Film gauges

The gauge of a film, literally, is its width. "Gauge" is commonly used synonymously with film format. (Pedantically, there are certain exceptions: IMAX is technically a specific format of 70mm gauge film, Super 8 is a specific format of 8mm gauge film, etc.)

Formats that you may encounter in exhibition contexts include:

Theatrical gauges

• 16mm
• 35mm
• large format: 70mm, IMAX

Frames per Foot (theatrical gauges)

16mm: 1 foot = 40 frames

35mm: 1 foot = 16 frames

5/70mm: 12.8 frames

Nontheatrical gauges

• 8mm
• Super 8
• 9.5mm
• 28mm

Large formats

• 70mm
• IMAX

External Links

• Wikipedia: List of film formats