In the process of creating a 15-second company logo sequence using primarily 4x3 footage. (Shooting or re-shooting in 16x9 isn't an option.) My future productions will be produced in 16x9 format (whether standard or HD).

Question: what is the best way to use the 4x3 footage and produce the logo sequence in 16x9 format? Fortunately, I'm using the "old film" look under film effects to fit the style I want, so a little graininess or loss of resolution isn't going to affect the end product much.

Is it just a simple matter of using the Pan/Crop selection, changing the size to 16x9 (or using the script that does this)? Tried that, but then the "old film" effect gets applied, of course, to the 4x3 image---black part and all.

Just change the project settings to widescreen and see if that works for you.
If you still need to use Pan/Crop to shrink the video, here's the trick to getting the FX on the clip ONLY.
After you've changed it in Pan/Crop, apply the "old film" FX. Now look at the bottom left of the FX window (where the timeline is. You'll see a small arrow to the left of the words "Film Effect". This is the Pre/Post Toggle button. Click it and VOILA!! FX is now applied only to the desired portion.

Thanks Mike. I see you also get around too on these boards. It's appreciated. dale