> Are you arguing that visual composition is entirely unrelated to story > and character? No. Curiously, my local TV aired letter-box versions of two movies on Saturday night: The General's Daughter (1999) and Year of the Dragon (1985) respectively. Seeing them back-to-back, one can clearly see the difference in style between a filmmaker composing his shots with throw-away content for TV (General's Daughter) and one who maximizes every bit of the widescreen canvas (Year of the Dragon). Comparing them might be a good exercise in a classroom situation. Maybe also compare them with their respective pan-and-scan versions. Look at how each use space and create symmetry. Look at how each use widescreen to help "tell the story" or illustrate the characters. dw ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/ScreenSite