{| cellpadding="5" style="float:right; border:1px solid #CCC; background:#F9F9F9; margin-left:1em; margin-top:0.5em;" |- | Five common aspect ratios |- | |- | |- | |- | |- | |} The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an ''x'':''y'' aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into ''x'' units of equal length and the height is measured using this same length unit, the height will be measured to be ''y'' units. For example, consider a group of images, all with an aspect ratio of 16:9. One image is 16 inches wide and 9 inches high. Another image is 16 centimeters wide and 9 centimeters high. A third is 8 yards wide and 4.5 yards high.

Aspect ratios are mathematically expressed as ''x'':''y'' (pronounced "x-to-y") and ''x''×''y'' (pronounced "x-by-y"), with the latter particularly used for pixel dimensions, such as 640×480. Cinematographic aspect ratios are usually denoted as a (rounded) decimal multiple of width vs unit height, while photographic and videographic aspect ratios are usually defined and denoted by whole number ratios of width to height. In digital images there is a subtle distinction between the ''Display'' Aspect Ratio (the image as displayed) and the ''Storage'' Aspect Ratio (the ratio of pixel dimensions); see distinctions, below.

The most common aspect ratios used today in the presentation of films in movie theaters are 1.85:1 and 2.39:1. Two common videographic aspect ratios are 4:3 (1.3:1), the universal video format of the 20th century and ; 16:9 (1.7:1), universal for high-definition television and European digital television. Other cinema and video aspect ratios exist, but are used infrequently. , nominally 21:9 (2.3) aspect TVs have been introduced by Philips and Vizio (the latter using an LCD from AU Optronics) as "cinema" displays, though the resolution is more precisely 2560x1080 = 2.37, and the aspect ratio is not standardized in HDTV.

In still camera photography, the most common aspect ratios are 4:3, 3:2, and more recently being found in consumer cameras 16:9. Other aspect ratios, such as 5:4, 6:7, and 1:1 (square format), are used in photography as well, particularly in medium format and large format.

With television, DVD and Blu-ray, converting formats of unequal ratios is achieved by either: enlarging the original image (by the same factor in both directions) to fill the receiving format's display area and cutting off any excess picture information (zooming and cropping), by adding horizontal mattes (letterboxing) or vertical mattes (pillarboxing) to retain the original format's aspect ratio, or (for TV and DVD) by stretching (hence distorting) the image to fill the receiving format's ratio, by scaling by different factors in both directions, possibly scaling by a different factor in the center and at the edges (as in ''Wide Zoom mode'').

Practical limitations

In motion picture formats, the physical size of the film area between the sprocket perforations determines the image's size. The universal standard (established by William Dickson and Thomas Edison in 1892) is a frame that is four perforations high. The film itself is 35 mm wide (1.38 in), but the area between the perforations is 24.89 mm×18.67 mm (0.980 in×0.735 in), leaving the de facto ratio of 4:3, or 1.3:1.

With a space designated for the standard optical soundtrack, and the frame size reduced to maintain an image that is wider than tall (mimicking human eyesight), this resulted in the Academy aperture of 22 mm × 16 mm (0.866 in × 0.630 in) or 1.37:1 aspect ratio.

Cinema terminology

The motion picture industry convention assigns a value of 1.0 to the image’s height; thus, an anamorphic frame (actually 2.39:1) is described (rounded) as 2.40:1 or 2.40 ("two-four-oh"). In American cinemas, the common projection ratios are 1.85:1 and 2.40:1. Some European countries have 1.66:1 as the wide screen standard. The "Academy ratio" of 1.37:1 was used for all cinema films until 1953 (with the release of George Stevens's ''Shane'' in 1.66:1). During that time, television, which had a similar aspect ratio of 1.3:1, became a threat to movie audiences, Hollywood gave birth to a large number of wide-screen formats: CinemaScope (up to 2.6:1), Todd-AO (2.20:1), and VistaVision (initially 1.50:1, now 1.66:1 to 2.00:1) to name just a few. The "flat" 1.85:1 aspect ratio was introduced in May, 1953, and became one of the most common cinema projection standards in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Movie camera systems

Development of various film camera systems must ultimately cater to the placement of the frame in relation to the lateral constraints of the perforations and the optical soundtrack area. One clever wide screen alternative, VistaVision, used standard 35 mm film running sideways through the camera gate, so that the sprocket holes were above and below frame, allowing a larger horizontal negative size per frame as only the vertical size was now restricted by the perforations. However, the 1.50:1 ratio of the initial VistaVision image was optically converted to a vertical print (on standard 4-perforation 35 mm film) to show in the projectors available at theaters, and was then masked in the projector to the US standard of 1.85:1. The format was briefly revived by Lucasfilm in the 1970s for special effects work that required larger negative size (due to image degradation from the optical printing steps necessary to make multi-layer composites). It went into obsolescence largely due to better cameras, lenses, and film stocks available to standard 4-perforation formats, in addition to increased lab costs of making prints in comparison to more standard vertical processes. (The horizontal process was later adapted to 70 mm film by IMAX.)

Super 16 mm film is frequently used for television production due to its lower cost, lack of need for soundtrack space on the film itself (as it is not projected but rather transferred to video), and aspect ratio similar to 16:9 (the native ratio of Super 16 mm is 1.66:1 while 16:9 is 1.7:1). It also can be blown up to 35 mm for theatrical release and therefore is also used for feature films.

Current video standards

4:3 standard

4:3 (1.3:1) (generally named as ''"Four-Three"'', ''"Four-by-Three"'', and ''"Four-to-Three"'') for standard television has been in use since television's origins and many computer monitors employ the same aspect ratio. 4:3 is the aspect ratio used for 35 mm films in the silent era and used today for film production under the name Super 35. It is also very close to the 1.37:1 aspect ratio defined by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a standard after the advent of optical sound-on-film. By having TV match this aspect ratio, films previously photographed on film could be satisfactorily viewed on TV in the early days of the medium (i.e. the 1940s and the 1950s). When cinema attendance dropped, Hollywood created widescreen aspect ratios (such as the 1.85:1 ratio mentioned earlier) in order to differentiate the film industry from TV.

