Cropping 4:3 down to 16:9? at DVinfo.net

Lyndon Horsfall · April 8th, 2007, 10:29 AM

Does anyone know how to crop 4:3 footage down to 16:9 on Final Cut Pro?

I'm going to try shooting a tiny short in 4:3 on my GL2 with the 16:9 guides and then crop it down, but I'm not sure how to do that in post.

Cheers. :)

Chris Harris · April 8th, 2007, 10:40 AM

Three ways of doing it. In a 4:3 timeline, double click on your footage, click on the motion tab, and adjust the crop bars. The other way, is using the widescreen matte under the effects tab. The third way, is to throw your footage into a 16:9 anamorphic timeline, double click on your footage, and in the motion tab, increase the scale to 133%.

Lyndon Horsfall · April 8th, 2007, 10:56 AM

What are the drawbacks and benefits of each way?

Matt Newcomb · April 8th, 2007, 01:57 PM

I think they all achieve the same results, moving the crop bars yourself might be the hardest way. My suggestion is to use the widescreen matte since you can make adjustments up or down depending on how the shot was framed.

Boyd Ostroff · April 8th, 2007, 02:03 PM

If you use the anamorphic option (the third way which Chris describes), then your footage will be in the correct format for people with widescreen TV's if you burn a DVD. And an anamorphic DVD should also work correctly for people with 4:3 TV's. The DVD player will automatically provide the letterbox for 4:3 TV's if the DVD is correctly made.

Lyndon Horsfall · April 8th, 2007, 06:26 PM

I think that's the way I want to go for those reasons, Boyd. Is this also the way with the best video quality?

First day here and helped already!

Boyd Ostroff · April 8th, 2007, 06:33 PM

Welcome Lyndon! I don't know that there's a lot of difference in terms of quality, because the image is only as good as what's recorded on tape. I think the easiest way to answer your question is to do a test.

Lyndon Horsfall · April 8th, 2007, 07:10 PM

That makes sense. I should've known.

Thanks for your help!

Waldemar Winkler · April 15th, 2007, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boyd Ostroff

If you use the anamorphic option (the third way which Chris describes), then your footage will be in the correct format for people with widescreen TV's if you burn a DVD. And an anamorphic DVD should also work correctly for people with 4:3 TV's. The DVD player will automatically provide the letterbox for 4:3 TV's if the DVD is correctly made.

I did a test of this approach and was not quite prepared for what I saw. The 4:3 footage was distorted horizontally. A 133 magnification as suggested earlier didn't alter the distortion.

I set up an anamorphic project, then captured 4:3 footage directly from tape.

Can you provide a step by step process? I've never tried this before.

April 8th, 2007, 10:29 AM	#1
Lyndon Horsfall New Boot Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Waterloo, Ontario Posts: 14	Cropping 4:3 down to 16:9? Does anyone know how to crop 4:3 footage down to 16:9 on Final Cut Pro? I'm going to try shooting a tiny short in 4:3 on my GL2 with the 16:9 guides and then crop it down, but I'm not sure how to do that in post. Cheers. :)

April 8th, 2007, 10:40 AM	#2
Chris Harris Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Francisco, California Posts: 487	Three ways of doing it. In a 4:3 timeline, double click on your footage, click on the motion tab, and adjust the crop bars. The other way, is using the widescreen matte under the effects tab. The third way, is to throw your footage into a 16:9 anamorphic timeline, double click on your footage, and in the motion tab, increase the scale to 133%.

April 8th, 2007, 10:56 AM	#3
Lyndon Horsfall New Boot Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Waterloo, Ontario Posts: 14	What are the drawbacks and benefits of each way?

April 8th, 2007, 01:57 PM	#4
Matt Newcomb Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 212	I think they all achieve the same results, moving the crop bars yourself might be the hardest way. My suggestion is to use the widescreen matte since you can make adjustments up or down depending on how the shot was framed.

April 8th, 2007, 02:03 PM	#5
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	If you use the anamorphic option (the third way which Chris describes), then your footage will be in the correct format for people with widescreen TV's if you burn a DVD. And an anamorphic DVD should also work correctly for people with 4:3 TV's. The DVD player will automatically provide the letterbox for 4:3 TV's if the DVD is correctly made.

April 8th, 2007, 06:26 PM	#6
Lyndon Horsfall New Boot Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Waterloo, Ontario Posts: 14	I think that's the way I want to go for those reasons, Boyd. Is this also the way with the best video quality? First day here and helped already!

April 8th, 2007, 06:33 PM	#7
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	Welcome Lyndon! I don't know that there's a lot of difference in terms of quality, because the image is only as good as what's recorded on tape. I think the easiest way to answer your question is to do a test.

April 8th, 2007, 07:10 PM	#8
Lyndon Horsfall New Boot Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Waterloo, Ontario Posts: 14	That makes sense. I should've known. Thanks for your help!