Protection area (film technology)
The term “ protected area” or “ safe area ” refers to a safety area within the film or image recording. This area ensures that certain important image information is also visible in the image. The range depends on the aspect ratio ( aspect ratio ).
When shooting a film, a search camera is attached to the normal film camera in such a way that the section can be seen that is also visible in the film camera at the time. The image of the "viewfinder" is displayed on a monitor or television set, on which the desired safe areas and aspect ratios are subsequently displayed with a safe area generator .
Generated frame
The frames for "3.5% Action Safe" and "5% Title Safe" are always displayed.
3.5% action safe
This area, which is 3.5% smaller than the overall picture, ensures that all actions of the plot remain visible within it.
5% Title Safe
This area, which is 5% smaller than the overall picture, ensures that all titles and text overlays for the plot remain visible within it.
More aspect ratios
You can set whether the display device is a 4: 3 or 16: 9 screen, whether it is rotated in widescreen and the other widescreen aspect ratios are to be displayed, or whether it is rotated in 4: 3 for television and would like to subsequently cut a 16: 9 image from the source and would also like to see this aspect ratio as an additional safe area.
Application reasons
On the one hand, it is possible to check immediately on site whether important image components are completely recorded. This is particularly important when subsequently cropping the image to smaller aspect ratios.
On the other hand, the protection area is historically justified by tube televisions , which distort the television picture with larger changes in brightness outwards or inwards ("brightness pumps"). In order to avoid unwanted black bars or other interference stripes at the edges of the image, the entire image is enlarged by CRT TV so that part of the image content located at the edge is not displayed (see overscan ). The protection area ensures that, in particular, graphic overlays such as the station logo or text overlays are always completely displayed despite a slightly distorted image.
Modern television sets based on plasma , OLED or LCD, however, do not distort the picture; In the standard settings, however, the picture is slightly enlarged, as with tube televisions, so that the protection area has not lost its importance in television technology today.