2:1 aspect ratio

[kw90]

Hello,

New member..I hope it's okay to ask for some help here. I'm trying to create a 2:1 DCP for a film shot 2:1. I'm relatively new to DCP-O-Matic, and have read all that threads that I can online regarding this topic. Yet I still can't wrap my head around how to create 2:1 DCP which doesn't have letterboxing. Can anyone advise? Layman's terms would be much appreciated

Here's my settings:

[carl]

Can you create a DCP where the image is 2:1 and there is no letter/pillarboxing? In short, no.

When the DCP standard was developed, they could (and some might argue, should) have said that your DCP's image can be any shape, and the playback system will take care of putting it on the screen (whatever shape that is) in the best way possible.

They did not, however, say that - instead, they said: your DCP must be shaped either 1.85:1 or 2.39:1.

If your image is 2:1, you just have to accept that your DCP has to be either 1.85:1 (with some black top + bottom) or 2.39:1 (with some black left + right).

I guess the important thing to realise here is that this is OK, normal, and what everybody else does. There is no magic trick to get around it, and indeed you don't need to get around it.

I would suggest choosing a DCI Scope container in DCP-o-matic and making your DCP.

There is some related discussion here.

[Carsten]

2:1 should be done letterboxed in a flat container. That's how even OSCAR winning movies are distributed.

[IoannisSyrogiannis]

It seems that 2:1 is doomed to be letterboxed on any screen, but less so on a cinema screen. There, the image can be zoomed to fit the height (given common height screens) or would fit the "Flat" width (on a common width screen). The only possible concern would be subtitles' positioning.
I haven't yet figured out the merits of going for that aspect ratio, though, given it being odd on any display, not promoting the "cinemascope" experience and further away from the golden ratio than "Flat" is.