16:9 standard

16:9 (1.7:1) (generally named as ''"Sixteen-Nine"'', ''"Sixteen-by-Nine"'' and ''"Sixteen-to-Nine"'') is the international standard format of HDTV, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television PALplus. Japan's Hi-Vision originally started with a 5:3 ratio but converted when the international standards group introduced a wider ratio of 5⅓ to 3 (=16:9). Many digital video cameras have the capability to record in 16:9, and 16:9 is the only widescreen aspect ratio natively supported by the DVD. DVD producers can also choose to show even wider ratios such as 1.85:1 and 2.39:1 within the 16:9 DVD frame by hard matting or adding black bars within the image itself. Some films which were made in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, such as the U.S.-Italian co-production ''Man of La Mancha'', fit quite comfortably onto a 1.7:1 HDTV screen and have been issued anamorphically enhanced on DVD without the black bars.

Obtaining height, width and area of the screen

Often, screen specifications are given by their diagonal length. The following formulae can be used to find the height (''h''), width (''l'' for ''length'') and area (''A''), where ''r'' stands for ratio and ''d'' for diagonal length.

$h=\backslash frac\{d\}\{\backslash sqrt\{r^2+1\}\}\; \backslash qquad\; l=\backslash frac\{d\}\{\backslash sqrt\{\backslash frac\{1\}\{r^2\}+1\}\}\; \backslash qquad\; A=\backslash frac\{d^2\}\{r+\backslash frac\{1\}\{r\}\}$

Distinctions

This article primarily addresses the aspect ratio of images ''as displayed,'' which is more formally referred to as the Display Aspect Ratio (DAR). In digital images, there is a distinction with the (SAR), which is the ratio of pixel dimensions. If an image is displayed with square pixels, then these ratios agree; if not, then non-square, "rectangular" pixels are used, and these ratios disagree. The aspect ratio of the pixels themselves is known as the Pixel Aspect Ratio (PAR) – for square pixels this is 1:1 – and these are related by the identity: :SAR × PAR = DAR. Rearranging (solving for PAR) yields: :PAR = DAR/SAR. For example, a 640 × 480 VGA image has a SAR of 640/480 = 4:3, and if displayed on a 4:3 display (DAR = 4:3) has square pixels, hence a PAR of 1:1. By contrast, a 720 × 576 D-1 PAL image has a SAR of 720/576 = 5:4, but is displayed on a 4:3 display (DAR = 4:3), so by this formula it would have a PAR of (4:3)/(5:4) = 16:15.

However, because standard definition digital video was originally based on digitally sampling analog television, the 720 horizontal pixels actually capture a slightly wider image to avoid loss of the original analog picture. In actual images these extra pixels are often partly or entirely black, as only the center 704 horizontal pixels carry actual 4:3 or 16:9 image. Hence the actual pixel aspect ratio for PAL video is a little different from that given by the formula, specifically 12:11 for PAL and 10:11 for NTSC. For consistency, the same effective pixel aspect ratios are used even for standard definition digital video originated in digital form rather than converted from analog. For more details refer to the main article.

In analog images such as film there is no notion of pixel, nor notion of SAR or PAR, and "aspect ratio" refers unambiguously to DAR. Actual displays do not generally have non-square pixels, though digital sensors might; they are rather a mathematical abstraction used in resampling images to convert between resolutions.

Non-square pixels arise often in early digital TV standards, related to digitalization of analog TV signals – whose horizontal and vertical resolutions differ and are thus best described by non-square pixels – and also in some digital videocameras and computer display modes, such as Color Graphics Adapter (CGA). Today they arise particularly in transcoding between resolutions with different SARs.

DAR is also known as Image Aspect Ratio and Picture Aspect Ratio, though the latter can be confused with ''Pixel'' Aspect Ratio.

Visual comparisons

Comparing two different aspect ratios poses some subtleties – when comparing two aspect ratios, one may compare images with equal height, equal width, equal diagonal, or equal area. More amorphous questions include whether particular subject matter has a natural aspect ratio (panoramas being wide, full-length images of people being tall), or whether a particular ratio is more or less aesthetically pleasing – the golden ratio (1.618) is seen as especially pleasing, though only the 16:10 format is close to it.

Given the same diagonal, the 4:3 screen offers more area, because it is closer to square (which maximizes area given a diagonal). For CRT-based technology, an aspect ratio that is closer to square is cheaper to manufacture. The same is true for projectors, and other optical devices such as cameras, camcorders, etc. For LCD and Plasma displays, however, the cost is more related to the area, so producing wider and shorter screens yields the same advertised diagonal but lower area, and hence is more profitable.

The following compares crops of a given image at 4:3 and 16:9, with different parameters equal; note that in terms of ''subject,'' the squarer aspect ratio emphasizes the public square, while the wider aspect ratio emphasizes the wide building.

Two aspect ratios compared with images using the same diagonal size:

Two aspect ratios compared with images using the same area (number of pixels):

Two aspect ratios compared with images using the same height (vertical size):

Two aspect ratios compared with images using the same width (horizontal size):

Previous and currently used aspect ratios

:''See list of common resolutions for a listing of computer resolutions and aspect ratios.'' :''See list of film formats for a full listing of film formats, including their aspect ratios.''

