Video: How Aspect Ratios Help Convey Themes, Ideas, and Emotions

Directors have always utilized different ways to conveying themes and emotions through their work. Noted filmmakers such as Hitchcock were masters of cinematography: using camera angles and particular focal lengths to convey their messages. YouTube channel ‘Now You See It’ recently released the above video that delves into how aspect ratios can also have a profound effect on the content we are viewing.

We see the original 4:3 ratio that filmmakers used for years before widescreen formats started emerging in the 1950s. Today, filmmakers may choose 4:3 to convey an old-school style or select from increasingly wider formats that intensify the action.