Greetings, Please forgive cross-postings and the shameless nature of this marketing announcement. :) Now available from University Press of Kentucky: LETTERBOXED The Evolution of Widescreen Cinema<http://www.kentuckypress.com/live/title_detail.php?titleid=2560> By Harper Cossar Summary: When widescreen technology was introduced to filmmaking in 1953, it changed the visual framework and aesthetic qualities of cinema forever. Before widescreen, a director’s vision for capturing beautiful landscapes or city skylines was limited by what could be included in the boxy confines of an Academy Ratio film frame. The introduction and subsequent evolution of widescreen technology has allowed directors to push the boundaries of filmmaking. *Letterboxed: The Evolution of Widescreen Cinema* explores the technological changes of the widescreen technique and how the format has inspired directors and also sparked debates among film critics. Examining early filmmakers such as Buster Keaton and D. W. Griffith and genre pioneers like Nicholas Ray and Douglas Sirk, Harper Cossar explains how directors use wider aspect ratios to enhance their creative visions. Letterboxed tracks the history of stylistic experimentation with the film frame and demonstrates how the expansion of the screen has uncovered myriad creative possibilities for directors. Harper Cossar, teaches media studies in Atlanta and is a contributor to *All-Stars and Movie Stars: Sports in Film and History* and *Convergence Media History*. His other publications have appeared in the *Journal of Film and Video*, the *Quarterly Review of Film and Video*, *FLOW*, the *Journal of New Media and Culture*, and *Film and History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies*. Critical Response to *Letterboxed*: “Cossar significantly intervenes in our scholarly understanding of the aesthetics of widescreen cinema by considering them in relation to both auteurism and genre.” —Derek Johnson, assistant professor in the Department of Radio, Television, and Film, University of North Texas “Complementing the work of John Belton and David Bordwell, this excellent book provides a detailed and insightful account of widescreen technology, widescreen aesthetics, and widescreen cinema history in the United States.” —Stephen Neale, Film Studies, Exeter University "Cossar documents a number of stylistic changes associated with widescreen, including longer takes, fewer cuts, fewer close-ups, less camera movement, and (most surprisingly) lower camera height. Cossar acknowledges some exceptions to these rules: Ray continued to rely on close camera distances; Preminger and Sirk continued to move their cameras." — John Belton, Film Comment "Cossar provides a new tool for examine the ever-evolving art of filmmaking as well as a window to understanding the changes that are taking place today as televisions undergo a similiar change in format." — The Tuscon Citizen 978-0-8131-2651-7 • $60.00 cloth • 6 x 9 • 304 pages Harper Cossar, PhD Adjunct Professor of Film School of Liberal Arts Georgia Gwinnett College ---- To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]