Alexa SXT with anamorphic lenses. Which mode to use?

[ssturzenegger]

Hi all,

I am preparing a feature film production where we will use the Alexa SXT and anamorphic lenses.
To be cost-efficient, we were thinking about using the 6:5 Mode (ProRes 2K Anamorphic) which does not take too much storage space and which sounds like a nice solution.

But as we also have some VFX shots in the movie, the question arises whether it might be good to use another mode for the VFX shots.
Would 4:3 ProRes 2.8K be a better solution? I kind of doubt it, that it helps a lot. If I understand it correctly, we would have some more "flesh" on the left and right, but would be using the same height?

Or should ARRIRAW considered for the VFX shots? If yes, which mode should be used with ARRIRAW?

Thanks a lot for your help!


Best
Simon

[Jan Heugel]

Dear Simon,

form a technical perspective, this is the difference between 4:3 and 6:5 is 2880 vs 2578 (2560) pixels.

4:3
6:5

SXT_43mode.png

Taken from here:
http://www.arri.com/?eID=registration&file_uid=16774

Our own posthouse prefers ARRIRAW for all VFX shots, but I'm keen to hear what the cummunity has to say.

Best,
Jan

[Andreas Berkl]

Hi Simon,

when it comes to cost-efficiency, you may also want to check the data rates using our ARRI Formats & Data Rate Calculator, as an example for ProRes 4444:

- ALEXA SXT ProRes 4444 4:3
- ALEXA SXT ProRes 4444 6:5 2K Anamorphic

Best, Andreas