Client added 16:9 to my 4:3 project...

[Darryn Carroll]

Any good way of using some 16:9 footage to a project shot in 4:3? Client has given me some clips in 16:9

[Jon Fairhurst]

Letterbox (black bars top and bottom) or zoom (cut off the left and the right) with panning as needed ("pan & scan") to keep the action well framed.

In general, people pan & scan in narrative works to keep the video from drawing attention to itself. The exception is when there is critical information on the edges, like in many credit reels.

[Trevor Dennis]

What do you edit with Darryn?

[Darryn Carroll]

I am a PC and edit with Cyberlinks Powerdirector 11 and also Corel Videostudio.

[Darren Levine]

switching between aspect ratios within the same project can be a bit annoying for the viewer.

that leaves you to make the decision whether to keep the project 4:3 and pan and scan the 16:9 stuff. or switch the project to 16:9 and crop off the 4:3 footage to become widescreen.

which would damage each respective footage more: cropping the sides of the 16:9 footage, or cropping the top/bottom of the 4:3 footage

since we're living in widescreen world now, i'd lean toward making the project 16:9