Placing 4:3 into 16:9 in FCP
 

I have some 4:3 video that I want to place into 16:9 for that I can use the added frame for titling to one side or another of the 4:3.

When I do this in FCP the 4:3 comes out squashed a bit when rendered even though it looks OK in the Canvas window when still and expands when playing back on the Canvas. I assume there is a magic correction factor, but I am on a deadline and don't have a lot of time to experiment.

What is this best approach to correct the problem?

16:9 footage will alway look squashed on a 4:3 monitor; that's the way it should be. Inside FCP, aspect ratio correction is done so that it's properly proportioned in the canvas and viewer. But on an external monitor the anamorphic footage is directly passed through. Therefore you need a 16:9 capable TV or monitor to view it in the correct proportion.

I have a 16:9 monitor. Understand that. Sorry, I should have mentioned that I am preparing a QuickTime for the Web. It's squashed in the Quicktime exports via export to Quicktime.

I have found that I can just change the size of the Quicktime with in the player and save that -- but I wonder if I am degrading the text.

If I can ever manage to FTP to my Web site this morning I post the clip and all can see what happens.

Thanks for the reply

Did you look at the distort settings for the 4:3 clip when it's in your 16:9 timeline? That could be the answer.

If you're exporting to Quicktime for playback on a square pixel device (computer monitor) then you need to change the frame size to something which is actually 16:9. Otherwise you get 720x480 square pixels. See the following:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showpost....43&postcount=2