| a technique for changing the aspect ratio of a wide-screen film, usually by selecting the significant section of a screen shot and cropping the sides, so that it can be transmitted for regular-format television. Compare letterbox. |
| pan and scan n. A method of printing movies for presentation on television that modifies the rectangular theater image by trimming the sides and focusing on significant action within the newly truncated image. pan'-and-scan' (pān'ənd-skān') adj. |