; 1.15: Sometimes referred to as the Movietone ratio, this ratio was used briefly during the transitional period when the film industry was converting to sound, from 1926-32 approx. It is produced by superimposing an optical soundtrack over a full-gate 1.3 aperture in printing, resulting in an almost square image. Films shot in this ratio are often projected or transferred to video incorrectly using a 1.37 mask. Examples of films shot in the Movietone ratio include Sunrise, M and Hallelujah!. ; 1.3 (4:3): 35 mm original silent film ratio, today commonly known in TV and video as 4:3. Also standard ratio for MPEG-2 video compression. This format is still used in many personal video cameras today and has influenced the selection or design of other aspect ratios. It is the standard 16 mm and Super 35mm ratio. ; 1.37: 35 mm full-screen sound film image, nearly universal in movies between 1932 and 1953. Officially adopted as the Academy ratio in 1932 by AMPAS. Rarely used in theatrical context nowadays, but occasionally used for other context. ; 1.43: IMAX format. Imax productions use 70 mm wide film (the same as used for 70 mm feature films), but the film runs through the camera and projector horizontally. This allows for a physically larger area for each image. ; 1.50 (3:2): The aspect ratio of 35 mm film used for still photography when 8 perforations are exposed. Also the native aspect ratio of VistaVision, for which the film runs horizontally. ; 1.5 (14:9): Widescreen aspect ratio sometimes used in shooting commercials etc. as a compromise format between 4:3 (12:9) and 16:9. When converted to a 16:9 frame, there is slight pillarboxing, while conversion to 4:3 creates slight letterboxing. ; 1.60 (16:10): Widescreen computer monitor ratio (for instance 1920x1200 resolution). ; 1.6 (15:9 = 5:3): 35 mm Originally a flat ratio invented by Paramount Pictures, now a standard among several European countries; native Super 16 mm frame ratio. Sometimes this ratio is rounded up to 1.67:1. From the late 1980's to the early 2000's, Walt Disney Feature Animation's CAPS program animated their features in the 1.66:1 ratio (a compromise between the 1.85:1 theatrical ratio and the 1.33:1 ratio used for home video). ; 1.75: Early 35 mm widescreen ratio, primarily used by MGM and Warner Bros. between 1953 and 1955, and since abandoned, though Disney has cropped some of it's post-50's Full Screen films to this ratio for DVD i.e. The Jungle Book. ; 1.7 (16:9 = 4²:3²): Video widescreen standard, used in high-definition television, one of three ratios specified for MPEG-2 video compression. Also used increasingly in personal video cameras. Sometimes this ratio is rounded up to 1.78:1. ; 1.85: 35 mm US and UK widescreen standard for theatrical film. Introduced by Universal Pictures in May, 1953. Projects approximately 3 perforations ("perfs") of image space per 4 perf frame; films can be shot in 3-perf to save cost of film stock. ; 2.00: Original SuperScope ratio, also used in Univisium. Used as a flat ratio for some American studios in the 1950s, abandoned in the 1960s, but recently popularized by the Red One camera system. ; 2.10: Planned futuristic aspect ratio for television and theatrical films. ; 2.20: 70 mm standard. Originally developed for Todd-AO in the 1950s. ; 2.21: Specified in MPEG-2 for 2.20:1 movies, but hardly used. ; 2.35: 35 mm anamorphic prior to 1970, used by CinemaScope ("'Scope") and early Panavision. The anamorphic standard has subtly changed so that modern anamorphic productions are actually 2.39, but often referred to as 2.35 anyway, due to old convention.'' (Note that anamorphic refers to the compression of the image on film to maximize an area slightly taller than standard 4-perf Academy aperture, but presents the widest of aspect ratios.)'' All Indian Bollywood films released after 1972 are shot in this standard for theatrical exhibition. ; 2.37 (64:27 = 4³:3³): As of 2010, TVs have been introduced with this aspect ratio and are marketed as "21:9 cinema displays". This aspect ratio is not recognized by storage and transmission standards. ; 2.40: 35 mm anamorphic from 1970 onwards. Aspect ratio of current anamorphic (wide-screen) theatrical viewings. 2.39:1 is sometimes rounded up to 2.40:1. Often commercially branded as Panavision format or 'Scope. ; 2.55: Original aspect ratio of CinemaScope before optical sound was added to the film in 1954. This was also the aspect ratio of CinemaScope 55. ; 2.59: Cinerama at full height (three specially captured 35 mm images projected side-by-side into one composite widescreen image). ; 2.6: Full frame output from Super 16 mm negative when an anamorphic lens system has been used. Effectively, an image that is of the ratio 2.6:1 is squashed onto the native 15:9 aspect ratio of a Super 16 mm negative. ; 2.76: Ultra Panavision 70 (65 mm with 1.25x anamorphic squeeze). Used only on a handful of films between 1962 and 1966, such as the ''Battle of the Bulge (1965)''. ; 2.93: MGM Camera 65, an early version of Ultra Panavision used up until 1962 which used a 1.33x anamorphic squeeze instead to produce a wider aspect ratio. Used only on a few early Ultra Panavision films, most notably ''Ben-Hur (1959)'' and also for some sequences of ''How The West was Won'' with a slight crop to 2.89:1 when converted to three strip Cinerama. ; 4.00 (4:1 = 4×1:1): Rare use of Polyvision, three 35 mm 1.3 (1:1) images projected side by side. First used in 1927 on Abel Gance's ''Napoléon''. ; 12.0: Circle-Vision 360° developed by the Walt Disney Company in 1955 for use in Disneyland. Uses (9)-4:3 35mm projectors to show an image that completely surrounds the viewer. Used in subsequent Disney theme parks to this day, and other past applications.

Aspect ratio releases

Original aspect ratio (OAR)

Original Aspect Ratio (OAR) is a home cinema term for the aspect ratio or dimensions in which a film or visual production was produced — as envisioned by the people involved in the creation of the work. As an example, the film ''Gladiator'' was released to theaters in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio. It was filmed in Super 35 and, in addition to being presented in cinemas and television in the Original Aspect Ratio of 2.39:1, it was also broadcast without the matte altering the aspect ratio to the television standard of 1.3:1. Because of the varied ways in which films are shot, IAR (Intended Aspect Ratio) is a more appropriate term, but is rarely used.

