - Parallel Lines - Dead Awake, by Kris Koster

Many kind thanks for your replies.

Kris

Sareesh Sudhakaran · August 21st, 2010, 01:34 AM

great job! You've got a great concept, why not expand and redesign it?

Kris Koster · September 4th, 2010, 12:47 PM

Sareesh -

It was only for a contest, but I would welcome coming back to split screen work in the future. It was fun to try.

The strange thing was - I hardly noticed the 65:35 split shifting to the other side!

August 7th, 2010, 03:11 AM	#1
Kris Koster Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Gatwick, UK Posts: 185	Best way to screen split 2.35:1 Cinemascope into two pictures? I'm producing a short film in 2.35:1 aspect ratio (well, actually 16:9 with black bars top and bottom) - There's a short sequence at the end where I need the screen to split into two with action happening in both screens simultaneously. I'm looking for the best way to achieve this that looks good. Has anyone experienced trying this before with success? All my footage is 16:9 native, but even 16:9 doesn't fit twice into 2.35:1, so I am either going to have to crop my 16:9 native footage (which I can do), or play around with two 16:9 sequences in the 2.35:1 frame such that they overlap at the corners (ie. screen A top right, screen B bottom left) In the above example though, I would have imagined there to be a lot of black, especially with my black pillar box mask top and bottom. Anyone suggest a cool way of doing this? Also, how to border the two sequences? Many thanks for any suggestions. Last edited by Kris Koster; August 7th, 2010 at 03:13 AM. Reason: My ASCII image didn't format righ

August 7th, 2010, 06:37 AM	#2
David W. Jones Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Little Rock Posts: 1,383	Frame each scene accordingly when you shoot it by engaging a center line on your monitor for an easy split in post. __________________ David W. Jones www.joneshdfilms.com

August 10th, 2010, 10:13 PM	#5
Sareesh Sudhakaran Trustee Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 1,385	Kris. The only person who can answer this is yourself, since only you know what you've shot and what the action is. That is probably the only indicator of what 'style' you should go for. If it was a random thing, I'd say 50:50 split, but I'm assuming you want to be more creative than that. __________________ Get the Free Comprehensive Guide to Rigging ANY Camera - one guide to rig them all - DSLRs to the Arri Alexa.

August 21st, 2010, 01:34 AM	#7
Sareesh Sudhakaran Trustee Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 1,385	great job! You've got a great concept, why not expand and redesign it? __________________ Get the Free Comprehensive Guide to Rigging ANY Camera - one guide to rig them all - DSLRs to the Arri Alexa.

September 4th, 2010, 12:47 PM	#8
Kris Koster Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Gatwick, UK Posts: 185	Sareesh - It was only for a contest, but I would welcome coming back to split screen work in the future. It was fun to try. The strange thing was - I hardly noticed the 65:35 split shifting to the other side! __________________ http://kriskoster.com

August 7th, 2010, 02:03 PM	#3
Kris Koster Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Gatwick, UK Posts: 185	Hi David, Many thanks for the tip, although in my case, I have already shot the footage. Perhaps I didn't explain it right, but what I'm after is what the best looking size and proportion of each window within the 2.35:1 frame could be. Suggestions how to proportion two 16:9 action screens within the 2.35:1 window!

August 9th, 2010, 11:46 AM	#4
Steve Nelson Regular Crew Join Date: May 2009 Location: Monument, CO Posts: 109	If you have After Effects this is pretty straightforward. You start with a new composition that has the 2.35:1 pixel ratio (1920x817 if you're shooting HD) then import the two footage sequences as two separate layers then resize and position them to taste inside the comp.

August 19th, 2010, 05:02 PM	#6
Kris Koster Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Gatwick, UK Posts: 185	Hi folks, Thank you for all your suggestions. In the end I couldn't go with a 50:50 split, it didn't look right, plus the action didn't suit it. Sometimes the action in one scene dictated more space than the other, then it would change. In the end, I chose to split it roughly 65:35 and switched it when the other scene became more important. It was key to get it right, as the contest is 'parallel lines' and I wanted to physically show the parallel story going on in my short simultaneously. To see the final 3-minute work, which was for a contest for Ridley Scott Associates and Philips 21:9 Promotion, you can view it here: YouTube - Philips Cinema - Parallel Lines - Dead Awake, by Kris Koster Many kind thanks for your replies. Kris