Hi:

I shoot in 720p or 1080p, but I'd like to crop this to 2.35:1 aspect ratio - without letterbox. I suppose that this should be done on the timeline to apply the crop to all clips. How do I do this in FCP7?

Thanks, Erik

Here you go:

How to achieve a 2.35:1 aspect ratio in Final Cut Pro | Video « Wonder How To (http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-achieve-2-35-1-aspect-ratio-final-cut-pro-376839/)

Modifying your footage to a non standard format at the editing stage rather than the mastering tage is a very bad idea in Final Cut. This is because the final cut RT engine only works well with a set of resolutions and formats, generaly all broadcast formats. If you don't use a format, frame rate and frame size combination in your timeline that is optimized for for Final Cuts RT engine the all RT features like having an rt dynamic playback option will be disabled for you. Basically, you'll be rendering a lot more than you need to.

Do the conversion on output, this also allows you to reframe shots (assuming they weren't hard matted in camera) whic is helpful when editing.

There is no good reason to go 2.35 on ingest, it's nothing but trouble. Cut at a standard broadcast rate and aspect ratio, en apply your matte or crop to your output, it just makes tye most sense.