Widescreen Safe
Yesterday I wrote a post breaking down some of the differences in the various home media releases for Babylon 5 (The original DVDs, the recent remaster released in Blu-ray, and the DVD release of that same remaster). I used to term "widescreen safe" when describing the live-action sequences of the original production, and afterwards I began to think about this process more in-depth.
For those who don't know, "widescreen safe" is a filmmaking process where you originally plan for a "fullscreen" broadcast (4:3 aspect ratio), but stage the set, characters, and camera to capture enough surrounding space to 'fill out' a "widescreen" image (16:9 aspect ratio) without breaking the immersion. All behind-the-scenes aspects of filmmaking (lights, microphones, puppeteers, set supports, etc.) are moved far enough out of the way that they won't show up on camera even with the wider view. The extras and background characters are likewise told to stay "in character" on the edge of the set, instead of stopping the instant they're out of view of the 'main' camera angle.
Babylon 5 famously did this in the early/mid-'90s, because even though fullscreen was the industry standard for TV in the USA, widescreen TVs already existed and the creators realized that in the coming years they would become the new default. So the entire series was shot on 35mm film as Widescreen Safe: The main characters and primary action would always be in the center-focus, so when it was cropped to fullscreen aspect ratio for broadcast the "full story" would be shown, but when widescreen technology became the norm in a few years they would be able to use the same footage for the new technology.
Nothing plot-critical was ever "hidden" in the widescreen shots, but they gave a wider view of the world. We see more random aliens walking in the background in the hallways, more Earthforce officers pressing buttons in the command center, more restaurant patrons eating dinner over the shoulder of the main characters, etc. More "flavor".
My favorite moment captured in the widescreen area was actually an accident, but it was perfect. From the episodes "Severed Dreams" in season three, which culminates in a masive space battle between Babylon 5 itself (and allies) against other Earthforce ships who support President Clark and his tyrannical regime. During the shooting a special effect went awry, and part of the set that was just supposed to spark/flash actually caught fire for real. Instead of halting shooting and ruining the shot, an extra was given a fire extinguisher and told to blow the fire out. This is one of those trivia bits that fans LOVE to point out as a Real Moment.
In the fullscreen shot, all you see is his arm extending from off-screen behind main character John Sheridan.
But in the widescreen shot, you actually see the actor walk in from off-screen and blow out the fire.
Would you know you were missing anything if all you'd seen was the fullscreen version? Not at all. You'd still see the fire over John Sheridan's shoulder and the fire extinguisher would blow it out. But with the widescreen version you also see another character. We never learn his name, and I don't even know if this guy appeared in another background shot after this episode, but he's a person.
And if you never see the widescreen version, you'd never know that this guy was there.