Modified aspect ratio (MAR)

Modified Aspect Ratio is a home cinema term for the aspect ratio or dimensions in which a film was modified to fit a specific type of screen, as opposed to original aspect ratio. Modified aspect ratios are usually either 1.3:1 (historically), or (with the advent of widescreen television sets) 1.7:1 aspect ratio. 1.3:1 is the modified aspect ratio used historically in VHS format. A modified aspect ratio transfer is achieved by means of pan and scan or open matte, the latter meaning removing the cinematic matte from a 1.85:1 film to open up the full 1.3:1 frame. Another name for it is "prescaled" aspect ratio".

Problems in film and television

Multiple aspect ratios create additional burdens on filmmakers and consumers, and confusion among TV broadcasters. It is common for a widescreen film to be presented in an altered format (cropped, letterboxed or expanded beyond the Original Aspect Ratio). It is also not uncommon for windowboxing to occur (when letterbox and pillarbox happen simultaneously). For instance, a 16:9 broadcast could embed a 4:3 commercial within the 16:9 image area. A viewer watching on a standard 4:3 (non-widescreen) television would see a 4:3 image of the commercial with 2 sets of black stripes, vertical and horizontal (windowboxing or the postage stamp effect). A similar scenario may also occur for a widescreen set owner when viewing 16:9 material embedded in a 4:3 frame, and then watching that in 16:9. Active Format Description is a mechanism used in digital broadcasting to avoid this problem. It is also common that a 4:3 image is stretched horizontally to fit a 16:9 screen to avoid pillar boxing but distorts the image so subjects appear short and fat.

Both PAL and NTSC have provision for some data pulses contained within the video signal used to signal the aspect ratio (See ITU-R BT.1119-1 - Widescreen signaling for broadcasting). These pulses are detected by television sets that have widescreen displays and cause the television to automatically switch to 16:9 display mode. When 4:3 material is included (such as the aforementioned commercial), the television switches to a 4:3 display mode to correctly display the material. Where a video signal is transmitted via a European SCART connection, one of the status lines is used to signal 16:9 material as well.

Still photography

Common aspect ratios in still photography include 4:3 (1.3) used by most digital point-and-shoot cameras, Four Thirds system cameras and medium format 645 cameras; 3:2 (1.5) used by 35 mm film, APS-C ("classic" mode) and most DSLRs; 1.81:1 (close to 16:9) used by APS-H high definition mode and some Panasonic multi‐aspect Four Thirds and compact cameras; 3:1 used by APS‐P panoramic mode; and 1:1 (square) in a variety of cameras. Many digital cameras offer user options for selecting image aspect ratio, but all this function does is reject the storage of rectangular edge pixel blocks from the native sensor resolution.

The reason for DSLR image sensors being the flatter 3:2 versus the taller point-and-shoot 4:3 is that DSLRs were designed to match the legacy 35 mm SLR film, whereas the majority of digital cameras were designed to match the predominant computer displays of the time, with VGA, SVGA, XGA and UXGA all being 4:3. (Widescreen computer monitors did not become popular until the advent of HDTV, and when processor speeds got fast enough to smoothly handle higher definition video.)

Common print sizes in the U.S. (in inches) include 4×6 (1.5), 5×7 (1.4), 4×5 and 8×10 (1.25), and 11×14 (1.27); large format cameras typically use one of these aspect ratios. Medium-format cameras typically have format designated by nominal sizes in centimeters (6×6, 6×7, 6×9, 6×4.5), but these numbers should not be interpreted as exact in computing aspect ratios. Print sizes are usually defined by their portrait dimensions (tall) while equipment aspect ratios are defined by their landscape dimensions (wide, flipped sideways). A good example of this a 4×6 print (6 inch wide by 4 inch tall landscape) perfectly matches the 3:2 aspect ratio of a DSLR/35 mm, since 6/2=3 and 4/2=2.

For analog projection of photographic slides, projector and screen use a 1:1 aspect ratio, supporting horizontal and vertical orientation equally well. In contrast, digital projection technology typically supports vertically oriented images only at a fraction of the resolution of landscape-oriented images. For example, projecting a digital still image having a 3:2 aspect ratio on a 16:9 projector employs 84.3% of available resolution in horizontal orientation, but only 37.5% in vertical orientation.

See also

Active Format Description (AFD)

Anamorphic widescreen

Full frame

Letterbox

List of common resolutions

List of film formats

List of motion picture terminology

Pan and scan

Paper size

Shoot and protect

Widescreen

Widescreen display modes

References

;Cited references ;General references

External links

The Letterbox and Widescreen Advocacy Page

American Widescreen Museum

Widescreen Apertures and Aspect Ratios

Aspect - combined aspect ratio, frame size and bitrate calculator

Calculator to Determine Size of 4:3 Image on 16:9 Screen (middle of the page)

Aspect Ratios Explained: Part 1 Part 2

Explanation of TV Aspect Ratio format description codes

Display aspect ratio and pixel aspect ratio used in TV and video applications.

Number of DVDs for each aspect ratio

SCADplus: 16:9 Action plan for the television in the 16:9 screen format - European Union

Category:Ratios Category:Film and video technology

ar:نسبة الارتفاع (صورة) da:Billedformat de:Bildformat (Seitenverhältnis) es:Relación de aspecto fr:Format d'image ko:가로세로비 (영상) ms:Nisbah bidang (imej) nl:Aspect ratio ja:画面アスペクト比 no:Sideforhold pl:Format obrazu pt:Proporção de tela ru:Соотношение сторон экрана sq:16:9 fi:Kuvasuhde sv:Bildformat (film) tr:Çerçeve oranı uk:Співвідношення сторін дисплею zh:纵横比 (图像)

Name	Method Man
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Clifford Smith
Alias	Meth, Tical, Johnny Blaze, Methtical, Shakwon, Iron Lung, Hot Nikkels, MZA
Born	April 01, 1971
Origin	Staten Island, New York City, United States
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, actor
Years active	1990–present (rapping)1995–present (acting)
Label	Def Jam
Associated acts	Wu-Tang Clan, Redman, Erick Sermon, LL Cool J
Website	}}

Clifford Smith (born April 1, 1971 in Hempstead, New York), better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film ''The Fearless Young Boxer'', also known as ''Method Man''. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man & Redman. He won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" with Mary J. Blige. In 2007, the writers of About.com placed him on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987-2007).

