Framelines save you from nasty surprises at the reframe: a boom creeping in, a fixture planted in the protection zone, a delivery format that changes halfway through. Here is what they are for, why you often protect two of them, and how to produce a ready-to-load .xml file with Cinecyclop.
Short answer. A frameline shows the format of the image on the monitor: the delivery ratio and the protection zone. Shooting open gate, you often display two, for instance 2.39:1 and 16:9. The Frameline tool in Cinecyclop generates an .xml file from your sensor and the ratios you pick, to load straight onto the camera or the monitor, in ARRI or Sony VENICE 2 format.
What a frameline is
It is the outline drawn on the monitor and in the viewfinder showing the real format of the image: the delivery ratio, a protection zone, sometimes safety margins. Everyone on set, operator, cinematographer, script supervisor, director, sees what will end up in the picture, even when the sensor records wider.
Why protect more than one ratio
More and more shoots record open gate and reframe in post. So you display the ratio you are framing and a protection ratio, the one you keep clean in case delivery changes: a 2.39:1 master today, a 16:9 version for a platform in six months.
Handled badly, that protection zone fills up with things you thought were out of frame. A boom, a stand, a fixture. You only find out at the reframe, when it is too late to go back and reshoot. Which is why framelines are worth preparing before the shoot, not on day one.
Common ratios
- 2.39:1, and its neighbours 2.35 and 2.40: scope, wide cinema.
- 1.85:1: the flat cinema format.
- 2.00:1: very common in streaming and series.
- 16:9, or 1.78:1: television, web, platforms.
- 4:3 (1.33:1) and 1.66:1: academic and vintage formats.
Generating framelines with Cinecyclop
Rather than drawing the outlines by hand, the Frameline tool produces an .xml file ready to load. How it goes:
- Pick your sensor from the presets, for example Super 35 in 16:9.
- Select one or more ratios from the twelve presets: 16:9, 4:3, 1.85, 1.90, 2.00, 2.35, 2.39, 1.66, 1.43 IMAX, 1:1, 9:16 and 4:5. You can add a custom ratio as well.
- Set the safety margin, the line colour, the scale, the centre mark and the orientation.
- Pick the export format, ARRI XML or Sony VENICE 2 XML, then load the file onto the camera or the monitor.
You end up with a consistent set of framelines for the whole shoot, instead of rough outlines taped onto the monitor. The settings stay attached to the project, next to the camera list.
Frequently asked questions
What is a frameline in film?
It is the outline drawn on the monitor and in the viewfinder showing the format of the image: delivery ratio, protection zone and safety margins. It lets the crew see what will really be in the final picture, even when the sensor records a wider area.
Why display two framelines?
When shooting open gate and reframing in post, you display the delivery ratio (what you frame) and a protection ratio (what you keep clean if delivery changes, for instance a 2.39:1 master and a 16:9 version). It stops a boom or a fixture, out of the delivery frame but inside the protection zone, from ruining a later version.
What are the most common frameline ratios?
2.39:1 for cinema scope, 1.85:1 for flat, 2.00:1 in streaming and series, 16:9 for television and web, plus the academic formats 4:3 and 1.66:1. Cinecyclop offers twelve presets, including 1.43 IMAX and the vertical formats 9:16 and 4:5, and accepts custom ratios.
How do you generate a frameline .xml file?
With the Frameline tool in Cinecyclop: pick your sensor, select one or more ratios, set the safety margin, the colour, the scale and the centre mark, then generate the file in ARRI XML or Sony VENICE 2 XML format. You then load it onto your camera or monitor.
See also: Equipment list guide · Cinecyclop vs Camlist · About Cinecyclop.