The relationship between the width of a disc image and its height is known as its aspect ratio, and from the early days of film until the early-1950s, almost all films had a standard aspect ratio of 1.33:1. In other words, the film image was 1.33 times as wide as it was tall (another way to denote this is 4×3, meaning 4 units of width for every 3 of height). This is the same shape as the conventional TV screen. Today, widescreen dominates filmmaking in a variety of aspect ratios. But there are two ratios that are by far the most common: Academy Flat (1.85:1) and Anamorphic Scope (2.35:1). In the case of Academy Flat, the film is 1.85 times as wide as it is tall. Anamorphic Scope is even wider, 2.35 times as wide as it is tall.

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