Aspect Ratio: Full Screen Vs. Wide Screen

Written by Lawrence Roth


Movies on DVD and VHS are often available in two screen formats: full screen and wide screen. The full screen is where a movie is modified to fit a television screen. If you have watched a video release, you have probably seenrepparttar message: “This film has been modified from its original version.”

The wide screen version maintainsrepparttar 109927 same size and shape ofrepparttar 109928 original theatrical version. The reason forrepparttar 109929 different versions is aspect ratio. Motion picture screens have a different aspect ratio then a television screen.

The aspect ratio (a ratio of width to height) of a television screen is 1.33:1. This meansrepparttar 109930 screen is 1.33 times wide as it is tall. The most common aspect ratio for movie screens is 1.85:1 to 2.35:1. While a television screen is almost square a movie screen is rectangle.

Therefore, a video release must fitrepparttar 109931 rectangle movie screen ontorepparttar 109932 square television screen. The wide screen version displays an image with black bars atrepparttar 109933 top and bottom ofrepparttar 109934 screen. Some people find this disturbing. Movie buffs and die hard artists preferrepparttar 109935 wide screen because it capturesrepparttar 109936 essence ofrepparttar 109937 filmmakers’ vision.



Music Business Year-End Rewind of 2004

Written by Ritch Esra and Stephen Trumbull


Welcome to our "Year-End A&R (Artist & Repertoire) Rewind of 2004," where we reflect on what occurred overrepparttar last 12 months inrepparttar 109926 world of A&R and to seerepparttar 109927 impact those events made inrepparttar 109928 music business. This is also a time of year when you begin to look forward with a strong sense of commitment, expectations and making plans forrepparttar 109929 coming year. But, asrepparttar 109930 great John Lennon once said, 'Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans.'

Withrepparttar 109931 Sony/BMG merger, 2004 will always be remembered asrepparttar 109932 yearrepparttar 109933 'Big Five' becamerepparttar 109934 'Big Four' and don't be surprised if we're telling you aboutrepparttar 109935 'Big Three' at this time next year! Last year will also be remembered for labels aggressively utilizing video games as a marketing vehicle forrepparttar 109936 launching of many of their artists.

It was a year whenrepparttar 109937 public finally said "No Thanks" torepparttar 109938 concert business in a very loud and clear way. The summer touring season, especially, taught some very painful and costly lessons regarding exactly how muchrepparttar 109939 public is willing to pay to see an act and what they are no longer willing to pay! As a result, Clear Channel has removed service fees from its ticket prices and drastically reduced parking prices at many of its venues. The industry also learned some valuable and long overdue lessons aboutrepparttar 109940 number of actsrepparttar 109941 marketplace is able to absorb.

Of course,repparttar 109942 most profound impact onrepparttar 109943 world of A&R as well as many other areas ofrepparttar 109944 business wasrepparttar 109945 closure of four major labels: DreamWorks, Arista, Elektra and MCA (although MCA was reborn with far less staff as Geffen). These closures accounted forrepparttar 109946 loss of over 600 jobs (35 in A&R departments).

In looking back over 2004, we're reminded ofrepparttar 109947 many conversations we had with various music business professionals on both sides ofrepparttar 109948 Atlantic concerningrepparttar 109949 current state of today's music industry. Without exception, there seems to be a very sobering sense thatrepparttar 109950 record business we have known forrepparttar 109951 last 25 years is now gone. This is extremely troubling for many, sad for some and terribly exciting for others. I see these times as an incredible opportunity for a total and complete reinvention not just for record label A&R Depts., but forrepparttar 109952 entire spectrum ofrepparttar 109953 music industry.

If you as an artist, band, agent, manager or any other music business professional cannot see thatrepparttar 109954 old paradigm of artist development (the actual long-term process of building a career fromrepparttar 109955 ground up) has been completely re-invented overrepparttar 109956 last few years, then you need to get out of this business. The old methods of doing things no longer apply. This may sound obvious to most of you, but you wouldn't believe how many fairly well known music business professionals withinrepparttar 109957 industry still believe thatrepparttar 109958 only way an act can have a viable career today is to get that act signed to a major label.