Method Man appeared in the motion pictures ''Belly'', ''How High'', ''Garden State'' as well as a minor role in ''The Wackness''. On television, he and hip-hop collaborator Redman co-starred on the short-lived Fox sitcom ''Method & Red'', and he had a recurring role on HBO's ''Oz'' as Tug Daniels and as Calvin "Cheese" Wagstaff on the acclaimed HBO drama series ''The Wire''.

Early life

Born in Staten Island, New York, on April 1, 1971, Clifford Smith divided his childhood between his father's Long Island residence and his mother's Staten Island home. He has two sisters, Terri and Missy.

Rapping career

''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'' / ''Tical''

As Wu-Tang Clan ascended to hip hop stardom, Method Man was always one of the most visible members of the collective. He was one of only two members to get a solo song on the group's debut album ''Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers'' and he was the first to release a solo album under the Clan's unusual contract which allowed its members to release albums under any record label (Method chose to sign with rap label Def Jam). Method Man's solo debut, ''Tical'' (1994) was critically acclaimed and well received, entering the American charts at #4 and eventually selling in excess of one million copies. That album featured the hit single "All I Need" which was later remixed featuring Mary J Blige, which won a Grammy "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need,"). during this time Method Man also became close friends with The Notorious B.I.G., and was the only guest rapper featured on his debut album ''Ready to Die''. In 1995, he was also featured on "Got the Flava" off Showbiz and A.G.'s album ''Goodfellas''. In 1996, Method Man appeared on Tupac Shakur's album ''All Eyez on Me'', on the song "Got My Mind Made Up" alongside his rhyme partner Redman, The Dogg Pound (Daz and Kurupt) and Inspectah Deck (Rebel INS), whose verse did not make the released album version (although his nickname "Rebel INS" can be heard as the song fades).

''Wu-Tang Forever'' / ''Tical 2000: Judgement Day''

On June 3, 1997 the Wu-Tang Clan released their Grammy-nominated multiplatinum double CD ''Wu-Tang Forever'', the long-awaited follow up to ''36 Chambers''. The album has sold over 8.3 million copies to date worldwide.

His second solo album was ''Tical 2000: Judgement Day'', released in 1998, which was heavily influenced by the apocalypse theories surrounding the forthcoming end of the millennium, and which featured myriad guest appearances from his fellow Wu-Tang MCs. The album was certified double platinum. Other guest appearances include Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, D'Angelo, Chris Rock, Mobb Deep, Redman, and brief cameos from Russell Simmons, Bishop Don "Magic" Juan, Janet Jackson, and Donald Trump. The album sold better than his first fueled by the party track "Judgment Day" and the D'Angelo collaboration "Break Ups 2 Make Ups", earning Platinum and Gold certifications in the U.S. and Canada respectively. Reviews for the album were mixed and its long runtime and abundance of intermittent comedy skits were widely criticized. Producers on this album included True Master, 4th Disciple and the RZA.

''Blackout!''

Method Man was part of the very successful Hard Knock Life Tour with Jay-Z, Redman, Ja Rule, and DMX. During this tour, Method Man & Redman recorded ''Blackout!'', a light-hearted, bass-heavy, profanity-laced, party record with an EPMD-evoking emphasis on funky beats and the mischievous wit and cool flows and good rhythm of the two MCs. The album reached platinum status quickly, both in the U.S. and Canada, fueled by "Da Rockwilder", "Cereal Killa", "1, 2, 1, 2", "Tear It Off" and "Y.O.U.". This album also featured three previously released tracks on which the two collaborated.

Their success would lead the duo on to star in movies and TV shows, become product spokespersons and household names, but also associated them with marijuana use in the media. The most immediate results of their success was their co-starring roles in the major motion picture film ''How High'', their endorsement deal for ''Right Guard'', Redman's starring role in ''Seed of Chucky'' and a short-lived sitcom on Fox Television entitled ''Method & Red''.

''The W'' / ''Iron Flag'' / ''Tical 0: The Prequel''

The Wu-Tang Clan released ''The W'' on November 21, 2000 and Iron Flag on December 18, 2001. ''The W'' received both critical and commercial success for the group, while ''Iron Flag'' did receive some but not to the effect of ''The W''. The efforts earned two more platinum plaques for the Wu-Tang Clan.

In 2004, Meth released his third solo album ''Tical 0: The Prequel'', which featured the hit party single "What's Happenin'" with Busta Rhymes. Hip hop critics voiced their displeasure with the album, many agreeing that ''Tical 0'' felt like generic party rap and featured too many mainstream guests, detracting from his own performances. Regardless, this album sold reasonably well and was certified gold record by the RIAA relatively quickly, but would not see the platinum success of his previous solo releases. There was trouble even before the album's release when Method apparently complained to the press about excessive interference from Def Jam over the album's beats (Meth supposedly desired more input from Wu-Tang leader RZA). On its release, many fans and critics were taken aback by its strong "mainstream" or "commercial" sound, highlighted by the guest appearances of pop-rap stars like Missy Elliott and P. Diddy, two artists that are involved with much different facets of rap music.

P. Diddy was one of the executive producers for the album, although Meth later voiced his displeasure with the final product. "On the third LP, it was suggested (by Def Jam) to bring in Harve Pierre and P. Diddy. Who am I to argue? Puff knows how to sell some records. But that wasn't the direction to go in, and I know that."

