What Does Letterboxing Mean?

In filmmaking, letterboxing refers to the technique of shrinking the film image so that the full width fits the television screen. Letterboxing is easily recognized by the black bars above and below the film image (although other colors like blue, yellow or green can be used). It got its name from its rectangular shape that resembles a letter box, a slot for inserting letters for mail delivery.

Copyright © “Post Office Letter Box” by Julian Burgess is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Prior to letterboxing, the typical pan-and-scan transfer of a widescreen film for standard 4:3 television displays (before widescreen televisions became available) resulted in cropping the sides of the film image, which muted the compositional storytelling effect that directors intended to have in their productions. Letterboxing was developed as a way to preserve the composition and display the full image as it could be seen and experienced in theatres.

Check out this short clip from a 1990 interview with Steven Spielberg on why letterboxing over pan-and-scan is important to him as a director:

“Spielberg on Letterboxing” by RotanCam

Letterboxing can also be used to serve an additional purpose of displaying subtitles in the bottom matte so as not to overlap the text with the film image.

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