I think we are still on aspect ratios whatever the size of film favoured by our national broadcaster decades ago. I can confirm that 16mm was prominent for the period outlined by Philco Pete. I was interviewed at BH having got into the last 40 of the open competition for Sound Recordists that the Beeb held circa 1968. The system was 16mm film running along side sprocketed audio tape of the same size for editing [I still have my notes]. Amateurs [like Ken Russell] tried to emulate this with 8mm set ups and there was a commercial version for the home market but using a sound stripe and a marker pulse. I was told that crews could be up to five people but initially you worked in-house with the possibility of going on location if promoted. BBC attitudes were illustrated beautifully when in response to my enthusiastic analysis of the TV Industry [having scraped the technical questions] a kindly executive leaned over and said "You do realise that this is an interview for a Sound Recordist post?" I said "Oh yes!"
puzzled, not realising he meant the Producers Course was for Oxbridge Graduates only. Of course Ken broke that rule and every other one! [I was very young!] They offered me a job on a shaky telephone line to the far North [ie Manchester] but then withdrew it, saying there'd been a mistake
Dave W
The chap on the balcony during the famous Embassy siege in the nineties [when the SAS carried out their rescue] was a Sound Recordist who had been told to get a Visa for the next job. Opportunities missed eh!