Framing, aspect ratio & safe areas · Working
Letterbox
ELI5
Horizontal bars added when a wider image is displayed inside a less-wide frame without cropping.
Used in conversation
“Let’s review the letterbox in the next edit session.”
Pitch context
This term helps a treatment describe how the camera or light will shape the viewer's experience.
Why it matters: Explains how recorded material becomes a finished, approved and technically deliverable work.
Connected terms
- PillarboxComputed from definition language and shared taxonomy. This indicates proximity, not synonymy.
Sources & evidence · 8
Direct term-level sources and supporting source families.
- Adobe — Adobe Premiere Pro User GuideDirect source · institutional · checked 2026-08-14
- AICP — Suggested Best Practices for Bidding and Bidding Reference GuideDirect source · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Directors Guild of America — DGA Creative Rights HandbookDirect source · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Epic Games — In-Camera VFX OverviewDirect source · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Blackmagic Design — DaVinci Resolve Reference ManualSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences / ACES — ACES Glossary and User GuidesSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Netflix — Partner Help Center Delivery SpecificationsSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- European Broadcasting Union — EBU R 128 Loudness Normalisation and Permitted Maximum Level of Audio SignalsSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14