''4:21... The Day After''

Method Man's fourth album, entitled ''4:21: The Day After'' was released in August 2006 with a star lineup of producers featuring Havoc, Erick Sermon, Scott Storch, Allah Mathematics, Mr. Porter, and, most importantly to Meth, RZA. This time around, a more focused Method Man went back to his hip hop roots and both hip hop fans and the media took notice. He did an interview on the ItsHipHop.Tv. Despite this being one of Meth's strongest solo efforts to date, the album failed to do well commercially due to it having no single or video, which Method Man has held discontent towards his own label for. However, he has been touring strongly all over the world to promote the album, and has appeared onstage with fellow Wu-Tang member Inspectah Deck, as well as New York up and comers Saigon, and Gat Murdah. Meth contributed various reasons for the problems between him and his label, Def Jam. While he puts most of the blame on personal agendas in the Def Jam offices, Meth did take some blame, himself, for giving into his record label.

In early May 2007, Method Man's camp leaked the street single "New York New York" which became a popular track on the internet.

''Blackout! 2''

On March 27, 2007, Redman confirmed on BET's Rap City: Tha Bassment that the sequel to ''How High'', ''How High 2'', is currently being written.

In an April 10, 2007 Onion AV Club interview, Redman hinted that there would be a second collaborative album with Method Man, with work beginning in midsummer or early September.

In early 2008, a remake of the Smoothe da Hustler and Trigger tha Gambler classic ''Broken Language'' was released to the internet by the duo entitled ''Broken Language 2008'', fueling rumors of a ''Blackout!'' sequel coming soon. This rumor was further fueled by the duo while performing in Gainesville, Florida at the University of Florida. A ''Blackout! 2'' LP was scheduled for a December 9, 2008 release but was recently pushed back to the first quarter of 2009, with a new release date on May 19. Bun B has confirmed that he will guest star on ''Blackout! 2'' – in April 2009, a single has been released named ''City Lights'', produced by Nasty Kutt Also producers such as Erick Sermon, Rockwilder and Pete Rock have announced their presence on the album.

The duo has finished their ''Still High'' tour with Termanalogy, the Alchemist, and Evidence of Dilated Peoples.

''The Crystal Meth''

''The Crystal Meth'' is the Method Man's upcoming fifth studio album. The album has no confirmed release date. ''The Crystal Meth'' was first announced before Method Man began working on his and Redman's sophomore collaboration album, ''Blackout! 2''. In the liner notes of that album, it was given a scheduled release date for 2009. The album, however, was further postponed until it was later mentioned in an MTV interview it would be released in early 2010. no update on the album's progress or release date has been made. At a concert on the 23 of December 2010 Method Man told the crowd to look for his album in March 2011. However the album was pushed back to an unknown release date.

In a recent interview with The Come Up Show following a recent performance in Canada in April 2011, Method Man replied with this regarding his current 'weed-loving' image:"When you get older and you've got kids and your kids are going to school and you know [their] teachers...and they see how active you are and concerned [you are] with your kids' education or well being, it's hard to sit there and be taken seriously if people are always talking about he's always high...which is totally not the case," he said. "When I first came out, I was young, we were doing our thing, we smoked a lot...and we didn't care if the world knew. Now, I have to use more discretion because of my kids. This is not for me; everything I do is for them now, so I use a bit more discretion and I don't put weed as a forefront any more."

Acting career

In the early 2000s Method Man began a career in acting. He has had recurring roles in critically acclaimed television shows such as HBO's ''Oz'' as Tug Daniels, HBO's ''The Wire'' in which he plays Prop Joe's nephew Cheese, ''The Twilight Zone'' and ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. He and Redman hosted a pilot on MTV called ''Stung''. He has made numerous appearances as himself on TV shows such as ''Mind of Mencia'' and ''Chappelle's Show''.

Method Man portrays Drops on ''CSI'', a wealthy Las Vegas party promoter who clashes with the CSI team, specifically investigator Nick Stokes, in their investigations involving his clubs or entourage. His first appearance on CSI as ''Drops'' was in the 2006 episode "Poppin' Tags". He resumed the role in the 2007 episode "Big Shots" and again in the 2008 episode "Drops Out".

His first prominent role came in 1998 with the film ''Belly'' along with fellow rappers Nas and DMX. He has since added many credits to his name, including roles in the films ''Garden State'', ''One Eight Seven'', and many others, with starring roles in the feature films such as ''How High'' and ''Soul Plane''. On March 27, 2007 Redman confirmed on BET's show ''Rap City'' that the sequel to ''How High'' was being written. The script for ''How High 2'' is being written by Dustin Lee Abraham of ''CSI'', who also wrote the first movie. In 2005 Method Man also had a cameo in the horror movie ''Venom'', where he played a deputy who shortly into the movie is killed. He appears in the 2008 movies ''The Wackness'' and also, ''Meet the Spartans''.

Method Man stars in the episode "Snitch" of ''Law & Order SVU'' as the main antagonist. The episode was first broadcast December 4, 2007.

Method Man has made an appearance in the ''Def Jam'' series of video games. In ''Fight for NY'' he voiced Blaze, one of the main characters. In ''Icon'', he voiced Gooch, a major character in the storyline. In Underground, He voiced Meth, one of the major characters. He made a guest appearance in the music video for the 2003 "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys, where he played the role of her boyfriend. He also appeared in Beanie Sigel's music video "Feel It in the Air", where Method Man played an undercover cop leading an operation against Sigel.

Method Man has fallen back from pursuing more acting roles after the situation with his sitcom on Fox left a bad taste in his mouth, and now mostly just acts if the project is being handled by a friend of his, as was the case with ''CSI'' and ''The Wire''. He also played an arsonist and a wealthy executive as well as main antagonist in an episode of the fox TV show The Good Guys.

Method Man appears as a hip hop business mogul in an episode of ''Burn Notice''.

Method man had a cameo appearance in the 1997 film ''Cop Land'' as a physically violent fleeing criminal that throws Peter Berg's character off of a New York rooftop. Method Man has also appeared in the TV drama ''Wonderland'', as a patient in a mental hospital.

