Ian McCuen The Letter
542films presents the official music video for The Letter by Ian McCuen.
Displaced memories of family and home are visually re-collected through familiar places and mementos that have been left behind but not necessarily lost. Introspective visuals respond in kind to the quiet progression of the song:
“I can barely recognize where I’m headed, or from where I came."
“Dear everyone that I have ever known, where did all of the time in my life go?”
Cast & Crew
Director & Editor / Karl Frederick Mattson
Music / The Letter by Ian McCuen
Composed, performed, recorded, and produced by Ian McCuen, mastered by Alex Wieloszynski
Tech Specs
Released / 2022
Runtime / 4 min 33 sec
Aspect Ratio / 1.33:1
Format / Digital, DVC tape
Camera / Panasonic GH5, Panasonic AG-DVX100B, JVC GR-D50 (2006 footage)
Lens /
Panasonic GH5: Urth Nikon F to M4/3 adapter, Carl Zeiss Planar T 50mm f/1.4 lens, semi-flocked Kowa Prominar 16-S anamorphic lens, Rapido FVD-16a variable diopter, SIMMOD variable neutral density filter
Panasonic AG-DVX-100B: Leica Dicomar 32.5mm to 325mm f/1.6 zoom lens
Custom /
The Panasonic GH5 camera, traditionally a 4:3 aspect ratio in anamorphic mode, was rigged vertically, thus resulting in a 3:4 vertical sensor. The vertical picture was squeezed x2 horizontally in-camera by the Kowa anamorphic lens (this lens remained horizontal) and de-squeezed in post-production to create a 4:3 (1.33:1) final aspect ratio.
This process retained the signature swirl-like look of anamorphic without the super-wide aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and didn’t necessitate a significant crop of the picture.