What's so sad is that these people who believe this (and there are many) can't even see thatrepparttar 109959 very system they feel can & will accomplish this for their artist no longer even exists! We've said this before, but it bears repeating - though no one will actually come out and say it (truth is, they may not even be consciously aware of it) -- Major labels today, with very rare exception, are no longer willing to be inrepparttar 109960 business they have built overrepparttar 109961 last forty years. The train of thought today is thatrepparttar 109962 'old' process of signing, recording and developing talent takes far too long and is way too costly to achieverepparttar 109963 results they desire inrepparttar 109964 time they have allotted.

As a consequence, whether intended or not, (and this isrepparttar 109965 part many simply can not see) isrepparttar 109966 major labels are now inrepparttar 109967 Promotion and Marketing business, but of course, only for those experienced artists who have already been developed that they feel can be turned into multi-platinum sellers. Well, that would be nice, but that just isn'trepparttar 109968 world we live in anymore. Of course, there will always be platinum sellers inrepparttar 109969 future, but far fewer of them. Today, there are simply too many choices available.

It's fascinating to observe some ofrepparttar 109970 most influential music publications out there today, such as pitchforkmedia.com and Blender to name two, which have hardly any mainstream artists in their Top 50 of 2004. Today, it's all about choices. The future of this business will be thousands of niche artists selling fewer records much like cable television, which has a fraction ofrepparttar 109971 audience, but is profitable! And this isrepparttar 109972 most profound difference fromrepparttar 109973 past in terms of A&R signings and looking at what can and will work inrepparttar 109974 marketplace.

Underrepparttar 109975 old paradigm,repparttar 109976 public (the majority ofrepparttar 109977 time) only wanted whatrepparttar 109978 major labels signed and sold to them (of course, that may have had something to do with what was available). Today, choices of music being vastly wider, a far more diverse artist selection available to us, not to mentionrepparttar 109979 various new formats provides an almost infinite selection for today's listeners and consumers. And, as most of us have known for years,repparttar 109980 market is far, far broader thanrepparttar 109981 major labels ever cared to acknowledge (yes, people betweenrepparttar 109982 ages of 30-50 WILL BUY MUSIC when presented with artists who they can connect with). How else could Ray Charles sell two million copies of a CD via a coffee chain, or James Taylor sell over one million Christmas CDs via Hallmark without his CD without even being available at retail? If either of those artists were at a major label, (James Taylor was with Columbia/SONY for 27 years up until last year) they most likely would not have sold more than 200,000 to 300,000 copies, tops!

These two examples provide an insightful illustration why several ofrepparttar 109983 major labels are struggling today for their very survival. They truly can't see what their customers want. But, in much deeper sense, they have no desire to get to know what their customers want.

Don't get me wrong, there are several wonderful executives who work forrepparttar 109984 major labels, it's just thatrepparttar 109985 corporate culture atrepparttar 109986 top of most major labels is so profoundly out of touch withrepparttar 109987 times we live in, they cannot see their own part inrepparttar 109988 problems they face. The building of careers is a luxury of time to which they no longer choose to contribute. They really would like to THINK & BELIEVE they do, butrepparttar 109989 reality isrepparttar 109990 justrepparttar 109991 opposite.

The opportunities today are vast and limitless for those artists, bands, managers, and other individuals and companies who truly understand and embrace what is actually occurring, who can step back and seerepparttar 109992 decaying mechanism that many are still struggling to maintain for what it is - not only a crumbling business model, but an entire way of viewingrepparttar 109993 world in which we used to live, but no longer do! The personal, business and artistic successes we are seeing today are from those individuals who can peer through this fog of delusion and seerepparttar 109994 business as it actually is; not as they want it to be or hope it will become, but how it actually is! Those individuals are moving freely and creatively interacting with our new social order while others, including some politicians (and apparently a lot of voters), are still clinging to a world or a way of thinking that no longer exists.

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
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