Point Two(1970–1974)

Point Two was an experimental widescreen format which emerged from the restless mind of Stuart Warriner, a talented amateur cine-engineer, who produced a series of novel film formats in the 1960s and 1970s. Warriner was an upholsterer by trade, but he kept himself busy in his spare time thinking up unorthodox rearrangements of the film frame within the film strip. His obituary stated that he also ran a garage and made parts for vintage motor cars (Shapps, 1987). His cine work was encouraged by being a member of the Widescreen Association, a UK-based club which operated between 1964 and 1993. Point Two was the second of three formats that he developed while a member. It followed on from Pan-16 and was the precursor of Minirama. Its distinctive feature was that it used all the width, but only two-thirds of the height, of the standard 16mm frame. This had two main advantages: The aspect ratio was pleasingly wide, though not excessively so, and it represented a degree of economy over the conventional 16mm format. Running time was 50 per cent longer, when compared to 16mm – with 60 frames per foot, as opposed to 40. The aspect ratio was set at 2:1 in the camera, but masked further to 2.25:1 in the projector, which may account for its alternate name of Two-Point-Two or 2.2. Warriner’s own account of its genesis gives an insight into the lively creative process of this notable amateur film format designer.

“In the beginning I was experimenting with a Single Film Cinerama system using two Pan-16 frames side by side, but after seeing it on the screen thought the combined aspect ratio of 5.6:1 no less a bit much. I decided therefore to reduce the Aspect Ratio to a more acceptable 4:1, and to do this reverted to normal 16mm. Masked down at Camera and Projector gates to 2:1. As this seemed very satisfactory on the screen but a very wasteful method of getting a 2:1 format, it seemed to me that the next step was to re-perforate the film to a smaller frame pitch of 0.2" (instead of the usual 0.3") and so obtained a Direct Aspect Ratio of 2:1 or thereabout. Re-perforating to the Super 8 pitch of 0.167" was considered at this stage but discarded as it was not all that different to Pan-16 (0.150"). During the initial trials with the re-perforated film and modified equipment I formed the opinion that the direct screen format of 2:1 could well be a new Widescreen system in its own right, and since the significant difference between this and Pan-16 was the Frame Pitch of 0.2", the name “POINT TWO” was chosen.” (Warriner, 1972)

The Widescreen Association held an annual showcase of its members’ work, dubbed Widex, and Warriner debuted Point Two at the 1972 edition, held at the Manchester Film Theatre, where he demonstrated the new system alongside his Pan-16 format – with an aspect ratio of 2.87:1 – giving members the opportunity to compare picture quality and aspect ratio. At the same event, he was awarded the Association’s special honour – the Golden Palamorphot – in recognition of his work on these two formats. Warriner himself felt that the two formats should be seen as complementary, rather than being in competition.

“I have now been using the system for 12 months and am very gratified with the results. The extra depth of frame it gives over ‘Pan-16’ makes it more suitable – in my opinion – for more general use where say groups of people, rather than wide Panoramic Views are needed, and, as seems to be the case with 1.5x and 2x ‘A’ lenses, there could be room for both, and no reason why they shouldn’t exist side-by-side.” (Warriner, 1972)

As with Warriner’s other formats, there was speculation within the Widescreen Association that Point Two might have real commercial potential – although this was never realised. “What a turn up for the book if Kodak became interested in it”, wrote Peter Mitchell hopefully in his report on Widex 72 (Mitchell, 1972). However, even within the Association, it does not seem to have caught on. Warriner made several Pan-16 outfits for club members, such as Brian Polden and Tony Shapps, but it appears unlikely that anyone ever ordered a Point Two outfit. The requirement to have stock reperforated may have proved too great an obstacle for all but the inventor himself.