Other ventures

Method Man appeared in the 1995 documentary entitled The Show. There is a memorable scene in which Method Man, on a train in Japan, gets into an argument with U-God and Ghostface Killah, over camera time, radio interviews, and clothing mishaps.

In 2006, Method Man appeared on the MTV reality game show ''Yo Momma'' in the first episode of Season 1.

Method Man is the first of the Wu-Tang Clan to produce a series of eponymous graphic novels for Hachette Book Group USA's imprint Grand Central Publishing (to be followed by GZA and Ghostface Killah).

Personal life

He became engaged to his wife in 1995 and they married in 2000. He has two children, a son born in 1997 and a daughter born in 1998.

Legal issues

On Thursday May 17, 2007 Method Man was arrested in New York City on marijuana charges. His Mercedes-Benz convertible was pulled over at the Battery Tunnel en route to Manhattan, and when he rolled his window down the officer noticed a strong smell of marijuana. "It was like something out of ''Cheech & Chong''. He rolls down the window and the smoke would choke a horse," a source later said. The arresting officer said he noticed two blunts and a plastic bag with more marijuana in plain view. Upon further inspection more marijuana was found under the driver's seat. The arrest was made at about 10 P.M. Thursday night near the Battery Tunnel toll booths on Hamilton Ave. in Carroll Gardens. He was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, criminal possession of marijuana, operating a motor vehicle under the influence and driving an uninspected motor vehicle. He later made many public service appearances to try to make up for it, most notably at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn.

On October 5, 2009, Method Man was arrested at his home in Staten Island for income tax violations. He was accused of failing to file income tax returns for the state of New York between 2004 and 2007 and owes nearly $33,000 in taxes. On June 28, 2010, Method Man plead guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to a conditional discharge and paid a $106,000.00 fine.

Controversies

Wu-Tang management

In 2003, Method Man criticized Oli "Power" Grant and Mitchell "Divine" Diggs, the managers of the Wu-Tang business. "Number 1 on my shit list right now is Divine from Wu-Tang management. He took something major from me that he had no intention of giving back." Divine is multiplatinum record producer RZA's brother who along with Oli "Power" Grant took over the business end of Wu-Tang around 1997.

Aside from the financial issues, Method Man was unhappy with the decision to bring Wu-Tang into the fashion world for a brief period of time with Wu-Wear, despite the brand being a major money-maker for the group. "When Wu-Wear started making shoes and sneakers and pants, it was shoddy material. I never rocked that shit."

Wendy Williams

In 2006 Method Man had a highly personal and highly publicized conflict with TV talk show host Wendy Williams on ''The Breakdown'', an internet show on ONLOQ.com. Williams talked on air about Method Man's wife having cancer, which was something he had wanted to keep private and even her own family members had not yet known about. He said that people who lived next door to him didn't even know, but Williams had dug it up and made it public over the radio.

Williams also reported rumors that Method Man had even been having an affair with his wife's doctor. Method Man first heard of this while in recording sessions in Los Angeles.

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Sean Combs

During a concert in 2006, Method Man criticized Diddy's decisions on the posthumous The Notorious B.I.G. ''Duets: The Final Chapter'' album, saying that Biggie never would have worked with some of the subpar rappers. "They got niggas on that album Big would have never rocked with," Meth said of the album. "Musically, I ain't fuckin' with Puff Daddy". He also brought up the fact that he was the only other rapper that Biggie chose to have on his debut album ''Ready To Die''. He was featured on the track "The What".

Previously, Diddy had been one of the executive producers for Method Man's 2004 album ''Tical 0: The Prequel'', to which Meth later voiced his displeasure on the final product.

Fox Television

He starred in a Fox sitcom called ''Method & Red'' in late 2004, however after only a short time on the air the show was put on hiatus and never returned. Method Man later complained in the press about Fox's influence on the show's style, claiming that "there's been too much compromise on our side and not enough on their side" and bemoaning the network's decision to add a laugh track. Before the show even aired for the first time, he was telling fans not to bother watching it. He told the newspaper:

Discography

; Studio albums

''Tical'' (1994)

''Tical 2000: Judgement Day'' (1998)

''Tical 0: The Prequel'' (2004)

''4:21... The Day After'' (2006)

''The Crystal Meth'' (2012)

; Collaboration albums

''Blackout!'' (with Redman) (1999)

''Blackout! 2'' (with Redman) (2009)

''Wu-Massacre'' (with Ghostface Killah and Raekwon) (2010)

''Blackout! 3'' (with Redman) (2012)

''TBA'' (with Shyheim) (TBA)

Filmography

Year	! Film	! Role
1996	''The Great White Hype''	As himself
1997	''Cop Land''
1997	''One Eight Seven''
1998	Belly (film)>Belly''
rowspan="2"	1999	Black and White (1999 film)>Black and White''
''Big Daddy (film)	Big Daddy''	Man #7
2000	Backstage (2000 film)>Backstage''
2001	''How High''
2002	Brown Sugar (2002 film)>Brown Sugar''
2003	''Volcano High''
rowspan="4"	2004	''My Baby's Daddy''
''Garden State (film)	Garden State''	Diego
''Soul Plane''	Muggsy
''Scary Movie 3''	Gangsta 4
2005	Venom (2005 film)>Venom''
2006	''Hood of Horror''
rowspan="2"	2008	''Meet the Spartans''
''The Wackness''	Percy
rowspan="5"	2010	Sinners & Saints (film)>Sinners & Saints''
''Red Tails''	Sticks
''The Mortician 3-D''	Mortician
''The Good Guys''	Kenny Griffin (Season 1 Episode 14 – Old Dogs)
''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''	Drops (Season 11 Episode 2 – Pool Shark)
rowspan="1"	2012	''How High 2'

References

External links

Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from New York City Category:African American film actors Category:African American rappers Category:Def Jam Recordings artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Members of the Nation of Gods and Earths Category:People from Staten Island Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Wu-Tang Clan members

be:Method Man cs:Method Man da:Method Man de:Method Man et:Method Man es:Method Man fr:Method Man fy:Method Man ko:메소드 맨 id:Method Man it:Method Man he:מת'וד מן sw:Method Man hu:Method Man nl:Method Man ja:メソッド・マン no:Method Man pl:Method Man pt:Method Man ru:Method Man sl:Method Man sr:Method Man fi:Method Man sv:Method Man uk:Method Man

Lucio Dalla (born March 4, 1943 in Bologna) is a popular Italian singer-songwriter and musician. He also plays clarinet and keyboards.

He is the composer of ''Caruso'' (1986), which has been covered by numerous international artists. A version of ''Caruso'' sung by Luciano Pavarotti sold over 9 million copies, and another version was a track on Andrea Bocelli's first international album Romanza, which later sold over 16 million copies worldwide. This piece is also on Josh Groban's album "Closer", which sold over 5 million copies in the United States alone. The song is a tribute to the emblematic opera tenor Enrico Caruso.

Biography

Beginnings

He began to play the clarinet at an early age, in a jazz band in Rome. The singer-songwriter Gino Paoli noticed Dalla's vocal qualities and suggested he attempt a solo career as an Italian soul singer. However, Dalla's debut at the Cantagiro festival in 1965 was unsuccessful probably due to his appearance and to his music, which was considered too experimental for the time. His first album, ''1999'', was released the following year. His next album, ''Terra di Gaibola '' (from the name of a suburb of Bologna), was released in 1970 and contained some early Dalla classics.

His first hit was "4 Marzo 1943", which garnered some success at the Sanremo Festival. Regardless of its title, the song became popularly known as "Gesù bambino". Also successful was "Piazza grande", which Dalla would sing again at Sanremo.

Albums with Roversi

At this point, Dalla made a decisive move in his career, starting a collaboration with the Bolognese poet Roberto Roversi. Roversi wrote the lyrics to Dalla's next three albums ''Il giorno aveva cinque teste'' (The Day Had Five Heads) (1973), ''Anidride solforosa'' (1975) and ''Automobili'' (Automobiles) (1976) Although these albums did not sell in large numbers, they were noted by critics for the unusual mix of Roversi's weird lyrics with Dalla's improvisatory, and sometimes experimental, compositional abilities.

The duo had already broken up by the time the concept album ''Automobili'' was released. Roversi, who had been against the album's release, chose the pseudonym "Norisso" when it was time to register the songs. The album, however, included one of Dalla's most popular songs, "Nuvolari", named after the famous 1930s Italian racer.

Singer-songwriter

Affected by the end of the collaboration, Dalla decided to write the lyrics of his next albums himself. This decision proved to be surprisingly good, and he soon emerged as one of the most intelligent and musically cultured of the Italian singer-songwriters. The first album of this new phase was ''Com'è profondo il mare'' (1977), in which Dalla was accompanied by some members of the future pop band Stadio. The title track or "Quale allegria" are today ranked among the best Italian songs.

Dalla's poetic inspiration was confirmed by the following albums, all entitled ''Lucio Dalla'' or ''Dalla'' and all best-sellers. They contain classics like "Anna e Marco", "L'anno che verrà", "Futura", and "Cara".

In 1979, his popularity was confirmed by the success of the ''Banana Republic'' tour and album of 1979 together with singer-songwriter Francesco De Gregori, his band, and his friend Ron.

The hit single ''Attenti al Lupo'' (1990) gave him wider success in Europe.

He was invited for duetting on Pavarotti and friends, singing his own hit "Caruso" with Luciano Pavarotti.

Albums

''1999 (1966)

''Terra di Gaibola ''(1970)

''Storie di casa mia'' (1970)

''Il giorno aveva cinque teste'' (1973)

''Quel fenomeno di Lucio Dalla'' (1973)

''L'album di... Lucio Dalla'' (1974)

''Anidride solforosa'' (1975)

''Automobili'' (1976)

''4 Marzo 1943'' (1976)

''Come è profondo il mare'' (1977)

''Lucio Dalla'' (1978)

''Banana Republic'' (1979, with Francesco De Gregori and Ron)

''Lucio Dalla'' (1980)

''Dalla'' (1980)

''Torino, Milano e dintorni'' (1981)

''Gli anni Settanta'' (1981)

''1983'' (1983)

''Viaggi organizzati'' (1984)

''Bugie'' (1985)

''The best of Lucio Dalla'' (1985)

''DallameriCaruso'' (1986)

''Dalla/Morandi'' (1988)

''Cambio'' (1990)

''Il motore del 2000'' (1990)

''Il primo Lucio Dalla'' (1990)

''Amen'' (1992)

''Henna'' (1993)

''Le origini'' (1996)

''Canzoni'' (1996)

''Ciao'' (1999)

''Luna Matana'' (2001)

''Live@RTSI - 20 dicembre 1978'' (2001)

''Dal vivo - Bologna 2 settembre 1974'' (2001)

''Caro amico ti scrivo... (Best of)'' (2002)

''Tosca. Amore disperato'' (2003)

''Lucio'' (2003)

''12000 Lune (Best of/Box Set)'' (2003)

''Il contrario di me'' (2007)

''Angoli nel cielo'' (2010)

DVD

''Live@RTSI - 20 dicembre 1978'' (2001)

''Retrospettiva'' (2003)

''In concerto'' (2004)

''Banana Republic'' (2006)

References

External links

Official website

Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:People from Bologna Category:Italian singer-songwriters Category:Italian composers

bg:Лучио Дала ca:Lucio Dalla de:Lucio Dalla es:Lucio Dalla fr:Lucio Dalla is:Lucio Dalla it:Lucio Dalla pms:Lucio Dalla pt:Lucio Dalla ru:Далла, Лючио uk:Лучіо Далла